Myrth York (born June 7, 1946) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

from 1991 to 1994. She ran unsuccessfully for

governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Dan McKee, a member of the Democrati ...

in 1994, 1998, and 2002.

Early life and education

York was born in Maplewood,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. She is the daughter of chemical engineer, entrepreneur and philanthropist Otto H. York. She earned her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

in 1968 and

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Boston University School of Law The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Ap ...

in 1972. She earned a Master of Laws in Taxation from Boston University in 1979.

Career

York served in the

from 1991 to 1994, and on the Senate Corporations Committee and the Senate Health, Education and Welfare Committee. During her second term she was chairman of the HEW Committee. In the Senate she was known for being strongly liberal on social issues and defending the rights of women and minorities. York was fellow for the Institute of Politics at

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

during spring of 1999. York first ran for governor in 1994, losing to Republican

Lincoln Almond Lincoln Carter Almond (June 16, 1936 – January 2, 2023) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 72nd Governor of Rhode Island from 1995 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he was previously the United States Attorney ...

by three percentage points. She lost to Almond by nine points in 1998 and to

Donald Carcieri Donald Louis Carcieri ( ; ; born December 16, 1942) is an American politician and corporate executive who served as the 73rd Governor of Rhode Island from January 2003 to January 2011. Carcieri has worked as a manufacturing company executive, a ...

by 10 points in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. In her first bid for governor, she ousted incumbent

Bruce Sundlun Bruce George Sundlun (January 19, 1920 – July 21, 2011) was an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as List of governors of Rhode Island, 71st governor of Rhode Island ...

in the Democratic primary, winning by over 30 percentage points. The 2002 campaign was particularly costly to York as she spent $3.8 million of her own money to finance what was to be her last bid for elected office. A key turning point in the campaign was when York criticized Carcieri for the actions of businesses he had been associated with but refused to answer Carcieri's request that she reveal what companies her personal assets were invested in. In 2006 she endorsed Republican Senator

Lincoln Chafee Lincoln Davenport Chafee ( ; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island, from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a ...

in his unsuccessful bid for re-election. (Chafee's Democratic opponent,

Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2007 as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1998 as the United States Att ...

, had run against York in the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary). In the endorsement, York said that Chafee would be the first Republican she voted for since

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. York was appointed to the Providence Zoning Board of Review and was re-appointed by incoming Mayor Angel Taveras in 2011. She currently serves as the Board's chair. York has received many awards, including the United Way's Legislator of the Year Award and the Claiborne Pell Award for outstanding service to the arts and people with disabilities.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:York, Myrth 1946 births 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians Boston University School of Law alumni Candidates in the 1994 United States elections Candidates in the 1998 United States elections Candidates in the 2002 United States elections Harvard Kennedy School staff Living people People from Maplewood, New Jersey Democratic Party Rhode Island state senators University of Denver alumni Women state legislators in Rhode Island 20th-century members of the Rhode Island General Assembly