50 Years ago, Dudley Dudley, with a small dedicated group of women, led the fight to stop the development of the largest oil refinery in America from destroying the Seacoast of NH, Maine and Massachusetts. . . and they won; Sending Ari Onassis back to his Yacht on the Mediterranean.
Dudley Dudley (politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dudley at NH Executive Council meeting (1970s)
Dudley Webster Dudley (born Dudley Webster; August 4, 1936) is an American political activist, known for her 1974 legislation that helped prevent shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis from building an oil refinery in Durham, New Hampshire. In 1976, Dudley became the first woman elected to the New Hampshire Executive Council, where she served four consecutive terms. In 1984, she won the Democratic primary to represent New Hampshire's First Congressional District.
Contents
Early life and career[edit]
Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, Dudley Webster was raised in the neighboring town of Durham, where she has lived most of her life.[2] She attended Durham Center School, the Robinson Female Seminary in Exeter, and studied art at the University of New Hampshire.[2] When she married Portsmouth attorney Thomas Dudley, taking his last name of Dudley, her name became both a political asset and the source of humor throughout her career. Dudley and her husband have two daughters, Morgan and Rebecca Dudley, whom they raised in Durham.[3]
Dudley became involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and in 1969, she and Tom protested the incarceration of two black Marines who spoke out against the Vietnam War. William Harvey and George Daniels were sentenced to six and 10 years of hard labor, respectively, for telling other black servicemen they should not engage in a “white man’s war” when they weren't being treated as equals in their own country. The Dudleys sailed back and forth in front of the Portsmouth Naval Prison with a sign that read "Free Harvey and Daniels" until the soldiers were finally released.[4]
Dudley was a delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention for George McGovern, working for him in the presidential primary race in New Hampshire. In 1974, Congressman Morris Udall came to Bedford, New Hampshire, and announced he was going to run for the Democratic nomination for president.[2] Dudley became First District Coordinator for Udall's presidential campaign, during which she hosted much of the campaign staff, including the candidate's son Mark, who lived with the family during the New Hampshire primary race. All the while, Dudley was pursuing a career of her own.[2]
From 1972 to 1976, Dudley served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. She was believed to be the first Democratic legislator from Durham in nearly fifty years.[5] About halfway through her first term, an unexpected and environmentally significant change was proposed that would have altered Dudley's hometown and the entire seacoast of New Hampshire: the construction of one of the world's largest oil refinery.[6]
Opposition to Onassis oil refinery plans[edit]
In 1974, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis planned to build a 400,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery along the New Hampshire Seacoast.[2] (Even today, there are only a few dozen larger refineries in operation.) In an effort to save her New England hometown from becoming a site for crude oil refining, Dudley helped rally thousands of local community members and delivered a petition that was created by the citizen group Save Our Shores (SOS).[7] When she arrived at his office, then-Governor Meldrim Thomson ordered her out of his office, whereupon she unrolled the petition on the steps of the New Hampshire State House for a widely published news photograph.[8]
It was a vicious battle, but Dudley eventually proposed legislation that convinced a special session of the state legislature to approve Home Rule Bill HB 18, giving Durham residents the right to veto the oil refinery.[8] This legislation prevented 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) along the shore of Great Bay from becoming a six-hundred-million dollar refinery and earned Dudley a national reputation as an environmental activist.[8][9]
The screenplay Oil and Water depicts the battle between Aristotle Onassis and Dudley. Written by Alfred Thomas Catalfo and Morgan Webster Dudley (Dudley's daughter), the script won the 2015 Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and placed as a finalist (top 0.5%) in the 2015 Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition.[10]
Later political career[edit]
Dudley Dudley, in 2019.
Following the oil refinery battle, Dudley was elected to the Executive Council of New Hampshire from the 3rd district, where she served from 1976 to 1984.[11] At that time she was the first woman to serve in an office higher than Legislature, making her the highest politically ranked woman in the state.[2][11]
In 1980, along with Joanne Simons, Dudley spearheaded the Draft Kennedy campaign, urging Senator Edward Kennedy to run for President.[9] In addition to leading the Kennedy campaign, she has worked on the presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, Mo Udall, Paul Tsongas, Bill Bradley, Wesley Clark, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders[3] and, most recently, Tom Steyer.[12]
In 1984, Dudley won the Democratic nomination for the First Congressional District, and was defeated by Republican Bob Smith.[9] Dudley's campaign slogan made a play on her name: "Dudley Dudley: Congress Congress", echoing slogans from her reelection campaigns for the executive council, "Dudley Dudley, Worth Repeating". That rebounded when Smith, a staunch conservative, coined his own catchphrase: "Dudley Dudley, Liberal Liberal".[9]
From 1987 to 1998, Dudley was executive director of the Women Legislators' Lobby, a national organization of female state legislators who worked with their members of Congress to reduce the federal budget appropriation for military weapons.[6]
Dudley is a past overseer of Dartmouth Medical School and past director of the NH Civil Liberties Union.[6] She has served on the boards of the Ella Lyman Cabot Trust, the Greater Piscataqua Community Foundation, and RAIN for the Sahel and the Sahara.[6]
Dudley has been a trustee of the University of New Hampshire and a director for the UNH Alumni Association board.[6] She worked with a group of UNH students to reunite a Congolese family separated when the parents had to flee the country and leave their children behind.[6]
Dudley received the Eleanor Roosevelt Award at the New Hampshire Democratic Party's annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner on November 16, 2013, where she was commended by state Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley for being an outstanding role model for young women looking to make a positive impact in their communities. Each year, the Eleanor Roosevelt Award is presented to a Granite State Democrat who has shown extraordinary commitment to the values of social and economic justice.[11][13]
In 2016, Dudley was an elector in the Electoral College, casting one of New Hampshire's four electoral votes for Hillary Clinton.[14]
Also in 2016, Dudley's portrait was commissioned to be hung in the Governor's Council Chambers at the New Hampshire State House in Concord. [15]
References[edit]
^ "Thomas M. Dudley - Obituaries". The Portsmouth Herald. January 3, 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-12-13.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Ferdon, Julie (October 21, 1999). "An Oral History Interview with Dudley Dudley" (PDF). University of Arizona Library, Special Collections. The Morris K. Udall Oral History Project: 11. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
^ Jump up to:a b Nibley, Andrew (December 5, 1979). "Dudley Dudley, Political Junkie". The Hour. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
^ Kerr, D. Allan. "1969 incarceration of black Marines drew Seacoast protests". seacoastonline.com. Retrieved Dec 22, 2019.
^ LaCasse, Alexander. "Dudley Dudley portrait unveiled at State House". fosters.com. Retrieved Dec 22, 2019.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f "UNH Announces 2010 Granite State Award and Honorary Degree Recipients". University of New Hampshire Media Relations. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
^ "Save Our Shores Papers, 1973-2001 | University of New Hampshire Library". www.library.unh.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
^ Jump up to:a b c Robinson, J. Dennis (January 6, 2013). "How Aristotle Onassis Lost Great Bay". Seacoast NH. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
^ Jump up to:a b c d Kapochunas, Rachel (January 8, 2007). "Dudley Not Redundant for Shea-Porter". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
^ "Screenwriting Competition Awards". Nashville Film Festival. 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
^ Jump up to:a b c "Dudley a bipartisan role model". Foster's Daily Democrat. November 30, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
^ "Tom Steyer Wins Endorsement of NH Political Leader Dudley Dudley". NH Labor News. November 14, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
^ "Durham's Dudley W. Dudley honored for public service". Foster's Daily Democrat. December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
^ "New Hampshire electors: 4 female "firsts" to back Clinton". WMUR. December 17, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
^ LaCasse, Alexander. "Dudley Dudley portrait unveiled at State House". seacoastonline.com. Retrieved Dec 22, 2019.
Further reading[edit]
Nancy Coffey Heffernan; Ann Page Stecker (2004). New Hampshire: Crosscurrents in Its Development. UPNE. pp. 195–. ISBN 978-1-58465-394-3.
Felice Belman; Mike Pride (2001). The New Hampshire Century: Concord Monitor Profiles of One Hundred People who Shaped it. UPNE. pp. 271–. ISBN 978-1-58465-087-4.
Nadel, Gerry (July 1974). "The Score from New Hampshire". Esquire.
Dudley Dudley paved the way for other female politicians
https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-dudley-dudley-20170107-story.html
 |
 |
| Alton Washday Revisited |
A Brief list of achievements
SCORR - Seacoast Committee on Race and Religion
Met Renny Cushing, age 16
Adjunct at UNH - course Community Action Groups, the Student Role
Vietnam - protest march in washington, tear gas
Harvey and Daniels protest on the river by the Naval Prison
NH State rep, 2 terms, 1st Dem since 1918
McGovern delegate to national Democratic Convention in Florida
Undall delegate to National Democratic convention, 1976
Delegate to Soviet Union as 1 of 20 young pols
Kennedy for president, national chair
Gridiron Club speaker, 1979
Ms. Magazine 100 Women to Watch in the ‘80s
Elected as first woman to Governor’s Council, 4 terms
Vote on Seabrook2
Oil refinery
WiLL Executive Director
NH rep for Citizen’s Heat and Power
Hubert and Helene, 7 Congolese children
Bought Wild Hunter
Went to Ushuaia, Falkland Islands, rum on Shackleton’s grave, Cape Town
Save the Pool
District Director for Carol Shea Porter, veterans history project
Recipient Eleanor Roosevelt award from NHDC
Portrait hung in state house
Save the Durham dam
Wood Island Lifesaving Station
No comments:
Post a Comment