Who Is Anne Holton? Wife Of Tim Kaine, Hillary’s VP Pick, Revealed
Who Is Anne Holton?
Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has officially announced her VP pick. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine will be her running-mate. After a great deal of speculation that Kaine would be her pick, Clinton verified it on Friday afternoon — first via text message to her followers, then more formally later at a campaign function in Florida. All eyes will be on Tim Kaine to find out what he will bring to the campaign, but we can’t help but wonder about his wife, Anne Holton.
Anne Holton, #Tim Kaine's wife, is a Roanoke native and @VASecofEdu >>> https://t.co/S9LxaYvttR pic.twitter.com/m1UltHhAgY
— The Roanoke Times (@roanoketimes) July 23, 2016
Anne Holton has held the position of Virginia’s Secretary of Education since 2014. Her family helped with the integration of Richmond’s public school system. Holton has been said to feel the importance of creating an educational system that works for all students, “including those who are too often left on the margins of our society,” according to Bustle. She claimed in a statement she gave to the Richmond Times Dispatch that her work in reforming Virginia’s foster care system is her proudest accomplishment.
“My team and I were able to do great work in just a few short years. Every child deserves a real family, and we were able to make this a reality for more children all across Virginia.”
From the RTD archives: Wedding announcement of Tim Kaine and Anne Holton. https://t.co/8uzBfW03SO pic.twitter.com/SqN6AIugZh
— Richmond Times-Dispatch (@RTDNEWS) July 23, 2016
While her husband, Tim Kaine, was the Governor of Virginia, Anne Holton focused on preventing the placement of youth out of their homes due to behavioral issues, says her biography for the Secretary of Education. While her passion clearly lies on the side of children and youth, she has also focused her work on dealing with gender inequalities in Virginia. She has stressed the need for women in all industries, politics in particular. She made her opinion clear at an event at the Science Museum of Virginia last year.
“I am a big believer that we need more women in politics at every level, at state legislature, our U.S. Congress and absolutely at the presidential level.”
The governorship of Virginia, it turns out, wasn’t something new to Anne Holton. Her father, former Governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. was sworn in as the state’s governor in 1970. Her love for Virginia, Richmond in particular, is nothing new but rather part of who she is at the core. She names Richmond as her favorite city and takes pride in the fact that it’s become trendy, attracting young people who call the city, as her children tell her, the “Portland of the east.” She loves knowing young people want to relocate there, calling it “pretty high praise.”
Born in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1958, she’s called Richmond home for many years. A graduate of both Princeton University and Harvard Law School, she holds an exemplary academic record. From Princeton she received her bachelor’s degree in economics, graduating magna cum laude. At Harvard, she earned her law degree as cum laude. Prior to becoming Virginia’s Secretary of Education, she boasted a career in the legal and judicial systems, according to the Heavy. Starting as a law clerk after graduating from Harvard, she then became a legal aid attorney with the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, where she served as an advocate of low-income families for 13 years. From 1998 until 2005 she was a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge in Richmond. Although having a successful career, she was also a supportive wife, resigning when Tim Kaine was elected governor in order to serve as Virginia’s first lady.
Her interests vary widely, from her desire to do more traveling and studying other cultures to, surprisingly, square dancing and clogging. From all outward appearances, her life seems abundantly full, from supporting her husband’s career to devoting her time to her children, Nat, Woody and Annella. Nat is an officer in the United States Marine Corps and Holton refers to Annella and Woody as “passionate artists.”
Who is Anne Holton, wife of Tim Kaine? For all her accomplishments, she could possibly be adding Second Lady of the U.S. if the campaign of her husband, Tim Kaine, and Hillary Clinton is successful in the fall.
[Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images]
