Friends
See Napolitano '83 Sworn in as Governor of Arizona
When Janet
Napolitano '83 was sworn in as Governor of Arizona on January
6, she looked out at hundreds of her constituents. Mixed in with
the crowd of Arizonian citizens were several familiar out-of-state
faces: those of eight of her Law School classmates.
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| Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano '83
(holding the UVA Law School pennant) with some of her classmates
on the eve of her inauguration. |
As soon as he learned that Napolitano won her
bid for governor, Kent Alexander '83 called his long-time
friend to offer his congratulations and to say that he was considering
heading to Phoenix for her inauguration. Napolitano encouraged
him. "The more the merrier!" she said. He e-mailed some
other old friends from Law School who he thought would be game
for an inauguration trip-and every one of them showed up.
They traveled from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia,
Colorado, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, meeting
in Phoenix the night before the ceremony. All were invited to
a pre-inauguration dinner for Napolitano's family and friends.
The group included members of the Class of 1983: Alexander, Steve
Edelson, Alice Hill, Mark Kantor, Joan Markman, Elaine Meltin, Dave Mushinski, and a member of the
class of 1984: John Youkilis.
Napolitano's ties to Alexander, Mushinski, and
Kantor were forged as the four spent two of their Law School years
as housemates at a 300-acre Albemarle County estate called Broom
Hollow. Serendipity played a part in fostering the friendship
between Napolitano and Alexander, when then U.S. Attorney General
Janet Reno chose both for her advisory committee made up of 15
of the total 93 U.S. Attorneys.
After serving as U.S. Attorney, Napolitano was
elected the first female Attorney General of Arizona in 1998.
As a Democrat she now faces a challenge in governing a state with
two Republican houses and a deficit of more than $1.3 billion. [See related Class Note on Mark Winkleman '83.]
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Alice Hill
was a member of the group of friends showing Napolitano support.
"I can attest that in addition to being a legal genius,"
said Hill, "she has remarkable personal and political courage
and the ability to get things done even when the odds are heavily
against her. She is also a lot of fun. In short, Arizona is one
lucky state."
The Law School will also benefit from Napolitano's
experience in public service when she delivers the keynote address
at the Fourth Annual Conference on Public Service and the Law
in Charlottesville on March 14.
After her inauguration speech, the group
met up with Napolitano for the post-inaugural celebration at the
Phoenix Science Museum. They so enjoyed their Arizona get-together
that they are hoping to regroup with many more members of the
Class of 1983 in Charlottesville for their 20th reunion in May.
Governor Napolitano's reservation is already in.
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