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Frances 'Sissy' Farenthold
Frances ‘Sissy’ Farenthold was the only female member of the TX House from 1969 to 1972. She resigned her seat to run for Governor, coming in second in the Democratic primary field of seven candidates. Her leadership in the investigation of lawmakers (including Texas House Speaker Gus Mutscher) for stock fraud brought her national attention. In 1972, at the Democratic National Convention, she became the first woman ever to receive convention delegate votes--420 to be exact--for vice president.
In 1976 she became the first female president of Wells College in New York, where she helped create the Public Leadership Education Network with four other institutions, including the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University. Today, the CWG sponsors at least 12 women annually to attend PLEN seminars. Farenthold died in 2021 in Houston.
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