Profile of Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona

In November 2005, Time magazine named her one of the top five U.S. governors. For 2006-07, Janet Napolitano was elected as Chair of the National Governors Association, the first woman elected to that prestigious position.

Janet Napolitano was reportedly considered by Democrat John Kerry to be his 2004 running mate for the White House. She was asked to address both the 2000 and 2004 Democratic Party Conventions.

1983-1984 - Law clerk for the Honorable Mary Schroeder of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

1984-1993 - Attorney with Lewis & Roca, a top Arizona law firm. Napolitano was made a firm partner in 1989.

1993-1998 - U.S. Attorney for District of Arizona, appointed by President Bill Clinton. As U.S. Attorney, she supervised the prosecution of more than 6,000 immigration cases.

1998-2002 - Attorney General of Arizona

In a 2006 interview, she stated, "I believe firmly that education is the gateway to prosperity. That's why we've worked hard to implement voluntary full-day kindergarten statewide, and to support our teachers with a historic pay raise and training."

(See below for Major 2007 Initiatives and Projects by Gov. Janet Napolitano.)

To combat illegal immigration, the governor has opted to: crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers; catch forgers of I.D. documents; push for more National Guards and Homeland Security measures to deter border crossings.

Conservatives deride Napolitano's refusal to support legislation targeting illegal immigrants already in the U.S. working for U.S. employers.

Birth - November 29, 1957 in New York City to Leonard and Jane Napolitano. The family moved to New Mexico from Pittsburgh when Janet was 6 years old.

Education - Sandia High School. B.S. in political science, 1979, summa cum laude with Phi Beta Kappa honors, University of Santa Clara, where she was class valedictorian. J.D., 1983, University of Virginia.

Family - single

Faith - Christian, Methodist denomination

Hobbies - Avid moviegoer and reader

Janet Napolitano is a breast cancer survivor, and had a mastectomy in 2000, three weeks before she addressed the 2000 Democratic Convention.

As a child, Janet played the clarinet and became accomplished at the guitar. In law school, she shared a home with three male law students, and recalls playing a lot of bridge. She's a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts of America.

Gov Napolitano opposes same-sex marriage, and supports an Arizona law barring gay marriages. She opposed the Federal Marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution on the grounds of states rights.

Janet's brother, Dr. Leonard Napolitano, Jr., a widower with a school-aged daughter and son, is a respected engineer at Sandia National Laboratories in California. Janet, who has no children, is particularly close to her niece and nephew.

As Governor of Arizona
"Gov. Janet Napolitano signed six executive orders on the first day of her second term... Fresh off an impressive re-election win in November, the governor seemed ready to spend a little political capital. Among her executive orders, she moved to:

• Formalize the creation of a Growth Cabinet with a mission to work with communities to create a smart-growth plan in the next 120 days. Communities that don't abide by guidelines could be blocked from receiving some state funding for roads and other needs.

• Limit construction-related pollution on state land and bar the use on state property of leaf blowers and gas-powered mowers.

• Implement a three-year plan to improve care in nursing homes and other long-term housing facilities, including ratings of the homes' quality on her Web site by July.

With her other three orders, Napolitano gave the Arizona Department of Transportation 90 days to present a list of mass-transit and rail options, laid out a low-interest financing scheme to provide dollars for water projects and directed the School Facilities Board to issue an Oct. 1 report for the construction of '21st-century schools.' "

---- The Arizona Republic, January 9, 2007

As Chair of the National Governors Association
Innovation America, 2006-07 NGA Chair Initiative

" 'Governors are best-suited to take the lead in promoting innovation," said NGA Chair Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, "but creating an innovative nation will require cooperation between decision makers at the state and federal levels.

Also discussed at the plenary was a legislative proposal that would create a federal framework to assist regions, states, universities and the private sector in working collaboratively to accelerate the rate of U.S. innovation. The proposal focuses on three critical areas:

1. Improving the math and science proficiency of all children in grades K-12 to increase the number and quantity of scientists and engineers who attend and graduate from college.

2. Promoting innovation broadly throughout the state and targeting innovative regions that compete globally.

3. Creating more flexible workforce programs. "