Jan Backus served as a
Vermont StateThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
Senator representing
Windham County Windham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2000, the population was 44,216. Its shire town is Newfane.-Geography:According to the U.S...
from 1989-1994 and
Chittenden CountyChittenden County (ˈtʃɪʔənˌdən/) is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2000, the population was 146,571, making it the most populous county in the state. Its shire town is Burlington....
from 1997-2000. A community activist, Backus served as a member of the Vermont Southeast Supervisory Union board for many years before making a run for the
Vermont state SenateThe Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The Senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-member districts, three three-member districts, and one...
and winning a seat. She served as chairwoman of the Senate Health & Welfare Committee and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A
moderateIn politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical.Aristotle favoured conciliatory politics dominated by the centre rather than the extremes of great wealth and poverty or the special interests of oligarchs and tyrants.-See also:*Centrism*Disadvantages for...
-to-
liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
, Backus ran for the
U.S. SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
in 1994 and beat
Douglas M. CostleDouglas Michael Costle was born July 27, 1939 in Long Beach, California. Costle was one of the architects of the United States Environmental Protection Agency , and he served President Jimmy Carter as EPA Administrator from 1977 to 1981...
,
Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged to regulate chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land...
administrator under President
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, for her
partyA political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns...
's
nominationNomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
and came within 9 points of ousting
incumbentThe incumbent, in politics, is the holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
U.S.
Jan Backus served as a
Vermont StateThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
Senator representing
Windham County Windham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2000, the population was 44,216. Its shire town is Newfane.-Geography:According to the U.S...
from 1989-1994 and
Chittenden CountyChittenden County (ˈtʃɪʔənˌdən/) is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2000, the population was 146,571, making it the most populous county in the state. Its shire town is Burlington....
from 1997-2000. A community activist, Backus served as a member of the Vermont Southeast Supervisory Union board for many years before making a run for the
Vermont state SenateThe Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The Senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-member districts, three three-member districts, and one...
and winning a seat. She served as chairwoman of the Senate Health & Welfare Committee and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A
moderateIn politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical.Aristotle favoured conciliatory politics dominated by the centre rather than the extremes of great wealth and poverty or the special interests of oligarchs and tyrants.-See also:*Centrism*Disadvantages for...
-to-
liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
, Backus ran for the
U.S. SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
in 1994 and beat
Douglas M. CostleDouglas Michael Costle was born July 27, 1939 in Long Beach, California. Costle was one of the architects of the United States Environmental Protection Agency , and he served President Jimmy Carter as EPA Administrator from 1977 to 1981...
,
Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged to regulate chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land...
administrator under President
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, for her
partyA political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns...
's
nominationNomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
and came within 9 points of ousting
incumbentThe incumbent, in politics, is the holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
U.S. Senator
Jim JeffordsJames Merrill "Jim" Jeffords is a former U.S. Senator from Vermont. He served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become an independent.-Background:...
(
RThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
-
VTThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
). In 2000, she ran again and lost the Democratic U.S. Senate
primaryA primary election , also referred to simply as a primary, is an election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election...
to
Ed FlanaganEdward S. Flanagan, commonly known as Ed Flanagan, is an American politician from Vermont. Since January 2005, he has served as a Vermont State Senator.-Biography:...
, then Vermont's Auditor of Accounts.
Backus lives in
Winooski, VTWinooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, in the United States. Located at the mouth of the Winooski River, as of the 2000 census the city population was 6,561...
with her husband Steve Blodgett (a former State Senator). She currently serves as a member of Winooski's Downtown Revitilization Project to eliminate
sprawlUrban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs over rural land and to its outskirts. The problem of urban sprawl is that it is costly to initiate the development of new infrastructure adequate enough to support its residents...
and attract
jobsEmployment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as: "A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to control and direct...
. She has three daughters, one of whom served as a high-ranking member of
John Kerry'sJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee....
presidential campaignA political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
in 2004.
Backus competes annually in the National Crossword Championship. Her highest finish was 46th.