Ed Flanagan (politician)
- For the Roman Catholic priest, see Edward J. Flanagan.
Edward S. Flanagan (born December 18, 1950), commonly known as Ed Flanagan, is an American politician from Vermont. Since January 2005, he has served as a Vermont State Senator.
Flanagan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in history/political science in 1973, and earned a J.D. from Harvard University in 1976. Beginning in 1977, Flanagan served in the Carter Administration as a policy analyst under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Joseph Califano, before returning to the private practice of law in Vermont.
Flanagan served as Vermont's State Auditor from 1993 through 2001, becoming the first openly gay, statewide-elected official in the United States. Flanagan was the Democratic nominee in the U.S. Senate contest in 2000, becoming the first openly gay individual to be nominated by a major party as a candidate for the U.S. Senate. In that election, Flanagan was defeated by incumbent U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords. His U.S. Senate campaign, like many of his campaigns before and since, won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.
In 2004, Flanagan was elected to the Vermont State Senate, representing the Chittenden senate district. He is a resident of Burlington, Vermont.
In November 2005, he was seriously injured in a car accident during a period of particularly bad weather. Having spent six months in hospital, he returned to the statehouse in early May 2006 and expressed his desire to get back to work. On July 8, 2006, Flanagan announced his candidacy for a second term in the Vermont Senate, and was subsequently reelected.
On December 4, 2006 Flanagan had a second car accident when he went off the road on I-89 in Burlington, Vermont. He failed to successfully negotiate the sharp u turn on the on-ramp (Exit 14). Despite his car rolling over he was not seriously harmed. He said he was unsure of exactly what happened, but attributed the crash to his glasses slipping.[1][2]
Ed Flanagan lives with his long-term partner Isaac Lustgarten.
See also
References
- A collection of current Vermont state senator biographies, from the Secretary of State of Vermont
- A news article from the Argus Times
- "Senator announces re-election bid following near-fatal car crash", WCAX_TV July 9, 2006