By Mary Witkowski<\/p>\n
In these days of analyzing confusing elections and examining consequential figures in our past, people who cleared a path for our future stand out. \u00a0Margaret E. Morton<\/strong> had an extraordinary career in Connecticut politics that was sparked by her role in a Bridgeport neighborhood issue. \u00a0In the early 1970\u2019s, she and other East End residents had asked the city to install a stop sign at the site of frequent accidents. Their request was rejected by the city, symptomatic of a growing chasm between white city leaders and East End’s black residents.The East Enders struck back, organizing to support black candidates for elected office. Margaret Morton ran as the Democratic Party\u2019s candidate for a vacant seat in the state House of Representatives in 1972. \u00a0Her victory catapulted Morton into Connecticut history: she was the first African-American woman elected to the General Assembly.<\/p>\n In 1980, Margaret Morton decided to run for the state Senate after the incumbent, a well-known attorney, told her he wouldn\u2019t seek re-election.\u00a0 Margaret Morton later learned that the attorney intended to run and the Democratic Party machinery wanted her to withdraw her name for consideration.\u00a0 “I was told, not asked, to step aside,” she said.<\/p>\n In her interpersonal dealings, Margaret Morton\u2019s soft-spoken and gracious demeanor was in stark contrast to the wise-cracking, cigar chomping political operatives in Bridgeport.\u00a0 Margaret Morton\u2019s rivals may have underestimated her tenacity and organizational skills. \u00a0Among her supporters: newly deputized registrars of voters that enlisted people to register as voters affiliated with the Democratic Party.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 The voter registration drive paid off. \u00a0Margaret Morton beat the attorney by eight votes in a primary election, clearing the way for her to become the first African-American woman in Connecticut\u2019s state Senate. \u00a0She subsequently rose to the rank of Deputy President Pro Tempore, a leadership role she held until she retired from the General Assembly in 1992.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n During her tenure, Margaret Morton championed causes to help impoverished people in the state’s urban areas. \u00a0She supported the adoption of a state income tax, for instance. \u00a0“People continue to talk about cutting spending. When you cut spending in the government you’re cutting people, which in return are services to people,” she said.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0In the Assembly, Morton chaired the committee on Human Rights and Opportunities and rose to the rank of Assistant House Majority Leader.\u00a0 She oversaw the appointment of two African American judges during her years in office.\u00a0 In total, she served four terms as a State Representative and six terms as a State Senator.<\/p>\n Margaret Morton was born in 1924 in Pocahontas, Virginia, to Aaron and Leona (Hurt) Woods. \u00a0She was raised in Bluefield, West Virginia and graduated from high school summa cum laude. [4]<\/a>\u00a0 After marrying James Morton in 1941, the couple moved to Bridgeport, then a vibrant manufacturing center.<\/p>\n The Mortons, who had four children, established and ran Morton\u2019s Mortuary funeral home in Bridgeport\u2019s East End. \u00a0All throughout her political career, she never forgot her roots. \u00a0 Upon being named Deputy President Pro Tempore, \u00a0Morton made the following Statement: \u00a0My grandfather was the child of the master in the slaves and he yearned for education, he longed for education. \u00a0He went as far as he could go in school and he taught.\u00a0 One thing he instilled in his children and he sent them all to normal school in those days which allowed them to become whatever they wanted to become and some were teachers and others entered into other professions. But I think that man is happy today, looking down to see his granddaughter in this position.\u00a0 And my mother is happy and all of you know my mother and you know all about my mother.\u00a0 I know she is happy today. \u00a0And you know what else?\u00a0 I think she believes all the nice things these nice guys said about me.\u00a0 Because she really believed in me. [5]<\/a>\u00a0Margaret Morton died March 10, 2012. \u00a0Fulfilling her grandfather\u2019s dream, Margaret Morton had become a role model for future generations. \u00a0On the day that she would have turned 88, Bridgeport City Hall\u2019s annex was renamed in her honor at a ceremony befitting a trailblazer.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/politics\/1984\/06\/24\/flip-side-of-voter-drives-can-be-polarized-parties\/bb514a93-8dbc-4856-8429-5e307f06ebff\/<\/a><\/p>\n [2]<\/a> http:\/\/www.ct.gov\/sots\/lib\/sots\/registermanual\/2012dedicationweb.pdf<\/p>\n <\/a>\u00a0[3]<\/strong> “Weicker Gets His Income Tax, But Citizens Fight It,” The Christian Science Monitor<\/em><\/strong>, <\/strong><\/a>\u00a008 Oct 1991.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> http:\/\/www.legacy.com\/obituaries\/ctpost\/obituary.aspx?pid=156477743<\/p>\n