A Guide to the Personal Papers of Mary Margaret Whipple, 1965-2000
A Collection in Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History
Collection number RG 168
Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History
Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History1015 N. Quincy Street
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 228-5966
Email: localhistory@arlingtonva.us
URL: https://library.arlingtonva.us/center-for-local-history/
© 2021 Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History
Heather Crocetto
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Personal Papers of Mary Margaret Whipple, Collection # RG 168, Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History
Acquisition Information
Gift of Thomas Whipple in 2007.
Biographical Information
Mary Margaret Whipple was born in 1940 and moved to Arlington in the early 1960s. She was appointed to the Arlington School Board in 1976 and was chair in 1978-1979. Whipple ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Arlington County Board in 1979, and later was elected to serve on the Board as a Democrat, 1983-1995. Elected as a Democrat to the Virginia State Senate for the 31st District in 1995, she served until 2012, when she retired from the legislature. While serving in Richmond, Whipple was Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus and was the first woman to hold a leadership position in the Virginia General Assembly. Whipple's policy focus concentrated on renewable energy and Virginia's tax system.
Scope and Content
RG 168 houses the personal papers of Mary Margaret Whipple. The collection measures approximately 1.5 linear feet and dates from 1965 through 2000, with the bulk dating from 1978-1982. Types of material include press releases, campaign literature and letters, local issue files, Arlington election results, a periodical, and clippings.
Series 1, Subject Files , largely concerns her unsuccessful County Board campaign and preparation for it, 1978-1979. She and Charles Rinker ran on a platform favoring completion of Metrorail, smart growth, excellent schools, reasonable taxes and fiscal responsibility, and the preservation of apartment communities. Files contain campaign material, letters, and issue background documents. Series 2, Arlington Election Results , concerns Arlington election totals. Series 3 is campaign literature, chiefly from 1982. Series 4 contains copies of The Arlington Way , published by Arlingtonians for a Better County, 1988-1998. Series 5 contains clippings concerning the 1975 Virginia legislative session and political events in 1981 and 1982.
Arrangement
Record Group 168 is organized into five series. Series 1 is arranged alphabetically by subject. Series 2-5 are chiefly arranged chronologically.
Related Material
Other collections containing Whipple campaign material are RG 26, Campaign Literature , and RG 186, McGeargy Campaign Literature Collection . Mary Marshall, a prominent predecessor representing Arlington in House of Delegates, has material in RG 65, Mary Marshall Papers . Whipple's contemporary Charles Rinker has material in RG 323, Rinker Family Papers .
Index Terms
- Arlington (Va.)
- Arlington County (Va.)
- Arlington County (Va.) -- Politics and government.
- Virginia -- Politics and government
- Women -- United States.
Subjects:
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- Arlington (Va.)
- Arlington County (Va.)
Contents List
- Box 1
File 1: Advertisements, [1979]
- Box 1
File 2: Affirmative Action, 1978-1979
- Box 1
File 3: Budget Proposal for Campaign, 1979
- Box 1
File 4: County Board Campaign Coalition, 1977
- Box 1
File 5: "County Board Highlights," 1978-1979
- Box 1
File 6: Democratic Slate, 1979
- Box 1
File 7: Economic Development, 1976-1979
- Box 1
File 8: Elderly, 1979
- Box 1
File 9: Fire Department, 1978-1979
- Box 1
File 10: "Green Thing," 1979
- Box 1
File 11: Grip Card, 1979
- Box 1
File 12: Handouts for Convention, [1979]
- Box 1
File 13: Issues, 1979
- Box 1
File 14: Letter to Democrats, 1979
- Box 1
File 15: Letters, General, 1979
- Box 1
File 16: Master Thoroughfare Plan, 1979
- Box 1
File 17: Meeting Notices, etc., 1979
- Box 1
File 18: Parks, 1979
- Box 1
File 19: Personnel: Department Organization, 1972 1978-1979
- Box 1
File 20: Poll, 1979
- Box 1
File 21: Press Releases, 1979
- Box 1
File 22: Public Works, 1978
- Box 1
File 23: Recreation, 1979
- Box 1
File 24: Resume, [1979]
- Box 1
File 25: Rules for ABC Convention, 1979
- Box 1
File 26: Rules for Democratic Mass Meeting, 1979
- Box 1
File 27: Schools, 1978-1979
- Box 1
File 28: Snow Removal, 1979
- Box 1
File 29: Speeches, [1979]
- Box 1
File 30: Taxation and Assessment, 1979
- Box 1
File 31: Walkways
- Box 1
File 32: Zoning, 1978-1979
- Box 2
File 1: Election Totals, 1920-1980
- Box 2
File 2: Arlington County Candidates Election Totals, 1920-1994
- Box 2
File 3: "Non-Partisans in Arlington," 1972
- Box 2
File 4: Voter Turnout and Precinct Analysis, 1940-1991
- Box 2
File 5: Voter Totals by Precinct, 1965-1973
- Box 2
File 6: Voter Totals by Precinct, 1974-1981
- Box 2
File 7: Voter Totals by Precinct, 1982-1986
- Box 2
File 8: Voter Totals by Precinct, 1987-1990
- Box 2
File 9: Voter Totals by Precinct, 1991-1994
- Box 2
File 10: Voter Totals by Precinct, 1995-1997
- Box 3
File 11: Voter Totals by Precinct, 1998-1999
- Box 3
File 12: Arlington County Registered Voter, 1968-1992
- Box 3
File 1: Whipple Bond, 1982
- Box 3
File 2: Whipple Campaign Literature, 1982
- Box 3
File 3: Other Democratic Campaign Literature, 1982-2000
- Box 3
File 4: Republican Campaign Literature, 1982
- Box 3
File 1: The Arlington Way , November 1988-October 1991
- Box 3
File 2: The Arlington Way , January 1992-November 1998