Terry Van Duyn
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 49th district
In office
April 15, 2014 – January 1, 2021
Preceded byMartin Nesbitt
Succeeded byJulie Mayfield
Personal details
Born (1951-09-21) September 21, 1951
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseTed Van Duyn
Children2
EducationUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BA)
University of Connecticut (MBA)
WebsiteCampaign website

Teresa Van Duyn (born September 21, 1951) is a former Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate. She represented District 49, which encompasses most of Asheville and Buncombe County, North Carolina from 2014 until 2021.

Early life and education

Van Duyn grew up in the Chicago area and attended University of Illinois, where she earned a bachelor's degree in economics. She was the first in her family to earn a college degree. She then earned a Master's of Business Administration from University of Connecticut. Van Duyn is married to Ted Van Duyn, the CEO of GPM Corp. Together they have two children.[1]

Business career

Van Duyn would go on to become a successful businesswoman. Her work with multiple software companies and startups brought her across the country and allowed her to work with some of the world's largest companies.[2]

Political career

After moving to Buncombe County in 1992 and retiring from computer systems analytics, Van Duyn became an active volunteer in several local non-profits and the local Democratic Party.[3] She was appointed to the state Senate in April 2014 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Sen. Martin L. Nesbitt.[4] She won election to a full term in her own right the following November. After the election, she was elected Minority Whip by her colleagues for the 2015-2016 session.[5]

Van Duyn has been awarded numerous honors during her time as a legislator. The Arc of North Carolina named her an Outstanding Legislator, in 2019.[6] During her Freshman year, Van Duyn was awarded the Green-Tie by the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters and named a Rising Star for her 100% record on the environment.[7] And in 2016, Van Duyn was named Legislator of the Year by Equality NC.[8]

Over her time in office, Van Duyn has been a strong advocate for Medicaid Expansion. During a 2019 budget debate, Van Duyn had her microphone turned off by President Pro-Tempore, Senator Phil Berger (R), while running an amendment to include Medicaid Expansion into the state budget.[9] Van Duyn has been vocally pro-choice during her time in office, and has opposed waiting periods for women seeking abortions. In a 2018 interview, Van Duyn was quoted saying 'To suggest to a woman who has made that difficult decision, that she needs to go home and think about it for another three days, especially when you have women for whom that's an economic hardship as well, that's just, it's an abuse of power.'[10]

In December 2018, Van Duyn announced that she plans to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2020, stepping down from her role as Minority Whip to focus on the campaign.[11]

As the former Democratic Whip, Van Duyn is the only candidate to have filed for the office who has served in the state Senate, the body in which the lieutenant governor serves as president, and to have leadership experience in the Democratic Caucus.[12]

Van Duyn enters the race having raised more money than any other candidate for lieutenant governor and having more cash on hand than all announced Democratic Primary candidates combined, as of the latest finance disclosures.[12]

During the 2018 election cycles, Van Duyn partnered with Cooper to win the six seats needed to break the Republican supermajority and was the lead fundraiser for the Senate Democratic Caucus.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Barrett, Mark. "Democrat, Libertarian run in Buncombe's N.C. Senate 49". Asheville Citizen Times. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Stand With Terry Van Duyn for Lieutenant Governor". Vote Van Duyn. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  3. ↑ Frankel, Jake. "Terry Van Duyn announces run for Buncombe County Board of Commissioners". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  4. ↑ Frankel, Jake. "Madam senator: Buncombe Democrats appoint Van Duyn to fill Nesbitt's term". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  5. ↑ WNCN/Associated Press Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Carolina, The Arc of North. "The Arc of North Carolina". The Arc of North Carolina. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  7. ↑ "2015 Green Tie Awards". North Carolina League of Conservation Voters. September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Equality NC Foundation Gala 2016". Equality NC Foundation. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  9. ↑ Baumgartner Vaughn, Dawn (May 30, 2019). "Democrats' attempts to change budget were cut off — along with a microphone". The News&Observer.
  10. ↑ Chemtob, Danielle (January 21, 2018). "45 years after Roe v. Wade, the anti-abortion movement has momentum in NC and nationally". The News&Observer.
  11. ↑ Doran, Will. "Democratic primary already heating up for 2020 lieutenant governor race". newsobserver.com. The Raleigh News & Observer. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 Staff. "Sen. Terry Van Duyn files to run for NC's lieutenant governor". Hendersonville Times-News. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
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