Whitney Mason
From Usgovsim
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| Appalachia Democratic Leader | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Office: 2008 - Present | ||||
| Constituency | Appalachia | |||
| Preceded by | None | |||
| Succeeded by | ||||
| Born | May 4, 1965 Faith, North Carolina | |||
| Political Party | Democrat | |||
| Spouse | Diana McGillicutty Mason | |||
| Religion | Christian (United Methodist) | |||
Whitney Mason (born May 4, 1965) is Majority Leader of Appalachia and the 2012 Democratic candidate for Governor of Appalachia.
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Early Life
Whitney was born in Faith, North Carolina on May 4, 1965 to Dudley Mason, a trucker, and Lucinda Rossiter Mason, a textile factory worker. Upon his graduation from Salisbury High School in 1983, Whitney attended the Appalachian State University on a basketball scholarship where he majored in Geography, served as President of the College Democrats, and Editor of the Appalachian.
After graduating with honors, Whitney signed on for three years with the Air Force and received a Masters in International Development Policy from Duke University two years after completing his service. While attending Duke, he met a young law student named Diana McGillicutty, who he married three years later.
Public Service
While working towards his Masters, Whitney took a job in the Chapel Hill Town Manager's office where he worked for six years until he ran for a seat on the Chapel Hill Town Council. His son, Sacha (named for Whitney's grandfather), was born three weeks after he was elected to the Town Council where he championed major city revitalization projects and sustainable development standards and was urged to run for a seat in the Appalachia legislature in the middle of his second term by the town's mayor, who had declined to run for the seat.
He was thrice reelected to the legislature before becoming leader of the Democratic Caucus in 2008. His wife gave birth to triplets, Faith, Hope, and Charity, in early 2008 and, in 2010, he led his party to majority status and currently serves as Majority Leader.
In March of 2012, he announced his candidacy for Governor of Appalachia.
Books
Whitney is the author is two books Faith, Family, and Freedom: The Democratic Party's Fight for Rural America (2011) and An American Nightmare: The Tragedy of Our Healthcare System (2012).
Miscellaneous Facts
Whitney is of English and Russian ancestry. His wife, Diana, is of Irish, Italian, and Iranian ancestry.
Whitney speaks fluent Russian and is proficient in Spanish and Italian.
Whitney has been a member of Evergreen United Methodist Church since 1990 and ran the church's food pantry from 1993 until he was elected to the state legislature in 2002.
Whitney is an avid basketball player and spent six years coaching each of the little league basketball teams his son, Sacha, played on.
Whitney is a Benefactor member of the National Rifle Association.
2012 Election
(Will be released in June)
