109-465: Ayotte is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Kelly Ayotte (born 1968), former United States senator Leo Ayotte (1909–1976), artist Mark Ayotte (born 1964), referee See also [ edit ] Ayotte Drums , drum producer Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England , a 2006 case in the US Supreme Court on
218-576: A 4-D ministerial deferment while living in France as a missionary. He later sought and received two additional student deferments. When those ran out, he drew number 300 in the December 1969 draft lottery , ensuring he would not be drafted. At culturally conservative BYU, Romney remained separated from much of the upheaval of that era. He became president of the Cougar Club booster organization and showed
327-682: A balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and helped pass the Senate's first balanced budget in fourteen years. Ayotte offered a variety of legislation to eliminate wasteful spending and duplicate or unnecessary programs. Ayotte offered the Gender Advancement in Pay Act to implement New Hampshire's equal pay law at the federal level, as explained under in " Labor issues ". Ayotte and Democratic New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen co-sponsored
436-490: A moderate or more neoconservative Republican , Romney was the lone Republican to vote to convict Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial , making him the first senator ever to have voted to remove a president of the same party from office. Romney also voted to convict in Trump's second trial in 2021. He marched alongside Black Lives Matter protestors, voted to confirm both Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson to
545-553: A stake president for an area covering Boston and many of its suburbs. By 1971, he had participated in the political campaigns of both his parents. In 1971, Romney graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Brigham Young University (BYU) and in 1975 he received a JD–MBA degree from Harvard . He became a management consultant and in 1977 joined Bain & Company in Boston . As Bain's chief executive officer (CEO), he helped lead
654-704: A 2005 video came to light, Ayotte said that as a mother and a former prosecutor who had worked with victims, she could no longer vote for Trump, and would write in Mike Pence for president. Ayotte lost the election to Hassan by 1,017 votes. Ayotte was endorsed by the New Hampshire Troopers' Association, the New England Narcotics Enforcement Officers' Association, and the Manchester Police Patrolmen's Association. She
763-568: A 30-month stint in France as a Mormon missionary , a traditional rite of passage in his family. He arrived in Le Havre , where he shared cramped quarters under meager conditions. Rules against drinking, smoking, and dating were strictly enforced. On average, individual Mormon missionaries do not gain many converts and Romney was no exception: he later estimated 10 to 20 for his entire mission. He initially became demoralized and later recalled it as
872-465: A June 1970 newspaper profile of children of cabinet members, Mitt said that U.S. involvement in the war had been misguided – "If it wasn't a political blunder to move into Vietnam, I don't know what is" – but supported Nixon's ongoing Cambodian Incursion as a sincere attempt to end the war. During the U.S. military draft for the Vietnam War, Romney sought and received two 2-S student deferments , then
981-496: A bill to combat pregnancy discrimination in the workplace and ensure expectant mothers can continue working during their pregnancy. She offered and cosponsored legislation to make it easier for employers to offer flex-time to working parents and to expand access to affordable childcare. Ayotte sponsored 217 bills, including: During her time in the Senate, Ayotte received a number of awards for her legislative activity from various civic organizations and interest groups, including
1090-400: A businessman who said he had created 10,000 jobs and as a Washington outsider with a solid family image and moderate stances on social issues. When Kennedy tried to tie Romney's policies to those of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush , Romney responded, "Look, I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to take us back to Reagan-Bush." Romney said, "Ultimately, this
1199-555: A career in business rather than law. He was recruited by several large companies but joined the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reasoning that working as a management consultant for a variety of companies would better prepare him for a future position as a chief executive. Part of a 1970s wave of top graduates who chose to go into consulting rather than join a large company directly, he found his legal and business education useful in his job. He applied BCG principles such as
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#17328520156441308-489: A comprehensive federal strategy to tackle the heroin and prescription opioid abuse epidemic. The bill was structured around prevention, treatment, recovery, and support for first responders. Ayotte also co-sponsored bills to better care for infants born addicted or in withdrawal and help expectant and new mothers struggling with addiction get treatment. She backed successful efforts to better look after kids in schools who are struggling with addiction issues at home and to stop
1417-521: A deal where it profited handsomely from early payments and management fees, even though the subject company itself later went into bankruptcy. Dade Behring was another case where Bain Capital received an eightfold return on its investment but the company itself was saddled with debt and laid off over a thousand employees before Bain Capital exited (the company subsequently went into bankruptcy, with more layoffs, before recovering and prospering). Referring to
1526-401: A few years, the firm considered him one of its best consultants. In fact, clients sometimes preferred to use him rather than more-senior partners. Two family incidents during this time later surfaced during Romney's political campaigns. A state park ranger in 1981 told Romney his motorboat had an insufficiently visible license number and that he would face a $ 50 fine if he took the boat onto
1635-407: A few years. Bain Capital lost money in many of its early leveraged buyouts, but then found deals that made large returns. The firm invested in or acquired Accuride Corporation , Brookstone , Domino's Pizza , Sealy Corporation , Sports Authority , and Artisan Entertainment , as well as some lesser-known companies in the industrial and medical sectors. Much of the firm's profit was earned from
1744-459: A former quarterback for the Chicago Bears . Romney was called "Billy" until kindergarten, when he expressed a preference for "Mitt". In 1953, the family moved from Detroit to the affluent suburb of Bloomfield Hills and his father became the chairman and CEO of American Motors the following year and helped the company avoid bankruptcy and return to profitability. By 1959, his father had become
1853-550: A hands-on role in the Boston Stake's matters, helping in domestic maintenance efforts, visiting the sick, and counseling burdened church members. A number of local church members later credited him with turning their lives around or helping them through difficult times. Others, rankled by his leadership style, desired a more consensus-based approach. Romney tried to balance the conservative directives from church leadership in Utah with
1962-560: A mansion far more comfortable than the accommodations he experienced elsewhere in the country. When the French expressed opposition to the U.S. role in the Vietnam War , Romney debated them. Those who yelled at him and slammed their doors in his face merely reinforced his resolve. In June 1968, while in southern France and driving an automobile that was hit by another vehicle, Romney was seriously injured. The crash killed one of his passengers,
2071-582: A minor's abortion , unconstitutional, and enjoined its enforcement. In 2004, New Hampshire Attorney General Peter Heed appealed the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which affirmed the district court's ruling. In 2004, Ayotte appealed the First Circuit's ruling to the Supreme Court, over the objection of incoming Democratic Governor John Lynch . Ayotte personally argued
2180-527: A moderate Republican. The Lugar Center at Georgetown University ranked Ayotte as the 11th most bipartisan member of the U.S. Senate during the 113th Congress. The American Conservative Union gave her a 64% lifetime score and the progressive Americans for Democratic Action gave her a 35% score; the nonpartisan National Journal gave her a composite score of 67% conservative and 33% liberal based on her voting record. During her gubernatorial campaign, Ayotte expressed fiscally conservative positions, using
2289-517: A mom … all of these things broaden the Republican party's appeal and say to different segments of the population, 'This party has folks in it that are just like you.'" In 2016, Ayotte ran for reelection to the U.S. Senate against Maggie Hassan , New Hampshire's sitting governor. In February 2016, the Koch Brothers -linked conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity announced that Ayotte
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#17328520156442398-567: A nationally known figure in print and on television, and Mitt idolized him. Romney attended public elementary schools until seventh grade, when he enrolled as one of only a few Mormon students at Cranbrook School , a private upscale boys' preparatory school a few miles from his home. Many students there came from backgrounds even more privileged than his. Not particularly athletic, he also did not distinguish himself academically. He participated in his father's successful 1962 Michigan gubernatorial campaign , and later worked as an intern in
2507-480: A nearly sevenfold return on its investment, and Romney sat on Staples's board of directors for over a decade. Romney soon switched Bain Capital's focus from startups to the relatively new business of leveraged buyouts : buying existing companies with money mostly borrowed from banking institutions using the newly bought companies' assets as collateral, taking steps to improve the companies' value, and then selling those companies when their value peaked, usually within
2616-644: A new challenge, as well as another chance to prove himself in public life, he did. On February 11, 1999, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002 hired Romney as its president and CEO. Before Romney took over, the event was $ 379 million short of its revenue goals. Officials had made plans to scale back the Games to compensate for the fiscal crisis, and there were fears it might be moved away entirely. In addition,
2725-451: A newfound discipline in his studies. During his senior year, he took a leave of absence to work as driver and advance man for his mother's unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign; together, they visited all 83 Michigan counties . Romney graduated from BYU in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a 3.97 GPA . He gave commencement addresses to both the College of Humanities and
2834-446: A political figure who had opposed Kennedy, he would become a focal point for opposition to the structure. He thus kept to a limited, behind-the-scenes role in attempts to ease tensions between the church and local residents. In 1998, Ann Romney learned that she had multiple sclerosis ; Mitt described watching her fail a series of neurological tests as the worst day of his life. After experiencing two years of severe difficulties with
2943-444: A relatively small number of deals; Bain Capital's overall success-to-failure ratio was about even. Romney discovered few investment opportunities himself (and those that he did often failed to make money for the firm). Instead, he focused on analyzing the merits of possible deals that others brought forward and on recruiting investors to participate in them once approved. At Bain Capital, Romney spread profits from deals widely within
3052-498: A result of his experience there, Romney developed a lifelong affection for France and its people, and has remained fluent in French. At their first meeting following his return, Romney and Ann Davies reconnected and decided to get married. Before their wedding, Romney moved to Utah and enrolled at Brigham Young University , where Ann had been studying. They married on March 21, 1969, in a civil ceremony in Bloomfield Hills and
3161-446: A result, he enrolled in the recently created four-year joint Juris Doctor / Master of Business Administration program coordinated between Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School . He readily adapted to the business school's pragmatic, data-driven case study method of teaching . Living in a Belmont, Massachusetts , house with Ann and their two children, his social experience differed from that of most of his classmates. He
3270-522: A studio that produced R-rated films . Romney served on the board of directors of Damon Corporation, a medical testing company later found guilty of defrauding the government; Bain Capital tripled its investment before selling off the company, and the fraud was discovered by the new owners (Romney was never implicated). In some cases, Romney had little involvement with a company once Bain Capital acquired it. Bain Capital's leveraged buyouts sometimes led to layoffs, either soon after acquisition or later after
3379-465: A successful stint as president and CEO of the then-struggling Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics led to a relaunch of his political career. Elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002 , Romney helped develop and later signed a health care reform law (commonly called "Romneycare") that provided near-universal health insurance access through state-level subsidies and individual mandates to purchase insurance . He also presided over
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3488-484: A symbolic salary of one dollar (remaining managing general partner of Bain Capital during this time). He oversaw an effort to restructure Bain & Company's employee stock-ownership plan and real-estate deals, while rallying the firm's 1,000 employees, imposing a new governing structure that excluded Bain and the other founding partners from control, and increasing fiscal transparency. He got Bain and other initial owners who had removed excessive amounts of money from
3597-437: A system in which any partner could veto one of these potential opportunities, and he personally saw so many weaknesses that few venture capital investments were approved in the initial two years. The firm's first significant success was a 1986 investment to help start Staples Inc. , after founder Thomas G. Stemberg convinced Romney of the market size for office supplies and Romney convinced others; Bain Capital eventually reaped
3706-457: A team to handle financial and management issues, sought to counter anti-Mormon sentiment, and tried to solve social problems among poor Southeast Asian converts. An unpaid position, his local church leadership often took 30 or more hours a week of his time, and he became known for his considerable energy in the role. He also earned a reputation for avoiding any overnight travel that might interfere with his church responsibilities. Romney took
3815-424: A vocal critic of the practice of sanctuary cities and voted to withhold federal funding from municipalities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials. She also announced in a debate that she supports a task force to patrol the northern US-Canada border. Mitt Romney [REDACTED] Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as
3924-489: Is a campaign about change." Romney's campaign was effective in portraying Kennedy as soft on crime but had trouble establishing its own consistent positions. By mid-September 1994, polls showed the race about even. Kennedy responded with a series of ads that focused on Romney's seemingly shifting political views on issues such as abortion; Romney responded, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country." Other Kennedy ads centered on layoffs of workers at
4033-747: Is a graduate of Nashua High School , Pennsylvania State University and Villanova University School of Law . She worked as a law clerk for the New Hampshire Supreme Court before entering private practice. She served as a prosecutor for the New Hampshire Department of Justice , and briefly served as the legal counsel to New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson , before returning to the Department of Justice to serve as Deputy Attorney General of New Hampshire. In 2004, Governor Benson appointed Ayotte as Attorney General of New Hampshire following
4142-708: Is also strongly opposed to further rounds of the base realignment and closing commission. Ayotte included provisions in the Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 to allow New Hampshire veterans to receive medical care closer to home. She was the only member of the New Hampshire delegation to vote against a budget proposal the singled out veterans' benefits for cuts. She has offered and cosponsored legislation to give veterans access to cutting edge prosthetics, strengthen mental health services for veterans and their families, and improve
4251-579: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Kelly Ayotte Kelly Ann Ayotte ( / ˈ eɪ ɒ t / AY -ott ; born June 27, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who is the governor-elect of New Hampshire . A member of the Republican Party , she previously served as a United States senator from New Hampshire from 2011 to 2017 and as New Hampshire Attorney General from 2004 to 2009. Born in Nashua, New Hampshire , Ayotte
4360-485: The 1992 presidential primaries for the Democratic former senator from Massachusetts, Paul Tsongas . By 1993, Romney had begun thinking about entering politics, partly on Ann's urging and also to follow in his father's footsteps. He decided to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy , who was seeking reelection to a sixth term. Political pundits viewed Kennedy as vulnerable that year, in part because of
4469-436: The 2012 presidential election , becoming the first LDS Church member to be a major party 's nominee. He lost the election to President Barack Obama . After reestablishing residency in Utah, Romney ran for U.S. Senate in 2018 . When Romney won the Republican nomination and general election, he became the first person in modern American history to be elected governor and U.S. senator of different states. Generally considered
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4578-710: The Environmental Law Journal . Ayotte clerked for Sherman D. Horton, associate justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court , for one year. From 1994 to 1998, she was an associate at McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, a Manchester law firm. In 1998, Ayotte joined the office of the New Hampshire Attorney General as a prosecutor. In 2001, she married Joseph Daley, a pilot in the National Guard. In 2003, Ayotte became legal counsel to Governor Craig Benson . Three months later, she returned to
4687-617: The Iran nuclear deal , saying that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. She proposed strict new sanctions on Iran. Ayotte was critical of the Obama administration's response to ISIS , and called for increased airstrikes against ISIS. Ayotte was one of four senators, two Republicans and two Democrats, who introduced the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, federal legislation to support local solutions and implement
4796-728: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's proposal to pass significant at-sea monitoring costs to New Hampshire's fishermen and brought NOAA officials to New Hampshire to hear from fishermen impacted. NOAA later backed off from the proposal. Ayotte served on the Senate Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees , and was widely regarded as a leader on national security and foreign policy. Ayotte led legislative efforts to keep suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay rather than closing that base and transferring them to U.S. soil. She has been an outspoken critic of
4905-874: The National Retail Federation , CCAGW PAC , the AARP , Save the Children , the New Hampshire Veterans of Foreign Wars , the National Association of Police Organizations , and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy . Ayotte has been named to several corporate boards of directors, including Caterpillar Inc. , News Corp. , BAE Systems , Boston Properties , Blink Health , Bloom Energy , and Blackstone Group . After Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire announced he would be retiring at
5014-537: The Supreme Court , supported gun control measures, and did not vote for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. He has long been hawkish on issues such as Iran , China , and Russia , and is one of Israel 's staunchest supporters in Congress. He has been accused by Trump loyalists of being a Republican In Name Only . In 2023, Romney announced he would not run for reelection in 2024 and would retire from
5123-585: The United States Supreme Court , the Trump administration chose Ayotte to lead the White House team escorting the nominee to meetings and hearings on Capitol Hill. Ayotte was elected governor of New Hampshire in 2024 , defeating Democratic nominee Joyce Craig . She is the third woman to be elected as the State’s Governor, and is expected to assume office on January 8, 2025. Kelly Ann Ayotte
5232-456: The growth-share matrix , and executives viewed him as having a bright future there. At BCG, he was a colleague of Benjamin Netanyahu , with whom he formed a friendship that has lasted for more than 40 years. In 1977, he was hired by Bain & Company , a management consulting firm in Boston formed a few years earlier by Bill Bain and several other ex-BCG employees. Bain later said of
5341-503: The 1965–1966 academic year. He was not part of the counterculture of the 1960s then taking form in the San Francisco Bay Area . As opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War grew, a group staged a May 1966 sit-in at Stanford's administration building to demonstrate against draft status tests; Romney joined a counterprotest against that group. He continued to enjoy occasional pranks. In July 1966, he began
5450-621: The 2006 murder of Manchester police officer Michael Briggs in the line of duty. It resulted in a conviction and death penalty sentence. Members of Briggs's family praised her leadership in television ads for her 2010 Senate campaign. In 2003, the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire found the Parental Notification Prior to Abortion Act, a New Hampshire law requiring parental notification of
5559-553: The 30-year-old Romney, "He had the appearance of confidence of a guy who was maybe ten years older." Unlike other consulting firms, which issued recommendations and then departed, Bain & Company immersed itself in a client's businesses and worked with them until changes were implemented. Romney became a vice president of the firm in 1978, working with such clients as the Monsanto Company , Outboard Marine Corporation , Burlington Industries , and Corning Incorporated . Within
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#17328520156445668-455: The Ampad plant owned by Bain Capital. The latter was effective in blunting Romney's momentum. Kennedy and Romney held a widely watched late October debate that had no clear winner, but by then, Kennedy had pulled ahead in polls and remained so. Romney spent $ 3 million of his own money on the race and more than $ 7 million overall. Despite a disastrous showing for Democrats nationwide , Kennedy won
5777-652: The Attorney General's office as Deputy Attorney General. In June 2004, Governor Benson appointed Ayotte as Attorney General of the State of New Hampshire after Peter Heed resigned. Ayotte had both of her children while serving as the first and only female New Hampshire Attorney General. Ayotte joined Attorneys General from eight other states to sue federal regulators over a rules change that made clean air emissions standards for power plants less strict and eliminated clean air reporting and monitoring requirements. In 2005,
5886-529: The Games' image had been damaged by allegations of bribery against top officials including prior committee president and CEO Frank Joklik. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee forced Joklik and committee vice president Dave Johnson to resign. Utah power brokers, including Governor Mike Leavitt , searched for someone with a scandal-free reputation to take charge of the Olympics. They chose Romney based on his business and legal expertise as well as his connections to both
5995-459: The Games's safety after the September 11 attacks by coordinating a $ 300 million security budget. He oversaw a $ 1.32 billion budget, 700 employees, and 26,000 volunteers. The federal government provided approximately $ 400 million to $ 600 million of that budget, much of it a result of Romney's having aggressively lobbied Congress and federal agencies. It was a record level of federal funding for
6104-698: The Institute as a senator to talk to political science students. On May 28, 2013, Ayotte attended a forum at Saint Anselm College to explain the Never Contract With the Enemy Act (S. 675), which she co-sponsored with Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). She was accompanied by Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen . They addressed military contractor fraud and how to prevent funds paid to military contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq from winding up in
6213-619: The LDS Church and the state. The appointment faced some initial criticism from both non-Mormons and Mormons that it represented cronyism and made the Games seem too Mormon-dominated. Romney donated to charity the $ 1.4 million in salary and severance payments he received for his three years as president and CEO, and also donated $ 1 million to the Olympics. Romney restructured the organization's leadership and policies. He reduced budgets and boosted fundraising, alleviating corporate sponsors' concerns while recruiting new ones. Romney worked to ensure
6322-473: The LDS Church, he is a great-grandson of Miles Park Romney and a great-great-grandson of Miles Romney , who converted to Mormonism in its first decade. Another great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt , helped lead the early church . Romney has three older siblings: Margo, Jane, and Scott. Mitt was the youngest by nearly six years. His parents named him after a family friend, businessman J. Willard Marriott , and his father's cousin, Milton "Mitt" Romney ,
6431-715: The New Hampshire legislature, mooting the need for a rehearing by the district court. In 2008, Planned Parenthood sued to recover its attorney fees and court costs from the New Hampshire Department of Justice. In 2009, Ayotte, as attorney general, authorized a payment of $ 300,000 to Planned Parenthood to settle the suit. Ayotte served as a board member of the Public Advisory Board at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College while Attorney General. In March 2011 she returned to
6540-593: The Republican nomination for the Senate seat, but Romney proved the most effective fundraiser. He won 68% of the vote at the May 1994 Massachusetts Republican Party convention; businessman John Lakian finished a distant second, eliminating Jeghelian. Romney defeated Lakian in the September 1994 primary with more than 80% of the vote. In the general election, Kennedy faced the first serious reelection challenge of his career. The younger, telegenic, and well-funded Romney ran as
6649-495: The Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. She then defeated Democratic congressman Paul Hodes in the general election with 60 percent of the vote. Ayotte was mentioned as a possible running mate for Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election . In 2016 , Ayotte was defeated in her bid for reelection by Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan by a very narrow margin of 1,017 votes (0.14 percent). After President Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to
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#17328520156446758-623: The Senate when his term expires in 2025. Willard Mitt Romney was born on March 12, 1947, at Harper University Hospital in Detroit , Michigan, one of four children born to automobile executive George W. Romney and former actress and homemaker Lenore Romney (née LaFount). His mother was a native of Logan, Utah , and his father was born to American parents in a Mormon colony in Chihuahua , Mexico. Of primarily English descent, he also has Scottish and German ancestry. A fifth-generation member of
6867-422: The advice of Bain Capital lawyers, Romney met the strikers, but told them he had no position of active authority in the matter. By 1999, Bain Capital was on its way to becoming one of the foremost private equity firms in the nation, having increased its number of partners from 5 to 18, with 115 employees and $ 4 billion under management. The firm's average annual internal rate of return on realized investments
6976-543: The board of the Points of Light Foundation , which had embraced his father's National Volunteer Center . Romney felt restless as the decade neared a close; making more money held little attraction for him. Although no longer in a local leadership position in his church, he still taught Sunday School . During the long and controversial approval and construction process for the $ 30-million Mormon temple in Belmont , he feared that, as
7085-399: The case before the Supreme Court . The Supreme Court unanimously vacated the district court's ruling and remanded the case back to the district court, holding that it was improper for the district court to invalidate the statute completely instead of just severing the problematic portions of the statute or enjoining the statute's unconstitutional applications. In 2007, the law was repealed by
7194-526: The church's local lay clergy . In the early 1970s, he served in a ward bishopric. He then served for a time as a seminary teacher and then as a member of the stake high council of the Boston Stake while Richard L. Bushman was stake president. In 1977, he became a counselor to the president of the Boston Stake. He served as bishop of the ward at Belmont, Massachusetts, from 1981 to 1986. As such, in addition to home teaching , he also formulated Sunday services and classes using LDS scriptures to guide
7303-457: The committee had nearly $ 1 billion in committed revenues at that time. Olympics critic Steve Pace, who led Utahns for Responsible Public Spending, thought Romney exaggerated the initial fiscal state to lay the groundwork for a well-publicized rescue. Kenneth Bullock, another board member of the organizing committee and also head of the Utah League of Cities and Towns , often clashed with Romney at
7412-522: The company out of a financial crisis. In 1984, he co-founded and led the spin-off company Bain Capital , a private equity investment firm that became one of the largest of its kind in the nation. After stepping down from his positions at Bain Capital and in the LDS Church, Romney ran as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts in 1994 and lost to the incumbent, Ted Kennedy . He then resumed his position at Bain Capital. Years later,
7521-469: The congregation. After the destruction of the Belmont meetinghouse by a fire of suspicious origins in 1984, he forged links with other religious institutions, allowing the congregation to rotate its meetings to other houses of worship during the reconstruction of the Belmont building. From 1986 to 1994, Romney was president of the Boston Stake, which included more than a dozen wards in eastern Massachusetts and almost 4,000 church members. He organized
7630-536: The court agreed with Ayotte and the others that the Environmental Protection Agency must measure changes in the emissions from power plants and could not exempt power plants from reporting their emissions. As assistant attorney general, Ayotte prosecuted two defendants for the 2001 Dartmouth College murders in Etna, New Hampshire . As attorney general, Ayotte prosecuted the high-profile case surrounding
7739-551: The desire of some Massachusetts members to have a more flexible application of religious doctrine. He agreed with some requests from a liberal women's group that published Exponent II calling for changes in the way the church dealt with women, but he clashed with women he felt were departing too much from doctrine. In particular, he counseled women not to have abortions except in the rare cases allowed by LDS doctrine and encouraged unmarried women facing unplanned pregnancies to give their babies up for adoption. Romney later said that
7848-561: The disease, she found – while living in Park City , Utah, where the couple had built a vacation home – a combination of mainstream, alternative, and equestrian therapies that enabled her to lead a lifestyle mostly without limitations. When her husband received a job offer to take over the troubled organization responsible for the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics , to be held in Salt Lake City in Utah, she urged him to accept it; eager for
7957-425: The dog suffered a bout of diarrhea. The dog incident in particular later became fodder for Romney's critics and political opponents. In 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found and lead the spin-off private equity investment firm Bain Capital. He initially refrained from accepting Bill Bain's offer to head the new venture until Bain rearranged the terms in a complicated partnership structure so that there
8066-461: The election with 58% of the vote to Romney's 41%, the smallest margin in any of Kennedy's reelection campaigns for the Senate. The day after the election, Romney returned to Bain Capital, but the loss had a lasting effect; he told his brother, "I never want to run for something again unless I can win." When his father died in 1995, Mitt donated his inheritance to BYU's George W. Romney Institute of Public Management . He also became vice-chair of
8175-488: The election. She endorsed Trump's 2024 presidential bid. Ayotte voted for the comprehensive immigration reform bill (the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 ) brought forward by the bipartisan Gang of Eight , calling it a "a thoughtful, bipartisan solution to a tough problem." In 2024, Ayotte retracted that support for a pathway to citizenship for immigrants. She has been
8284-410: The elimination of a projected $ 1.2–1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and closing corporate tax loopholes . He did not seek reelection in 2006 , instead focusing on his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential election , which he lost to Senator John McCain . Romney ran for president again four years later and was the Republican nominee in
8393-410: The end of his term in 2024, Ayotte announced her intention to run for governor. Throughout the race, the election was considered a tossup, as neither Ayotte or her Democratic opponent Joyce Craig had a clear lead in polling. However, the race ended up not being the hyper competitive contest that many predicted, as Ayotte ended up winning with around 53.6% of the vote. During her U.S. Senate term, Ayotte
8502-416: The firm concluded in early 2002; he transferred his ownership to other partners and negotiated an agreement that allowed him to receive a share of the profits as a retired partner in some Bain Capital entities, including buyout and investment funds. The private equity business continued to thrive, earning him millions of dollars in annual income. During his business career, Romney held several positions in
8611-441: The firm had concluded its role. Exactly how many jobs Bain Capital added compared to those lost because of these investments and buyouts is unknown, owing to a lack of records and Bain Capital's penchant for privacy for itself and its investors. Maximizing the value of acquired companies and the return to Bain's investors, not job creation, was the firm's primary investment goal. Bain Capital's acquisition of Ampad exemplified
8720-489: The firm to keep people motivated, often keeping less than 10% for himself. Data-driven, he often played the role of a devil's advocate during exhaustive analysis of whether to go forward with a deal. He wanted to drop a Bain Capital hedge fund that initially lost money, but other partners disagreed with him and it eventually made billions. He opted out of the Artisan Entertainment deal, not wanting to profit from
8829-652: The firm to return substantial amounts, and persuaded creditors, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation , to accept less than full payment. Within about a year, he led Bain & Company to a return to profitability. He then turned it over to new leadership and returned to Bain Capital in December 1992. Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital from November 1993 to November 1994 to run for U.S. Senate. During that time, Ampad workers went on strike and asked Romney to intervene. Against
8938-439: The firm, and conducting prolonged negotiations for the terms of his departure. He did not involve himself in the firm's day-to-day operations or the investment decisions of its new private equity funds. He retained his position on several boards of directors during this time and regularly returned to Massachusetts to attend meetings. In August 2001, Romney announced that he would not return to Bain Capital. His separation from
9047-536: The flow of drugs across the southern border. Ayotte was a vocal proponent of reauthorizing the Perkins Loan program, as she argued roughly 5,000 New Hampshire students relied on it. Ayotte routinely included provisions in annual defense authorization bills that supported the work being done at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , Pease Air National Guard Base , and by the New Hampshire National Guard . She
9156-583: The governor's office. Romney took up residence at Cranbrook when his newly elected father began spending most of his time at the state capitol . At Cranbrook, Romney helped manage the ice hockey team, and joined the pep squad . During his senior year, he joined the cross country running team. He belonged to 11 school organizations and school clubs , including the Blue Key Club, a booster group he had started. During his final year there, his academic record improved but fell short of excellence. Romney
9265-479: The hands of parties hostile to the United States. Ayotte resigned as attorney general on July 7, 2009, to explore a run for U.S. Senate in 2010 . The crowded Republican primary field included former congressional and gubernatorial candidate Ovide M. Lamontagne , businessman and owner of NH1 News William Harrison Binnie , and State Representative Tom Alciere . Ayotte had never run for office, but narrowly won
9374-644: The junior United States senator from Utah since 2019. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and was the Republican Party 's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 election . Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan , he spent over two years in France as a Mormon missionary . He married Ann Davies in 1969; they have five sons. Active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) throughout his adult life, Romney served as bishop of his ward and later as
9483-403: The lake. Disagreeing about the license and wanting to continue a family outing, Romney took it out anyway, saying he would pay the fine. The ranger arrested him for disorderly conduct . The charges were dropped several days later. In 1983, on a 12-hour family road trip, he placed the family's dog in a windshield-equipped carrier on the roof of their car , and then washed the car and carrier after
9592-490: The layoffs that sometimes occurred, Romney said in 2007: "Sometimes the medicine is a little bitter but it is necessary to save the life of the patient. My job was to try and make the enterprise successful, and in my view the best security a family can have is that the business they work for is strong." In 1990, facing financial collapse, Bain & Company asked Romney to return. Announced as its new CEO in January 1991, he drew
9701-682: The next day, they flew to Utah for a Mormon wedding ceremony at the Salt Lake Temple ; Ann had converted to the faith while he was away. Romney had missed much of the tumultuous anti-Vietnam War movement in America while in France. Upon his return, he was surprised to learn that his father had joined that movement during his unsuccessful 1968 presidential campaign . George was now serving in President Richard Nixon's cabinet as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development . In
9810-559: The only time when "most of what I was trying to do was rejected." Romney soon gained recognition within the mission for the many homes he called on and the repeat visits he was granted. He became a zone leader in Bordeaux in early 1968, and soon thereafter became an assistant to the mission president in Paris. While in Paris, Romney resided at the Mission Home for several months, and enjoyed
9919-446: The primary election on September 14, 2010. In the general election, Ayotte defeated Democratic nominee U.S. Representative Paul Hodes , by a vote of 273,218 (60%) to 167,545 (37%). Ayotte was endorsed by John McCain , Sarah Palin , John Thune , Tom Coburn , Mitt Romney , Tim Pawlenty , Haley Barbour , and Rick Santorum . According to one senior GOP aide, "The addition of a Republican woman from New England who's young, who's
10028-429: The resignation of Peter Heed . She became the first and only woman to serve as New Hampshire's Attorney General. She was twice reappointed by Democratic Governor John Lynch . Ayotte resigned from her position as Attorney General in 2009 to pursue a bid for the U.S. Senate, after three-term incumbent Judd Gregg announced his retirement. In September 2010, Ayotte won a close victory over lawyer Ovide M. Lamontagne in
10137-474: The slogan "Don't Mass it up" to contrast her views "against more liberal Massachusetts to the south." She identified herself as a "strong conservative" while adding she would continue Chris Sununu's legacy. Addressing voters after her successful election for Governor, she told voters who did not vote for her that she would be open to bipartisan cooperation. Ayotte initially backed Donald Trump 's 2016 presidential bid before rescinding her endorsement prior to
10246-461: The staging of a U.S. Olympics. An additional $ 1.1 billion of indirect federal funding came to the state in the form of highway and transit projects. Romney emerged as the local public face of the Olympic effort, appearing in photographs, in news stories, on collectible Olympics pins depicting him wrapped by an American flag, and on buttons carrying phrases like "Hey, Mitt, we love you!" Organizing committee chair Robert H. Garff later said, "It
10355-494: The subject of abortion [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with the surname Ayotte . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ayotte&oldid=970695517 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
10464-540: The support system for military families. Ayotte supported tax reform to simplify the tax code and lower rates. She has said she believes it would help bring back trillions of dollars parked overseas. In December 2015, Ayotte voted to suspend the Medical Device Tax, which she says threatens nearly 3,500 manufacturing jobs in New Hampshire. She is also a leading opponent of the Internet sales tax. Ayotte supported
10573-801: The unpopularity of the Democratic Congress as a whole, and in part because this was Kennedy's first election since the William Kennedy Smith trial in Florida, in which Kennedy's reputation had suffered. Romney changed his affiliation to Republican in October 1993 and formally announced his candidacy in February 1994. In addition to his leave from Bain Capital , Romney also stepped down from his church leadership role in 1994. Radio personality Janet Jeghelian took an early lead in polls among candidates for
10682-460: The whole of BYU. The Romneys' first son, Taggart , was born in 1970 while they were undergraduates at BYU and living in a basement apartment . Their son Matthew was born in 1971 and Joshua in 1975. Benjamin (1978) and Craig (1981) were born after Romney had begun his career. Romney wanted to pursue a business career, but his father advised him that a law degree ( Juris Doctor ) would be valuable to his career even if he never practiced law. As
10791-453: The wife of the mission president. Romney then became co-president of a mission that had become demoralized and disorganized after the May 1968 general strike and student uprisings and the car accident. With Romney rallying the others, the mission met its goal of 200 baptisms for the year, the most in a decade. By the end of his stint in December 1968, he was overseeing the work of 175 others. As
10900-418: The years spent as an LDS minister gave him direct exposure to people struggling financially and empathy for those with family problems. For much of his business career, Romney did not take public political stances. He had kept abreast of national politics since college, and the circumstances of his father's presidential campaign loss had irked him for decades. He registered as an Independent and voted in
11009-487: Was 113% and its average yearly return to investors was around 50–80%. Starting in February 1999, Romney took a paid leave of absence from Bain Capital in order to serve as the president and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee . Billed in some public statements as keeping a part-time role, Romney remained the firm's sole shareholder, managing director, CEO, and president, signing corporate and legal documents, attending to his interests within
11118-864: Was also endorsed by the New Hampshire Union Leader , the Nashua Telegraph , the Caledonian-Record , and the Portsmouth Herald . The Herald endorsement was notable as it had endorsed Ayotte's opponent, Maggie Hassan , in Hassan's prior runs for office. She helped include provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act to boost STEM education , particularly among girls and underrepresented minorities, and to support career and technical education in schools. Ayotte strongly opposed
11227-534: Was born in Nashua , New Hampshire , on June 27, 1968, the daughter of Kathleen M. (née Sullivan) and Marc Frederick Ayotte. Her father's family is of French–Canadian descent. Ayotte attended Nashua High School and received a B.A. from Pennsylvania State University in political science. While at Penn State, she was initiated into the Delta Gamma sorority. In 1993, Ayotte received a J.D. from Villanova University School of Law , where she had served as editor of
11336-501: Was described as both a conservative Republican and a centrist. After her 2010 election, the Associated Press referred to Ayotte as "a conservative Republican", and two years later NBC News described her "unique identity in the Senate as a Northeastern conservative Republican woman." She demonstrated centrist tendencies in her voting record, including working with Democrats on some issues. The New York Times described her as
11445-464: Was involved in several pranks while attending Cranbrook. He has since apologized for them, stating that some of them may have gone too far. In March of his senior year, he began dating Ann Davies ; she attended the private Kingswood School , Cranbrook's sister school. The two became informally engaged around the time he graduated from high school in June 1965. Romney attended Stanford University during
11554-411: Was no financial or professional risk to Romney. Bain and Romney raised the $ 37 million needed to start the new operation, which had seven employees. Romney held the titles of president and managing general partner. Though he was the sole shareholder of the firm, publications also called him managing director or CEO. Initially, Bain Capital focused on venture capital investments. Romney set up
11663-475: Was nonideological and did not involve himself in the political issues of the day. Romney graduated from Harvard in 1975. He was named a Baker Scholar for graduating in the top 5% of his business school class and received his Juris Doctor degree cum laude for ranking in the top third of his law school class. After receiving his JD–MBA from Harvard, Romney passed the Michigan bar exam but decided to pursue
11772-450: Was obvious that he had an agenda larger than just the Olympics", and that Romney wanted to use the Olympics to propel himself into the national spotlight and a political career. Garff believed the initial budget situation was not as bad as Romney portrayed, given there were still three years to reorganize. Utah Senator Bob Bennett said that much of the needed federal money was already in place. A Boston Globe analysis later found that
11881-471: Was the lone vulnerable Republican U.S. Senator the group would not be supporting in 2016, due to Ayotte's support for the Clean Power Plan to combat climate change . On May 4, 2016, an Ayotte spokeswoman said Ayotte "intends to support the Republican nominee" for U.S. president but did not plan to make an endorsement. In October 2016, after lewd sexual comments Republican nominee Donald Trump made in
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