Dorothy Ann Evans
VP candidate for Independent (1980)
Running mate with nominee: Betty Jean Coyle (1933-2003)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Betty Jean Coyle, a single mother of five in Rowlett, Tex. and a former executive secretary who in 1980 was a producer of beauty pageants for children set her sights on the White House running as an independent. Her running mate was Dorothy Ann Evans of Phoenix, Ariz., the mother of three.
"I am filled with a patriotic spirit," she said in explaining her motives, "and what this country needs is more of that. I told myself, 'Jean, if you are not going to do it, then who is?' So I decided to do it."
Her slogans included: "It's time for a lady in 1980," "Put manners, morality and motherhood back in America," and "America First with mother power."
Although highlighting the strength of her gender, she was not exactly a feminist. In defending herself against criticism of being involved in beauty pageants she said, "Of course, the feminists do criticize this kind of thing but I believe that women were made to be women and men were made to be men and they should appreciate each other."
Coyle on other issues:
You cannot make enemies of Congress or the media. And I would try to keep from becoming paranoid - up to now creeping paranoia seems to go along with the job.
I'm most interested in the effects that the environmentalists have in holding back the country to a great degree. I would like to support all the Western states and Alaska where the governors are asking government to turn loose of federal lands so they can get on with the business of producing oil and gas in those lands that are tied up ...
There should be no energy crisis, with our vast resources, but the government is now responsible for what we are now experiencing. They should give back all that federal land in the west and Alaska so we can get the coal and gas, and be less strict about strip mining.
Some of our schools create only chaos. There should be more public control by parents over the schools; we should determine if the teachers are teaching and if they are teaching the right things ... When you lose control over your schools, you lose control of your country.
I don't have much background in foreign policy, but then we don't have much of a foreign policy now anyway. Right now our foreign policy is handling us.
Money to men means power, but a woman knows the value of money and will stretch a dollar to the limit.
Even though she had a running mate and couple nationally distributed media articles as well as an appearance on Tom Snyder's Tomorrow show, Coyle kept saying she had yet to make a "formal" announcement of her candidacy. Her campaign vanished from sight in early 1980.
In some ways Coyle anticipated Sarah Palin.
For the time being Dorothy Ann Evans remains one of our mystery third party VPs.
Election history: ?
Other occupations: ?
Buried: ?
Notes:
She could possibly be the same Dorothy Ann Evans of Phoenix who lived from June 10, 1938 to March 10, 2010, but I cannot verify that.
