Pioneers and Public Officials

Anna Machette Branda

First female mayoral candidate in Scranton: Anna Machette Branda, 1906

Mrs. Walter (Rebecca) Hill and Miss Mary E. Fay<br /> Elected to Scranton School Board, 1917
Mrs. Edward (Catherine) Gearhart

In Scranton, women ran for office long before they could participate in elections themselves. Rebecca Hill and Mary Fay were successfully elected to the Scranton School Board in 1917, while Anna Branda's 1906 mayoral campaign and Catherine Gearhart's 1914 city council bid fell short.

Margery Scranton evening coat
Margery Scranton and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

Marion Margery Scranton was a force in Republican politics, moving from suffragist and advocate to national committeewoman.

Campaign ad, Marion L. Munley
Marion Munley donkey pin
Holy Bible

Marion Munley was the first women from Lackawanna County to hold state office; she served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for 18 years.

Trish Corbett campaign hat
Laureen Cummings campaign pin
Hillary Clinton campaign pins
Paige Cognetti campaign mailer

Most recently, women have been elected as judge, Lackawanna County commissioner, and Mayor of Scranton. Even Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential nominee from a major party, can trace her roots to Scranton. 

Pioneers and Public Officials