Pregnant woman becomes a Massachusetts governor

Republican Jane Swift became Massachusetts' first female governor on Tuesday, replacing Paul Cellucci, who resigned to become U.S. ambassador to Canada. Swift, now 36, was just another bright-eyed Statehouse aide when she launched a long-shot bid for the state Senate and, at 25, became the youngest women ever in the Senate. After an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1996, Swift was tapped by Cellucci as his running mate in 1998. During her campaign for lieutenant governor, Swift made national news when she announced she was pregnant with her first child. In office, controversy surrounded her when she used her staff to baby-sit for her daughter for free and for having a state helicopter take her to her home in North Adams for Thanksgiving. The ethics commission ruled she had created an appearance of impropriety with the baby-sitting incident and fined her $1,250. Initially, she refused to apologise, saying she did nothing wrong, and was criticised for what some saw as her arrogant response. She later apologised. She has not yet said whether she will run for a full term as governor in 2002, CNN reports. Many people wonder how she is going to combine politician’s career with mother’s duties. She has already said that her husband will run the house and to care about children.