Early Life, Education, and Early Political Career
Cantwell was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was raised in a predominantly Irish-American neighborhood on the south side of Indianapolis. Her father, Paul F. Cantwell, served as county commissioner, city councilman, state legislator, and Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative Andrew Jacobs, Jr. Her mother, Rose M., was an administrative assistant. Her ancestry includes Irish and German.
She attended Emmerich Manual High School and was inducted into the Indianapolis Public School Hall of Fame in 2006. After high school, Cantwell went to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration.
She moved to Seattle, Washington in 1983 to campaign for U.S. Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) in his unsuccessful bid for the 1984 Democratic Presidential nomination. She then moved to the Seattle suburb of Mountlake Terrace because it reminded her of Indianapolis, and led a successful campaign to build a new library there.
Read more about this topic: Maria Cantwell
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