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Frances Jones Mills
Frances Jones Mills
33rd, 35th, & 37th Kentucky State Treasurer
	In office; January 6, 1992 – January 1, 1996
Preceded by	Robert Mead
Succeeded by	John Kennedy Hamilton
	In office; January 3, 1984 – January 4, 1988
Preceded by	Drexell R. Davis
Succeeded by	Robert Mead
	In office; January 5, 1976 – January 7, 1980
Preceded by	Drexell R. Davis
Succeeded by	Drexell R. Davis
78th Secretary of State of Kentucky
	In office; January 7, 1980 – January 3, 1984
Preceded by	Drexell R. Davis
Succeeded by	Drexell R. Davis
Clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals
	In office; January 3, 1972 – January 5, 1976
Preceded by	Dick Vermillion
Succeeded by	Martha Layne Collins
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 87th district
	In office; January 1, 1962 – January 1, 1964
Preceded by	Buford Clark
Succeeded by	Harry M. Hoe
Personal details
Born	July 4, 1920; Gray, Kentucky
Died	May 24, 1996 (aged 75); Louisville, Kentucky

Frances Jones Mills (July 4, 1920 – May 24, 1996) was an American politician who was a state official in Kentucky for a large portion of the 1970s and 1980s. She was the first woman and first Democrat in the 20th century to win the office of State Representative for the Knox County, Kentucky district. She was also the first woman to serve three (non-successive) terms as Kentucky State Treasurer, serving a total of 12 years. She also served as Secretary of State of Kentucky and Clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals.^[1]

Background

Mills was born in Gray, a small town in Knox County, Kentucky to Dr. William H. Jones and Bertie (Steely) Jones. She graduated from Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky and attended Eastern Kentucky State Teacher's College. She taught school in Gray for eight years after which she married Marvin Wayne Bowling, whom she later divorced in the early 1940s. She then married Gene Mills in 1949.^[1]

Public office

Mills was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives from Knox County, Kentucky in 1961 as a Democrat, serving one term from a heavily Republican district. She then worked as an aide to the Speaker of the House.

Mills was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964, winning the Democratic nomination but losing the general election to Republican Tim Lee Carter despite the nationwide Democratic landslide as Lyndon B. Johnson retained the presidency by a huge margin over Barry Goldwater.

From 1965 to 1972 she worked for the Kentucky Civil Defense, but in 1971 Mills was nominated for Clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. She won that election earning her first statewide office. Mills later sought and won election to the office of State Treasurer in 1975, 1983, and 1991. She was also elected Secretary of State in 1979. Mills unsuccessfully sought the office of Secretary of State of Kentucky in 1987, losing to Bremer Ehrler, and 1995, losing to John Y. Brown III.

For 100 years (1891–1992) the Kentucky Constitution did not allow any holder of statewide office to succeed themselves for a second consecutive term. As a result, a handful of Kentucky politicians became known as musical chairs officeholders because they would run for one statewide office and then another repeatedly. Thelma Stovall, Drexell R. Davis and Mills were the best known musical chairs officeholders in Kentucky. The three often traded offices in given election years through the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1984, Mills and six of her employees in the secretary of state's office were indicted for violating state ethics laws in regards to her election as State Treasurer. Mills was acquitted after a two-year-long case. In the early 1990s she was charged with violating ethics laws and was fined $11,000. She filed an appeal and the case was still pending at the time of her death.

Death

On May 24, 1996, Mills died of cancer and is buried in the Highland Cemetery in Williamsburg, Kentucky.

References

^ ^a ^b "Secretary of State: Frances Jones Mills". Kentucky Secretary of State. Kentucky.gov. Retrieved 4 January 2012.

External links

"Frances Jones Mill". Candidate. Our Campaigns. Retrieved 4 January 2012.

Party political offices
Preceded by Drexell R. Davis	Democratic nominee for Kentucky State Treasurer 1975	Succeeded by Drexell R. Davis
	Democratic nominee for Secretary of State of Kentucky 1979	Succeeded by Drexell R. Davis
	Democratic nominee for Kentucky State Treasurer 1983	Succeeded by Robert Mead
Preceded by Robert Mead	Democratic nominee for Kentucky State Treasurer 1991	Succeeded by John Kennedy Hamilton
Legal offices
Preceded by Dick Vermillion	Clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals 1972–1976	Succeeded by Martha Layne Collins
Political offices
Preceded by Drexell R. Davis	Kentucky State Treasurer 1976–1980	Succeeded by Drexell R. Davis
Preceded by Drexell R. Davis	Kentucky Secretary of State 1980–1984	Succeeded by Drexell R. Davis
Preceded by Drexell R. Davis	Kentucky State Treasurer 1984–1988	Succeeded by Robert Mead
Preceded by Robert Mead	Kentucky State Treasurer 1992–1996	Succeeded by John Kennedy Hamilton