Amber "Holly" Boykins (born April 4, 1969) is an American politician. She represented a portion of

North St. Louis Old North St. Louis is a neighborhood just north and slightly west of the downtown area of St. Louis, Missouri. It is known for Crown Candy Kitchen, historic 19th-century brick homes, and its community gardens. History The neighborhood now ...

in the Missouri House of Representatives. She is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Boykins is a St. Louis native. She graduated from Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School in 1987 and from Columbia College in 1991. She is currently pursuing both an MBA and a JD. Boykins was elected State Representative in 1998 in a closely contested Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

br>
and was elected without opposition in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

br>
She was re-elected in 2000, 2002, and 2004. Due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

Boykins was unable to seek re-election in 2006. She announced her candidacy for the 4th District State Senate seat being vacated by

Pat Dougherty Patrick Dougherty (born June 30, 1948) is an American Democratic politician. Due to term limits, he retired from political life in 2007 after nearly 30 years of service in the Missouri General Assembly. Education and background Patrick Dougherty ...

. Other announced candidates were fellow State Representative

Yaphett El-Amin Yaphett El-Amin (born March 30, 1971) is an American politician who, until 2006, represented a portion of St. Louis in the Missouri House of Representatives. She is a Democrat. El-Amin is a native of St. Louis. She graduated from the Unive ...

, former State Representative

Derio Gambaro Derio L. Gambaro (born December 6, 1955) is an American politician. He previously served in the Missouri House of Representatives where he represented a portion of South St. Louis including The Hill and Dogtown neighborhoods. He is a Democrat ...

, former St. Louis Alderman Kenny Jones, and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

professor Jeff Smith. The primary election was held on August 8, 2006, and was won by Jeff Smith, who was unopposed in the general election.

External links

State of Missouri page for Rep. Boykins
African-American state legislators in Missouri African-American women in politics Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Politicians from St. Louis 1969 births Living people Columbia College (Missouri) alumni Women state legislators in Missouri Delta Sigma Theta members 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women {{Missouri-politician-stub