Frances Jones Mills (July 4, 1920 – May 24, 1996) was an American politician who was a state official in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

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 Knox County is a county located in Appalachia near the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,193. Its county seat is Barbourville. The county is named for General Henry Knox. It is one ...

district. She was also the first woman to serve three (non-successive) terms as Kentucky State Treasurer, serving a total of 12 years.

Background

Mills was born in Gray, a small town in

to Dr. William H. Jones and Bertie (Steely) Jones. She graduated from Cumberland College in

Williamsburg, Kentucky Williamsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Whitley County, on the southeastern border of Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,245 at the 2010 census. Developed along the Cumberland River, the city was founded in 18 ...

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.

Public office

Mills was elected to the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

from

in 1961 as 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 ...

, serving one term from a heavily

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in 1964, winning the Democratic nomination but losing the general election to Republican

Tim Lee Carter Tim Lee Carter (September 2, 1910 – March 27, 1987) was an American politician serving as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1965 until 1981. Background Congressman Car ...

despite the nationwide Democratic landslide as

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

retained the presidency by a huge margin over

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

. 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 The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The ...

. She won that election earning her first statewide office. Mills later sought and won election to the office of State

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

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 The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was e ...

in 1987, losing to

Bremer Ehrler Bremer Ehrler (July 10, 1914 – February 9, 2013) was an American politician who served as Jefferson County Judge/Executive and secretary of state of Kentucky. Early life and education Ehrler was born in Louisville, Kentucky. As a child, ...

, and 1995, losing to John Y. Brown III. For 100 years (1891–1992) the

Kentucky Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more. The later versions were adopted in 1799, 1850, a ...

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 Thelma Loyace Stovall (nee Hawkins; April 1, 1919 – February 4, 1994) was a pioneering American politician in the state of Kentucky. In 1949 she won election as state representative for Louisville, and served three consecutive terms. Over the n ...

, 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

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Frances Jones State treasurers of Kentucky 1920 births 1996 deaths Secretaries of State of Kentucky Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Women state legislators in Kentucky University of the Cumberlands alumni Eastern Kentucky University alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians

Background

Public office

Death

See also

References

Further reading

External links