Jane Lawton (May 24, 1944 – November 29, 2007) was an American politician from Maryland and a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. The Jane E. Lawton community center, located in Leland Park in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in th ...

, was renamed in her memory on June 14, 2009.

Early life and education

Lawton was born in Muskogee,

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, on May 24, 1944, to Clarence and Ruth Alice England. Lawton attended the University of Oklahoma where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

Career

After college she worked briefly for IBM. She also worked as Special Assistant to the

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...

Carl Albert until the birth of her first child in 1974. She became a member of the Town of Chevy Chase Town Council in 1981, later becoming treasurer, then Chairperson (this position is now referred to as the Mayor of the Town). Later, she was Special Assistant to

Neil Potter Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish '' Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

when he was County Executive of Montgomery County. After

Doug Duncan Douglas Michael Duncan (born October 25, 1955) is a former American politician from Maryland who served as Rockville City Councilman, Rockville Mayor, Montgomery County Executive, and candidate for Governor of Maryland. He is a member of the De ...

succeeded Potter, she became the County Cable Administrator. In the State Legislature, she was originally appointed to fill the seat of former delegate John Hurson, but was elected in her own right in the fall of 2006. She passed two bills during her brief time in office. The following session, two more bills were passed in her name, one of which was a Farms-to-Schools program she had been working on the previous session and planned to introduce during the 2008 legislative session. She also served on the Environmental Matters Committee while in the House.

Legislative notes

* voted for the Healthy Air Act in 2006 (SB154) * voted in favor of increasing the sales tax by one percentage point to 6% - Tax Reform Act of 2007(HB2)

Death

Lawton died of unknown causes on the morning of November 29, 2007, after giving a speech in downtown Washington. She was declared dead at George Washington Hospital Center. Her death appeared to be caused by a heart attack. Jane was a longtime member and past President of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). In 2008, NATOA created and awarded the first Jane E. Lawton Commemorative Award, presented yearly to an elected official who exemplifies what it means to promote community interests in communications. The Jane Lawton internship was created to honor her memory through the President's Leadership Class.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton, Jane 1944 births 2007 deaths IBM employees Women state legislators in Maryland Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Women mayors of places in Maryland 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Maryland politicians