Joan Marie Finney (née McInroy; February 12, 1925 – July 28, 2001) was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of Kansas from 1991 to 1995. Prior to her tenure as governor, Finney served four terms as the

Kansas state treasurer The State Treasurer of Kansas is the chief custodian of Kansas’s cash deposits, monies from bond sales, and other securities and collateral and directs the investments of those assets. The Treasurer provides for the safe and efficient operation ...

from 1975 to 1991. Finney was the first woman to hold either office.

Early life

Finney was born Joan Marie McInroy in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

. She was the daughter of Leonard and Mary Sands McInroy. Her father abandoned the family shortly after her birth. McInroy graduated from

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 c ...

in 1942. In 1957, she married Spencer Finney, Jr. The Finneys had three children: Sarah "Sally" Finney Timm, Richard Finney, and Mary Finney Holladay. In 1978, Finney graduated from

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 ...

with a bachelor's degree in economic history.

Early political career

From 1953 to 1969, Finney served on the staff of

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 ...

U.S. Senator

Frank Carlson Frank Carlson (January 23, 1893May 30, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 30th governor of Kansas, Kansas State representative, United States representative, and United States senator from Kansas. Carlson is the only Kansan to ...

. From 1970 to 1972, she served as Commissioner of Elections for

Shawnee County, Kansas Shawnee County (county code SN) is located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 178,909, making it the third-most populous county in Kansas. Its most populous city, Topeka, is the state ...

. In 1972, running as a Republican, she was an unsuccessful candidate for a U.S. House seat in Kansas's 2nd congressional district. She also served as a special assistant to Topeka Mayor Bill McCormick. After switching her political affiliation from Republican to Democrat, Finney served as

Kansas State Treasurer The State Treasurer of Kansas is the chief custodian of Kansas’s cash deposits, monies from bond sales, and other securities and collateral and directs the investments of those assets. The Treasurer provides for the safe and efficient operation ...

from 1975 to 1991. She was the first woman to hold that position.

Governorship

In the 1990 Democratic primary for governor of Kansas, Finney upset former Governor

John W. Carlin John William Carlin (born August 3, 1940) is an American educator and politician who served as the 40th governor of Kansas from 1979 to 1987, and the archivist of the United States from May 30, 1995, to February 15, 2005. He teaches at Kansas ...

. She then went on to defeat incumbent Republican

Mike Hayden John Michael Hayden (born March 16, 1944) is a retired American politician and veteran who served as the 41st governor of Kansas, from 1987 to 1991. He subsequently served as the Secretary of the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department under Ka ...

in the general election, becoming the first woman in U.S. history to defeat an incumbent governor in a general election. In addition to being the State of Kansas's first female governor, Finney was the first Roman Catholic governor of Kansas. She was known for her pro-Native American stances and was one of the few anti-abortion Democratic governors of her time. Finney served only one term as governor, retiring after the 1994 election.

Post-governorship

In 1996, Finney ran for United States Senate. She was defeated in the Democratic primary by Jill Docking, who gained 74% of the primary vote, and subsequently lost the general election to

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Fr ...

. Finney died in 2001 from complications of liver cancer at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka. She is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Topeka.

References

External links

*
Publications concerning Kansas Governor Finney's administration available via the KGI Online Library

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Joan 1925 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians Deaths from cancer in Kansas Deaths from liver cancer Democratic Party governors of Kansas Governors of Kansas Kansas Democrats Kansas Republicans Politicians from Manhattan, Kansas Politicians from Topeka, Kansas State treasurers of Kansas Washburn University alumni Women in Kansas politics Women state governors of the United States Women state constitutional officers of Kansas Catholics from Kansas

Early life

Early political career

Governorship

Post-governorship

See also

References

External links

External links