Joan Finney

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Joan Finney

|image = Joan Finney (Kansas governor).jpg

|caption =

|order = 42nd Governor of Kansas

|lieutenant = Jim Francisco

|term_start = January 14, 1991

|term_end = January 9, 1995

|predecessor = Mike Hayden

|successor = Bill Graves

|office1 = 33rd Kansas State Treasurer

|governor1 = Robert Frederick Bennett
John W. Carlin
Mike Hayden

|term_start1 = January 6, 1975

|term_end1 = January 14, 1991

|predecessor1 = Tom Van Sickle

|successor1 = Sally Thompson

|birth_name = Joan Marie McInroy

|birth_date = {{birth date|1925|2|12}}

|birth_place = Topeka, Kansas, U.S.

|death_date = {{death date and age|2001|7|28|1925|2|12}}

|death_place = Topeka, Kansas, U.S.

|party = Republican (Before 1974)
Democratic (1974–2001)

|spouse = Spencer Finney

|education = Washburn University (BA)

}}

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 from 1975 to 1991. Finney was the first woman to hold either office.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/joan-finney/12051|title=Joan Finney|website=kshs.org|access-date=2019-03-22}}

Early life

Finney was born Joan Marie McInroy in Topeka, Kansas. She was the daughter of Leonard and Mary Sands McInroy. Her father abandoned the family shortly after her birth.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/232/000119872/|title=Joan Finney|website=www.nndb.com|access-date=2018-09-17}} McInroy graduated from high school in Manhattan, Kansas in 1942.{{cite news|url=https://www.salina.com/story/news/local/2017/03/18/women-in-history-joan-finney/21210706007/|title=Women in History — Joan Finney|work=Salina Journal|last=Demuth|first=Gary|date=March 18, 2017}} In 1957, she married Spencer Finney, Jr. The Finneys had three children: Sarah "Sally" Finney Timm, Richard Finney, and Mary Finney Holladay.{{cn|date=May 2022}} In 1978, Finney graduated from Washburn University with a bachelor's degree in economic history.

Early political career

From 1953 to 1969, Finney served on the staff of Republican U.S. Senator Frank Carlson. From 1970 to 1972, she served as Commissioner of Elections for Shawnee County, Kansas. In 1972, she was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary for a U.S. House seat in Kansas's 2nd congressional district.

She also served as a special assistant to Topeka Mayor Bill McCormick from 1973 to 1974.{{Cite web|url=http://cjonline.com/stories/072901/kan_finneymain.shtml|title=Trailblazer did it her way |last=Myers|first=Roger|website=The Topeka Capital-Journal|access-date=April 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010801153443/http://cjonline.com/stories/072901/kan_finneymain.shtml|archive-date=August 1, 2001|url-status=dead}}

After switching her political affiliation from Republican to Democrat, Finney served as Kansas State Treasurer 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. She then went on to defeat incumbent Republican Mike Hayden 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 U.S. Rep Sam Brownback.

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

{{Find a Grave|6182143}}
[https://cdm16884.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/search/searchterm/G1-Finney-Collection/field/all/mode/all/conn/all/order/title/ad/asc Publications concerning Kansas Governor Finney's administration available via the KGI Online Library]
{{C-SPAN|16889}}