Elaine Marshall

Elaine F. Marshall (born 18 November 1945) is the current North Carolina Secretary of State; she is the first woman to be elected to that office and the first woman elected to statewide executive office in North Carolina.

Education

Marshall was born in Lineboro, Maryland in 1945. She studied textiles at the University of Maryland from 1964 to 1968, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Textiles and Clothing. During her undergraduate years, she worked as a camping director for the Maryland 4-H Foundation during the summers. She taught in the public school system of Lenoir County, North Carolina for a year after graduation; then ran a book and gift store for five years before re-entering the field of education as an instructor at Lenoir Community College and Johnston Technical Community College. At the same time, she was active in the Young Democrats organization.

Marshall returned to school to study law at the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University and earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1981. She rose to became a partner in a Lillington, North Carolina law firm in 1985 and chair of the Harnett County, North Carolina Democratic Party in 1991.

Political career

Marshall was first elected to public office in 1992 as a member of the North Carolina Senate representing the 15th Senate District. She ran for the post of North Carolina Secretary of State against Republican challenger and former stock car racer Richard Petty, taking the office as the first female elected to statewide executive office in North Carolina in January 1997. Marshall was re-elected in 2000 and in 2004. She is running for re-election again in 2008.

Marshall unsuccessfully ran for the United States Senate in 2002; she was defeated in the Democratic primary by Erskine Bowles.

Throughout 2007, Marshall will serve as president of the National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council, "an organization of public and private sector leaders aimed at identifying best technology practices that make government agencies more efficient and modernize their services". [http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2006/12/18/daily30.html]

Marshall is married to Bill Holdford; she has no biological children, but has five stepchildren by marriage.

References

* [http://www.sosnc.com/sosbio.htm Elaine F. Marshall Biography] , Office of the North Carolina Secretary of State.

External links

* [http://www.elainemarshall.org/ Elaine Marshall website]
* [http://ncdp.org/ North Carolina Democratic Party]