Frances Jones Mills

Frances Jones Mills (July 4, 1920 - May 24, 1996) was a state official in Kentucky for a large portion of the 1970s and 1980s.

Mills was born in Gray, Kentucky. Mills was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives from Knox County, Kentucky in 1961 as a Democrat, serving one term from a heavily Republican 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 in 1964, winning the Democratic nomination but losing the general election despite the nationwide Democratic landslide as Lyndon B. Johnson retained the presidency by a huge margin over Barry Goldwater.

In 1971 Mills was elected Clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which at the time was an elective office. Mills later sought and won election to the office of state Treasurer 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 in 1987, losing to Bremer Ehrler, and 1995, losing to John Y. Brown III.

The Kentucky state Constitution at the time prohibited state office holders from seeking two consecutive terms. For 100 years (1891-1992) the Kentucky Constitution 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, 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. She was charged with violating ethics laws during her last term as Treasurer and was fined $11,000.

External links

* [http://apps.sos.ky.gov/secdesk/sosinfo/default.aspx?id=74 Frances Jones Mills bio]