Paula Hawkins (politician)
Paula Hawkins | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Florida | |
In office January 1, 1981 – January 3, 1987 | |
Preceded by | Richard Stone |
Succeeded by | Bob Graham |
Personal details | |
Born | Paula Fickes January 24, 1927 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
Died | December 4, 2009 Winter Park, Florida, U.S. | (aged 82)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Gene Hawkins |
Children | 3 |
Education | Utah State University (BA) |
Paula Hawkins (née Fickes; January 24, 1927 – December 4, 2009) was an American politician from
Early years
Hawkins was the eldest of three children born to Paul and Leone Fickes in
Politics
She began her electoral career by campaigning as a consumer advocate. She became the first woman elected to statewide office in Florida by winning a seat on the Florida Public Service Commission in 1972. Hawkins was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1974, which was won by Jack Eckerd. She was reelected to the Public Services Commission in 1976. In 1978, she was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor on the ticket headed by Jack Eckerd. They lost to State Sen. Bob Graham and State Rep. Wayne Mixson. In 1980, she was elected to the United States Senate representing Florida, becoming Florida's first woman elected to the United States Senate and the fifth from the South.[3]
U.S. Senate
In 1980, she defeated former Congressman Bill Gunter to win election to the United States Senate; she was Florida's first woman elected to the United States Senate and only the fifth from the South.[3]
Outgoing Senator
Hawkins was particularly active in the realm of
In 1984, she was co-chairwoman of the platform committee at the RNC.[5]
Senator Hawkins, in 1985, participated in the
Hawkins was known during her tenure for saying and doing things many considered bizarre. She was most infamous during her first year in office for hosting a luncheon in an ornate Senate dining room of New York sirloin steak, tossed salad, baked potatoes, fresh asparagus, hot apple pie, and fresh strawberries and other citrus in which she railed against the "truly greedy" and proposed mandatory jail time for food stamp cheaters. Critics dubbed it the "steak and jail" luncheon (a pun on Steak and Ale).[7]
Hawkins once again faced Bob Graham on a statewide ballot when she campaigned for re-election to the Senate in 1986. The Governor defeated her by 55 percent to 45 percent, the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent Senator in 1986.
Post-Washington activities
Hawkins returned to Winter Park in early 1987. She was United States representative to the
Health
In a freak accident, a television studio partition toppled and struck her in early January 1982 during an interview at
Hawkins' right side was paralyzed in 1998 as the result of a severe
Death
Hawkins died at the age of 82 on December 4, 2009, of complications from a fall she suffered the previous day.[15][16]
Electoral history
- 1978 Florida Governor/Lt.Governor
- Bob Graham/Wayne Mixson (D), 56%
- Jack Eckerd/Paula Hawkins (R), 44%
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican
|
Paula Hawkins | 209,856 | 48.14% | |
Republican
|
Louis Frey Jr. | 119,834 | 27.49% | |
Republican
|
Ander Crenshaw | 54,767 | 12.56% | |
Republican
|
Ellis Rubin | 19,990 | 4.59% | |
Republican
|
John T. Ware | 18,118 | 1.64% | |
Republican
|
Lewis Dinkins | 15,174 | 3.48% | |
Total votes | 435,962 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican
|
Paula Hawkins | 293,600 | 61.61% | |
Republican
|
Louis Frey Jr. | 182,911 | 38.39% | |
Total votes | 476,511 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican
|
Paula Hawkins | 1,822,460 | 51.66% | +10.74% | |
Democratic
|
Bill Gunter | 1,705,409 | 48.34% | +4.96% | |
Write-ins | 159 | 0.00% | |||
Majority | 117,051 | 3.32% | +0.85% | ||
Turnout | 3,528,028 | ||||
Democratic
|
Swing |
See also
References
- ^ Schneider, Mike (December 4, 2009). "Congressman: Ex-Fla. Senator Paula Hawkins dies at 82 first Southern woman elected to the Senate". (Minnesota) Star-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- ^ "Paula Hawkins". Legacy.com. December 6, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Women in Congress: Paula Fickes Hawkins Archived 2010-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Pleasants, Julian: "Samuel Proctor Oral History Program: Paula Hawkins" Archived 2010-06-01 at the Wayback Machine University of Florida, Dept. of History, November 11, 1997
- ^ Stout, David (December 4, 2009). "Paula Hawkins, 82, Florida Ex-Senator, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- ^ Transcript of US Senate hearings, Commerce Committee, 19 September 1985
- ^
- "Victor Victoria?".
- Gailey, Phil (December 15, 1981). "For Senator Hawkins, A Debatable First Year". The New York Times.
- Hulse, Carl (March 15, 2024). "When Debuts Flop: Katie Britt Is the Latest in a Long Line of Botched Opening Acts". The New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
- ^ "Former Senator Paula Hawkins is named to board of Philip Crosby Associates"[dead link], PR Newswire, August 15, 1988.
- ^ "Former U.S. Senator From Florida Joins Nu Skin Asia Pacific Board", PR Newswire, March 4, 1997.
- ^ Stout, David (December 4, 2009). "Paula Hawkins, 82, Florida Ex-Senator, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
- ^ "TV Back Drop Falls; Paula Hawkins Hurt" Lakeland Ledger, January 6, 1982
- ^ "Senator Hawkins Injured" New York Times, January 6, 1982
- ^ a b Schneider, Mike (December 6, 2009). "Ex-US Sen. Paula Hawkins of Florida dies at 82". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 17, 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
- ^ Schneider, Mike: "Congressman: Ex-Fla. Sen. Paula Hawkins dies at 82; first Southern woman elected to the Senate"[permanent dead link] Orlando Sentinel, December 4, 2009
- ^ "Florida Sen. Paula Hawkins, billed as the 'housewife from Maitland', dies at 82" Archived 2009-12-08 at the Wayback Machine Tampa Tribune, December 5, 2009
- ^ Kam, Dara: "Paula Hawkins, Florida's first female U.S. senator, dies" Palm Beach Post, December 4, 2009
External links
- United States Congress. "Paula Hawkins (id: H000374)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Appearances on C-SPAN