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 o ...

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 ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

. 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, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

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

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), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...

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

. In 1972, she was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary for a U.S. House seat in

Kansas's 2nd congressional district Kansas' 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kansas that covers most of the eastern part of the state, except for the core of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The district encompasses less than a quarter ...

. She also served as a special assistant to Topeka Mayor Bill McCormick from 1973 to 1974. 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 o ...

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 Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

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 A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

to U.S. Rep

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the List of governors of Kansas, 46th governor of K ...

. Finney died in 2001 from complications of

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka. She is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Topeka.

References

External links