Connie Lawson
| Connie Lawson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 61st Secretary of State of Indiana | |
|
Assumed office March 16, 2012 |
|
| Governor |
Mitch Daniels Mike Pence Eric Holcomb |
| Preceded by | Jerry Bonnet (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 20, 1949 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Jack Lawson |
| Children | 2 |
Connie Lawson (born April 20, 1949) is the 61st Indiana Secretary of State. A Republican, Lawson is a former member of the Indiana Senate where she served as Majority Floor Leader.
Lawson was born and raised in Danville, located in Hendricks County in central Indiana. She graduated from Danville High School. She attended Darden School of Legislative Leadership and in 1998 she went to Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership.
Lawson was elected Clerk of the Hendricks County Circuit Court in 1988, and served two four-year terms before running for the Indiana Senate. As clerk, her responsibilities included maintaining all records of the court and overseeing elections. During this period, Lawson also served as President of the Indiana Clerks’ Association and chair of the group’s legislative committee. This experience would later prove useful in the Senate and as Indiana’s chief elections officer.
After incumbent State Senator Dick Thompson decided to run for Congress in 1996, Lawson joined a five-way Republican primary race for the open seat. She won her party’s nomination and the November General Election, representing the 24th District in west-central Indiana. She was appointed Majority Floor Leader in 2006, the first woman in Indiana to hold this leadership position. She served in the Senate for sixteen years.
During her tenure, Senator Lawson chaired the committees on Local Government, Joint Rules, and Elections. She was also assigned to the Tax and Fiscal Policy, Rules and Legislative Procedure, and Appointments and Claims committees.
Among her many legislative achievements, Lawson was instrumental in establishing the Department of Child Services to protect Indiana’s children from abuse and neglect. In the 2012 Legislative Session, she authored a local government reform bill aimed at nepotism and conflict-of-interest. Lawson also advocated for the expansion of the Ivy Tech Community College system and the construction of a new campus in Greencastle, Indiana. She championed the photo ID requirement to prevent voter fraud, the option for counties to use vote centers, on-line voter registration capability, HPV education for sixth grade parents, and moved school board elections to the General Election where turnout is higher and more voices are heard on education matters.
...
Wikipedia