Frank M. Jordan

Frank M. Jordan
22th Secretary of State of California
Preceded by	Paul Peek
Succeeded by	Jerry Brown
Personal details
Born	Alameda, CA
Died	Sacramento, CA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Alice Crossan, Alberta Sturtzman

Frank M Jordan was the 22cd Secretary of State of California. He was the son of Frank C Jordan, California's Secretary of State from 1911-1940 and became the first man in the history of California to be elected to succeed his father in a constitutional state office.. His early death in office is notable for indirectly launching the career of Jerry Brown, and he suggested blue and gold be made the official colors of the state of California.

A veteran of the First World War, Jordan held an early job with the Automobile Association of California and ran his own general insurance agency before joining his father's staff.

After delayed returns in the 1960 Presidential Election due to hand counting, Jordan championed legislation requiring mandatory use of voting machines. In 1964, he proposed statewide vote-by-mail, but this was not adopted. Jordan's efforts to mandate machine counting spurred development in computing systems in what became Silicon Valley.

Jordan's early death in March 1970 created a vacancy to be filled by then Governor Ronald Reagan who believed it was unfair to appoint someone to the office and give that person a leg-up in the November 1970 election. Therefore, Reagan appointed a lower-level staff member, H.P. Sullivan as interim to fill out the office so that two Republicans could compete in the primaries without the advantage of incumbency. The Republican primary was won by James L. Flournoy, an African-American Los Angeles attorney. This made Flournoy the first African American nominated for statewide office in California by a major party. Although the Republican Party performed strongly in other contests, racism put Flournoy at a significant disadvantage in the General Election.

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