Frances Garcia

Last updated November 21, 2020

Frances Garcia (born June 4, 1938) is a former American politician. She served as mayor of Hutchinson, Kansas, from 1985 to 1986 and again from 1989 to 1990, becoming the first Hispanic woman mayor in the Midwestern United States.^[1]

Background

The daughter of Joe G. Calvilo and Micaela Chavez, both Mexican immigrants, she was born Frances Calvillo in Hutchinson and was educated at Hutchinson High School. She received a business certificate from Salt City Business College and an associate bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Hutchinson Community College. In 1960, she married John T. Garcia; the couple had two sons. In 1966, she began work as a credit officer for the Wells Department Store. By 1968, she was working as clerk typist at the Reno County Clerk's office. In 1972, Garcia became a savings consultant and loan secretary. She left this job after encountering back problems. From 1983 to 1990, she was a volunteer outreach worker and interpreter for the Hutchinson Methodist Ministry.^[1]

Garcia ran for a seat on Hutchinson city council and won the position of mayor, taking office in April 1985 and serving until April 1986. She served as city commissioner for three more years. She ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Kansas Senate in 1988. She served another term as Hutchinson mayor from April 1989 to April 1990.^[1] She went on to serve as a country commissioner for Reno County.^[2]

She was recognized by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in 1985 and again at LULAC's women's symposium the following year.^[1] In 2010, she received the Hank Lacayo Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.^[2]

Related Research Articles

Reno County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,511. The largest city and county seat is Hutchinson.

Hutchinson is the largest city and county seat in Reno County, Kansas, United States, and located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch". As of the 2010 census, the city population was 42,080.

Kathryn Jean Whitmire is an American politician, businesswoman, and accountant best known as the first woman to serve as Mayor of Houston, serving for five consecutive two-year terms from 1982 to 1991. From 1977 to 1981, she was the city controller, a position which made her the first female elected to any office in the city. Whitmire drew national attention when she defeated former Harris County Sheriff Jack Heard in her election as mayor. The election drew national focus because it symbolized a major political realignment in the fourth-largest city in the United States.

David Duvall Orr is an American Democratic politician who served as the Cook County Clerk from 1990 to 2018. Orr previously served as alderman for the 49th ward in Chicago City Council from 1979 to 1990. He briefly served as acting Mayor of Chicago from November 25 to December 2, 1987, following the death of Mayor Harold Washington. Orr retired from the office of Cook County Clerk in 2018, opting not to run for an eighth term.

Brian Edward Sandoval is an American attorney and politician who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he has been the 17th President of the University of Nevada, Reno since 2020.

Xavier Louis Suarez is an American politician in Miami who was the first Cuban-born mayor of Miami and is currently a Miami-Dade county commissioner.

Benigno Cárdenas Hernández was the first Hispanic from New Mexico to serve as a full member of Congress.

Héctor Pérez García was a Mexican American physician, surgeon, World War II veteran, civil rights advocate, and founder of the American G.I. Forum. As a result of the national prominence he earned through his work on behalf of Hispanic Americans, he was instrumental in the appointment of Vicente T. Ximenes, a Mexican American and American G.I. Forum charter member, to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1966.

Katie Beatrice Hall was an American educator in Gary, Indiana, and a politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1982 to 1985. When Hall was sworn into federal office on November 2, 1982, she became the first black woman from Indiana elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Hall represented Indiana's 1st Congressional District in the final months the 97th Congress and an entire two-year term in the 98th Congress from 1983 to 1985. She is best known for sponsoring legislation and leading efforts on the floor of the U.S. House in 1983 to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday after previous efforts had failed. H.R. 3706 to establish the third Monday in January as a federal holiday in King's honor was introduced in July 1983 and passed in the House on August 2, 1983. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law on November 2, 1983.

Virginia Shuman Young was a Fort Lauderdale politician, serving elected terms to the Broward County School Board, and the Fort Lauderdale City Commission. During her time on the City Commission, she served twice as Mayor and as Vice-Mayor from 1971–1973 and 1975-1981.

Lucy G. Acosta was a Mexican-American activist with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). She was a political appointee under various mayors of El Paso, Texas. She was elected to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1987. The Lucy G. Acosta Humanitarian Awards were named in her honor, and have been presented every year since 1993.

Sylvia Rodriguez Garcia is an American politician who has been serving as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 29th congressional district since 2019. Her district covers much of eastern Houston. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented District 6 in the Texas Senate.

Jesús G. "Chuy" García is a Mexican-born American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Illinois Senate, as well as Chicago City Council before his election to Congress. A candidate for mayor of Chicago in the 2015 election, García finished second in the February 24 general election and forced a head-to-head runoff against the incumbent, Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel won the April 7 runoff.

Norma G. García is an American politician of Hispanic descent. She was mayor of Mercedes, Texas from 1986 to 1993.

Veronica Escobar is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 16th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as an El Paso County Commissioner from 2007 to 2011 and the El Paso County Judge from 2011 until 2017.

The Cook County, Illinois general election was held on November 4, 2014.

The Cook County, Illinois general election was held on November 3, 1998.

The Cook County, Illinois general election was held on November 6, 1990.

The Cook County, Illinois general election was held on November 4, 1986.

References

1 2 3 4 Telgen, Diane (1993). Notable Hispanic American Women. pp. 167–70. ISBN 0810375788.
1 2 "County Commissioner receives Lifetime Achievement Award". Country 102.9 Radio. February 15, 2010.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[telgen-1] 1 2 3 4 Telgen, Diane (1993). Notable Hispanic American Women. pp. 167–70. ISBN 0810375788.

[radio-2] 1 2 "County Commissioner receives Lifetime Achievement Award". Country 102.9 Radio. February 15, 2010.