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Lana Gordon (Kansas politician)

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Lana Gordon
Kansas Secretary of Labor
In office
September 21, 2012 – January 14, 2019
GovernorSam Brownback
Jeff Colyer
Preceded byKarin Brownlee
Succeeded byDelia Garcia
Member of the Kansas House of Representatives
from the 52nd district
In office
January 8, 2001 – September 21, 2012
Preceded byLynn Jenkins
Succeeded byShanti Gandhi
Personal details
Born (1950-08-20) August 20, 1950 (age 74)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseArnold Gordon
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Kansas (B.S.)
OccupationTeacher, Politician

Lana Gordon (born August 20, 1950) is an American politician who served as the Kansas Secretary of Labor under the administrations of Governors Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer. A member of the Republican Party, Gordon previously served as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing the 52nd district from 2001 to 2012.

Early life and career

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Lana Gordon was born on August 20, 1950, to Myron and Hariette Goodman in Kansas City, Missouri.[1] Growing up, Gordon worked for her family's local hardware store in Kansas City before graduating from Shawnee Mission East High School in 1968.[1][2] She graduated from the University of Kansas with her Bachelor of Science in elementary education in 1971.

From 1971 to 1972, Gordon worked as a substitute teacher before working as a full-time third grade teacher at Lee's Summit Elementary School in Missouri from 1972 to 1973.[3] She then worked as a test administrator for the Kansas Department of Education from 1978 to 1980. Gordon was the secretary of the Topeka Unified School District 501 Citizens Advisory Council from 1982 to 1985, where she later served as a board member of the Topeka Unified School District from 1994 to 1997.[4] From 1997 to 2001, she worked as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Cardinal Building Service Solutions before being elected to the Kansas House of Representatives.[5] She worked as an Account Representative for BG Service Solutions/ISS from 2005 to 2012. Gordon was also a small business owner, previously owning four gift shops in the Topeka area.[6]

She is a member of the Topeka Chamber of Commerce and United Way. Gordon and her husband, Arnold, have three children and five grandchildren.

Kansas House of Representatives

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Tenure

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Gordon was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2000 and was sworn in on January 8, 2001. She was elected to a total of six two-year terms, winning with more than 60% of the vote in every election. The Kansas Policy Institute gave her a 75% evaluation on its Freedom Index and the Kansas Chapter of Americans for Prosperity gave her an evaluation of 90 on conservative issues.

Committee assignments

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  • Education
  • Health and Human Services
  • Economic Development and Tourism (Chair)
  • Local Government
  • Joint Committee on Arts and Cultural Resources
  • Joint Committee on Economic Development (Chair)

Kansas Secretary of Labor

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On September 21, 2012, Governor Sam Brownback nominated Gordon to serve as Kansas Secretary of Labor.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Beth Lipoff (April 4, 2013). "Kansas Secretary of Labor has local ties". kcjc.com.
  2. ^ National Conference of State Legislatures (August 10, 2011). "2011 Legislative Summit National Conference of State Legislatures" (PDF). ncsl.org.
  3. ^ Project Vote Smart. "Lana G. Gordon's Biography". votesmart.org.
  4. ^ "Biographical Profile for Lana Gordon". vote-ks.org. July 28, 2013.
  5. ^ Kansas City Star. "Lana Gordon". midwestdemocracy.com.
  6. ^ Kansas State Legislature (January 30, 2013). "Kansas Department of Labor" (PDF). kslegislature.org.
  7. ^ "Meet the Secretary". KDOL. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
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Political offices
Preceded by Kansas Secretary of Labor
2012–2019 		Succeeded by
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