Lana Gordon
Lana Gordon is a former Kansas Secretary of Labor. She was nominated for the statewide position by Governor Sam Brownback on January 19, 2013.[1] Gordon had been serving as interim secretary of the Department of Labor since September 2012.[2] Gordon's appointment was confirmed by the Kansas Senate on February 7, 2013.[2] Gordon held the position until January 2019.[3]
Brownback appointed Gordon to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor on September 20, 2012, the same day former labor secretary Karin Brownlee was asked to step down and Gordon was named interim secretary.[4]
Until assuming her nonpartisan, cabinet-level post, Gordon served as a Republican member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing the 52nd District. She was first elected to the state legislature in 2000 and subsequently won re-election to five consecutive terms - most recently in 2010. She vacated her seat in 2012 to join the Department of Labor, and Bob Eckhardt was tapped to serve out the remainder of her unexpired term.[5] Gordon was formally succeeded by Shanti Gandhi, a fellow Republican, who was elected by voters of Kansas' 52nd legislative district state in the 2012 general election.[6]
Before running for public office, Gordon served as a board member on the School Foundation Board, Unified School District 501 from 1994-1997. She is also a former small business owner, and Account Representative for BG Service Solutions/ISS.
Biography
Gordon received her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from the University of Kansas.
Before running for public office, Gordon served as a board member on the School Foundation Board, Unified School District 501 from 1994-1997. The former small business owner worked as an Account Representative for BG Service Solutions/ISS. She has also been an office worker, secretary, treasurer, test administrator, and substitute teacher.[7]
Gordon is a member of Kansas, Incorporated, the Topeka Chamber of Commerce, and United Way Volunteer Center of Topeka.
Education
- B.S. in Elementary Education- University of Kansas
Political career
Kansas Secretary of Labor (2013-2019)
On January 19, 2013, after about four months serving as interim secretary of labor, Gov. Brownback nominated Gordon for permanent appointment to the state executive position. Brownback cited Gordon's swift transition into the leadership role and her focus on important issues such as "finding fraud and abuse within the unemployment system and... on improving the unemployment claimant process,” in explaining the promotion.[2] Gordon served until January 2019.[3]
Deputy Secretary of Labor (2012)
Governor Sam Brownback appointed Gordon deputy secretary of labor on September 20, 2012. The day before she officially joined the department, Brownback named her interim secretary to fill the vacancy left by ousted officeholder Karin Brownlee.[4]
State House Representative (2001-2012)
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Gordon served on the following committees:
- Appropriations Committee, Kansas House of Representatives
- Arts and Cultural Resources Committee, Kansas State Legislature, Chair
- Education Budget Committee, Kansas House of Representatives, Chair
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Gordon served on the following committees:
- Education Committee, House of Representatives
- Health and Human Services Committee, House of Representatives
- Economic Development and Tourism Committee, House of Representatives (Chair)
- Local Government Committee, House of Representatives
- Arts and Cultural Resources Joint Committee, State Legislature
- Economic Development Joint Committee, State Legislature (Chair)
Issues
Gordon's answers to the Kansas State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test are available. She did not answer the question "Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected."[8]
Elections/Appointments
2012, 2013
Governor Sam Brownback named Gordon interim Kansas Secretary of Labor on September 20, 2012, and nominated her for appointment on January 19, 2013.[4] Her appointment was confirmed by the Kansas Senate on February 7, 2013.[9]
2010
Gordon won re-election to the 52nd District seat against Kyle Kessler (D). Gordon had no opposition in the GOP primary. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 52 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Lana Gordon (R)
|
5,693 | |||
| Kyle Kessler (D) | 3,665 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Gordon was re-elected to the 52nd District Seat in the Kansas House of Representatives, defeating Claude Lee (D).[10] Gordon raised $45,399 for her campaign, while Lee raised $3,464.[11]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 52 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Lana Gordon (R)
|
8,692 | 71.9% | ||
| Claude Lee (D) | 3,385 | 28.0% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
- Kansas House of Representatives
- Kansas Secretary of Labor
- Governor of Kansas
- Sam Brownback
- Karin Brownlee
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Lana Gordon's Official Website
- Kansas Legislature - Lana Gordon
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Project Vote Smart Legislative Profile
- Kansas Votes profile
- State Surge - Legislative and voting track record
- Campaign contributions: 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008
- State legislature website
- Kansas Department of Labor
Footnotes
- ↑ KAKE, "Kansas Senate Confirms Governor's Labor Secretary," February 8, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kansas City Infozine, "Governor Appoints Topekan State Labor Secretary," January 19, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 KY Forward, "Former Kansas Labor Secretary Lana Gordon appointed Workforce Investment Commissioner," May 30, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Witchita Eagle, "Kansas governor ousts labor secretary," September 21, 2012
- ↑ https://twitter.com/KansasGOP/status/255469218634551296/photo/1
- ↑ Kansas Legislature, "Representative Shanti Gandhi," accessed June 21, 2013
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Lana Gordon Biography
- ↑ Kansas State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedklslab - ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2008 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Kansas 2008 - Candidates," accessed March 29, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Karin Brownlee |
Kansas Secretary of Labor 2012-2019 |
Succeeded by Delia Garcia |
| Preceded by - |
Kansas House of Representatives District 52 2001–2012 |
Succeeded by Shanti Gandhi (R) |
| ||||||||||||||
