Karen Handel

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Karen Handel is an American politician in the state of Georgia. She is a Republican currently serving as Secretary of State of Georgia. Her previous office was as Chairman of the Fulton County Commission. Prior to her elective office, Handel served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. She has also served as President and CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and has held leadership positions in a number of community and civic organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, the Chattahoochee Water Basin Council, and the Georgia 400 Corridor Study Group. Karen Handel has been named as one of the “100 Most Influential Political Leaders in Georgia” by Georgia Trend, and one of the Georgia’s leading business women by B2B magazine. Handel resides in Roswell, Georgia, with her husband, Steve.

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[edit] Biography

In 1989, Handel served in the Bush-Quayle Administration as Deputy Chief of Staff to Marilyn Quayle. One of her responsibilities was to promote breast cancer awareness. As part of Mrs. Quayle’s initiatives, October became National Breast Cancer Month, the National Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure was established, federal funding for breast cancer research was increased, and the Office of Research on Women's Health was established at the National Institutes of Health. Handel later served as President and CEO of the Greater North Fulton County Chamber of Commerce as well as a business executive for multiple Fortune 500 companies in Atlanta, Georgia.[citation needed]

[edit] Chairman of Fulton County Commission

Handel was elected in November 2003 as the Chairman of the Fulton County Commission in a special election to replace Mike Kenn, receiving 58 percent of the popular vote. As the Fulton County Commission Chairman, she received statewide and national media attention for exposing corruption in the sheriff’s department, an effort that led to the eventual resignation of the incumbent sheriff. As Chairman, she also passed the strongest county government ethics policies in the state.[1]

[edit] Georgia Secretary of State Campaign

Handel successfully ran as the Republican nominee for the office of Secretary of State of Georgia in a statewide election on November 7, 2006. She won a contested primary election against Bill Stephens, Charlie Bailey, and Eric Martin; however, she did not receive over 50% of the vote and was required by Georgia law to face the second-place finisher in a run-off. She won the resulting primary run-off election on August 8, 2006, with 57% of the vote against Georgia State Senator Bill Stephens.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]

[edit] External links

State Secretaries of State in the United States
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AL: Beth Chapman
AK: Sean Parnell*
AR: Charlie Daniels
AZ: Jan Brewer
CA: Debra Bowen
CO: Mike Coffman
CT: Susan Bysiewicz
DE: Harriett Smith Windsor
FL: Kurt S. Browning
GA: Karen Handel
HI: James Aiona*
ID: Ben Ysursa
IL: Jesse White

IN: Todd Rokita
IA: Michael Mauro
KS: Ron Thornburgh
KY: Trey Grayson
LA: Jay Dardenne
MD: Mary Kane
MA: Bill Galvin
ME: Matthew Dunlap
MI: Teri Lynn Land
MN: Mark Ritchie
MS: Eric Clark
MO: Robin Carnahan
MT: Brad Johnson

NE: John Gale
NV: Ross Miller
NH: Bill Gardner
NJ: Nina Mitchell Wells
NM: Mary Herrera
NY: Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
NC: Elaine Marshall
ND: Al Jaeger
OH: Jennifer Brunner
OK: M. Susan Savage
OR: Bill Bradbury
PA: Pedro Cortes

RI: Ralph Mollis
SC: Mark Hammond
SD: Chris Nelson
TN: Riley Darnell
TX: Roger Williams
UT: Gary R. Herbert*
VT: Deb Markowitz
VA: Katherine Hanley
WA: Sam Reed
WV: Betty Ireland
WI: Doug LaFollette
WY: Max Maxfield
*Lt. Governor performing the typical functions of a Secretary of State
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