Paula Hawkins

Paula Fickes Hawkins
United States Senator from Florida
In office January 1, 1981 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Richard Stone
Succeeded by	Bob Graham
Personal details
Born	January 24, 1927 Salt Lake City, Utah
Died	December 4, 2009 (aged 82) Winter Park, Florida
Resting place	Palm Cemetery Winter Park, Florida
Nationality	USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gene Hawkins
Children	Genean, Kevin & Kelly Ann
Alma mater	Utah State University
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)

Paula Hawkins (January 24, 1927 – December 4, 2009^[1]) was an American politician from Florida. She is to date the only woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida. She was the first woman ever elected to a full term in the Senate without a family connection.^[2][3]

Early years

Paula was the eldest of three children born to Paul and Leone Fickes in Salt Lake City. Her father was Naval Chief Warrant Officer. In 1934, the family moved to Atlanta, where her father taught at Georgia Tech. Her parents split when Paula was in high school, and Leone and the children returned to Utah.^[4] She finished high school at Richmond, Utah in 1944, then enrolled at Utah State University. Paula was hired to be the Athletic director's secretary and met her future husband. On September 5, 1947, Paula Fickes and Walter Eugene Hawkins were married and moved to Atlanta. Gene earned a degree in electrical engineering and eventually opened his own business. The couple had three children before moving to Winter Park, Florida in 1955, where Paula became a community activist and Republican volunteer.^[4][5]

Politics

She began her electoral career by campaigning as a consumer advocate. She became the first woman elected to statewide office in Florida by winning a seat on the Florida Public Service Commission in 1972. Hawkins was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1974, which was won by Jack Eckerd. She was reelected to the Public Services Commission in 1976. In 1978, she was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor on the ticket headed by Jack Eckerd. They lost to State Sen. Bob Graham and State Rep. Wayne Mixson. In 1980, she was elected to the United States Senate representing Florida, becoming Florida's first woman elected to the United States Senate and the fifth from the South.^[4]

She was the first woman to bring her husband to Washington, D.C. with her. As a result, the Senate Wives' Club became known as the Senate Spouses' Club. She took office two days early because of the resignation of Richard B. Stone and gained an important seniority advantage over the other freshmen senators.

Hawkins was particularly active in the realm of child welfare. She was a key figure in advocating and passing the 1982 Missing Children's Act, and in 1983 chaired the Investigation and Oversight Subcommittee of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, where she launched an investigation of the increase of children reported missing.^[4] In 1984 she spoke at the Third National Conference on Sexual Victimization of Children, where she stunned listeners by disclosing that she herself had been the victim of sexual abuse as a child. She subsequently authored, Children at Risk, My Fight Against Child Abuse: A Personal Story and a Public Plea, which was published in 1986.^[4]

Senator Hawkins, in 1985, participated in the Record Label Hearings of the Senate's Commerce Committee, where the issue of labeling musical songs was examined, after the PRMC initiative. During the hearings, Hawkins had a notable altercation with testifying musician Frank Zappa, who eventually invited the senator to his home to see first-hand "what kind of toys" his children are playing with.^[6]

Post-Washington

In 1986, Hawkins lost her re-election bid to then-Governor Bob Graham, and returned to Winter Park in early 1987. She was United States representative to the Organization of American States Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) for 7 years before leaving active politics. She remained involved behind the scenes in central Florida and her endorsement was sought by many candidates.^[4]

Hawkins was named a director of Philip Crosby Associates in 1988.^[7] She joined the board of Nu Skin Enterprises in 1997.^[8]

Health

In a freak accident, a studio partition toppled and struck her in early January, 1982 during an interview at WESH-TV in Winter Park, Florida.^[9][10] While not life-threatening, the mishap aggravated a back injury she suffered years before in an automobile collision and caused constant pain which plagued her during her years in Washington. Senator Strom Thurmond, in his capacity as President pro tempore, gave her the use of a room in the Capitol building for a hospital bed where she found pain relief under weighted traction during breaks between congressional activities.^[1]

Hawkins' right side was paralyzed in 1998 as the result of a severe stroke.^[1] After this, she used a wheelchair. She stayed active, appearing on October 1, 2009 at the opening ceremony of the Waldorf Astoria Orlando at Walt Disney World.^[11] She died on December 4, 2009 from complications of a fall she suffered the previous day. She is survived by her husband and three children.^[12][13]

Electoral history

• 1978 Race for Governor/Lt.Governor
  • Bob Graham/Wayne Mixson (D)
  • Jack Eckerd/Paula Hawkins (R)

• 1980 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Paula Hawkins (R), 51%
  • Bill Gunter (D), 49%

• 1986 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Bob Graham (D), 57%
  • Paula Hawkins (R) (inc.), 43%

References

External links

• Paula Hawkins at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

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