56 Facts About Evelyn Gandy

Edythe Evelyn Gandy was an American attorney and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980.

Evelyn Gandy briefly practiced law before being elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, where she served from 1948 to 1952.

Evelyn Gandy was re-elected state treasurer and served again in that role from 1968 to 1972.

Evelyn Gandy subsequently became insurance commissioner, and in that capacity she investigated false advertising, lobbied for the passage of a no-fault insurance law, pushed for stronger licensing requirements for insurance agents, and restructured the Mississippi Insurance Department.

Evelyn Gandy remained publicly active in women's organizations and state Democratic politics until her death in 2007.

Edythe Evelyn Gandy was born on September 4,1920, to Kearney C Gandy and Abbie Whigham Gandy in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States.

Evelyn Gandy's parents encouraged her from a young age to pursue what interests she had without regard for her gender.

Evelyn Gandy later credited her father, who had supported the women's suffrage movement, with being particularly supportive of her ambitions.

Evelyn Gandy attended Hattiesburg High School, and in her senior year served as president of the debate club and edited the school yearbook and newspaper.

Evelyn Gandy was the first woman to edit the Mississippi Law Journal.

Evelyn Gandy then took a job as a research assistant in the office of Mississippi United States Senator Theodore Bilbo in Washington, DC, as Bilbo was a family friend.

Evelyn Gandy was widely suspected to be the ghost writer of the work, and she later admitted to conducting most of the research for the book.

Evelyn Gandy served as second vice president of the Hattiesburg chapter of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs from 1951 to 1952 and second vice president of the state chapter in 1951 before becoming first vice president the following year.

Evelyn Gandy was appointed to a two-year term on the Mississippi Congress of Parents and Teachers board of managers.

Evelyn Gandy campaigned in 1947 to be elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives for the seat from Forrest County.

Evelyn Gandy advocated for increased support for education, welfare, and the elderly.

Evelyn Gandy defeated Arrington in a primary runoff and was sworn-in in early 1948, working in the legislature for one four-year term.

Evelyn Gandy introduced a successful bill to raise bond money for Hattiesburg city school construction and proposed another bill that would authorize Mississippi Southern College to establish its own nursing and law schools.

Evelyn Gandy proposed other bills to establish a state department of labor and a state cosmetology board.

In 1959 Evelyn Gandy campaigned for election to the office of State Treasurer.

Evelyn Gandy attacked his credibility, arguing that his business connections disqualified him from handling public funds.

Evelyn Gandy won, making her the first woman to be elected to a Mississippi statewide constitutional office and the second elected to a statewide office overall.

On September 1,1959, Evelyn Gandy was appointed Assistant Attorney General of Mississippi by State Attorney General Joe Patterson.

Evelyn Gandy served as state treasurer from 1960 to 1964, leaving office as state law at the time did not allow the treasurer to run for consecutive terms.

In 1963 Evelyn Gandy ran for the office of Lieutenant Governor.

Evelyn Gandy promised to treat the position as a "full time job".

Evelyn Gandy attacked her gender, with his campaign ads calling on voters to "elect a man".

Evelyn Gandy resigned effective April 30,1967, to prepare for a second campaign for state treasurer.

Evelyn Gandy implemented a program to deposit state funds equally across banks in the state.

In 1971 Evelyn Gandy ran for the office of insurance commissioner.

Evelyn Gandy defeated insurance salesman Truett Smith in the Democratic primary, taking the largest number of votes among any candidate for any office in the primary, and was unopposed in the general election.

Evelyn Gandy restructured the Mississippi Insurance Department into three divisions: one to manage insurance claims, one to conduct industry oversight, and another to handle complaints.

Evelyn Gandy's platform focused on improving job opportunities, particularly by expanding vocational training.

Evelyn Gandy repeated her promise from 1963 that she would treat the position as "full time" and called for government restructuring and campaign finance reform.

Evelyn Gandy led the first Democratic primary and won the runoff, against Brad Dye, with 52 percent of the vote.

Evelyn Gandy was responsible for appointing the body's committees and mostly reappointed past committee chairs to leadership positions.

Evelyn Gandy removed Burgin from his chair in September 1978 after he was indicted on federal corruption charges.

Evelyn Gandy otherwise maintained good relationships with committee chairmen during her tenure, though her critics attacked her as a defender of the status quo.

Evelyn Gandy guided the passage of a bill to establish the State Ethics Commission and the passage of the Sixteenth Section Reform Act of 1978, which reformed the leasing of public school lands.

Evelyn Gandy served as acting governor of Mississippi for a cumulative total of 248 days when Governor Cliff Finch was out of the state.

Evelyn Gandy sought the office of Governor of Mississippi in the 1979 election, campaigning on a platform of economic growth and government reform.

Evelyn Gandy's standing was harmed by her association with Finch and the fact that she was a woman.

Evelyn Gandy refused an offer to debate Winter, citing schedule conflicts, creating doubts about her political abilities.

Evelyn Gandy subsequently rejected an offer from Winter to take a position in his administration, but several months later was hired as the director of the Office of Human Resources Planning in the Department of Mental Health.

Evelyn Gandy ran again for gubernatorial office in 1983, facing Attorney General William Allain, businessman Mike Sturdivant, and two other candidates in the Democratic primary.

Evelyn Gandy made more effort to appear charismatic and friendly, altering her appearance and hiring a professional campaign strategist for the first time in her political career.

Evelyn Gandy's platform included education reform, controlling unemployment, expanding the National Guard, improved benefits for the elderly and disabled, and opposition to in-state radioactive waste disposal.

Evelyn Gandy's opponents attacked her by linking her to her previous segregationist positions, with leaflets and a reprint of a 1963 ad showing her connections to Senator Bilbo distributed.

Evelyn Gandy rejected a suggestion from her friends that she seek gubernatorial office again in 1987 but remained publicly active in women's organizations and openly encouraged women to pursue careers as they saw fit.

Evelyn Gandy remained involved in Mississippi Democratic politics until her death.

Evelyn Gandy never married, instead enjoying the companionship of her sister, Frances.

Evelyn Gandy was a distant cousin of politician Edwin L Pittman.

Evelyn Gandy died on December 23,2007, at her home near Hattiesburg after suffering from a lengthy bout of progressive supranuclear palsy.

Evelyn Gandy's body lay in state in the rotunda of the Mississippi State Capitol, the first time such an honor had been granted to a woman.

Evelyn Gandy was buried at the city's Roseland Park Cemetery.

An equal pay bill named in her honor, the Evelyn Gandy Fair Pay Act, was introduced in the Mississippi State Legislature in 2019 but died in committee.