Jane Kidd | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kidd in 2007 | |
| Chair of theDemocratic Party of Georgia | |
| In office January 2007 – January 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Bobby Kahn |
| Succeeded by | Mike Berlon |
| Member of theGeorgia House of Representatives from the 115th district | |
| In office January 10, 2005 – January 8, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Larry Walker |
| Succeeded by | Doug McKillip |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jane Brevard Vandiver (1953-02-12)February 12, 1953 (age 72) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
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| Education | |
Jane Vandiver Kidd (born February 12, 1953) is a retired American politician fromGeorgia.
Kidd was bornJane Brevard Vandiver on February 12, 1953, inAtlanta to Sybil Elizabeth "Betty" (née Russell; 1927–2018), a daughter of federal judgeRobert Lee Russell, andErnest Vandiver (1918–2005, anArmy Air Forces veteran ofWorld War II and former mayor ofLavonia, Georgia, who was serving asthe state's adjutant general under GovernorHerman Talmadge. Through her mother, she was a granddaughter ofRichard Russell Sr., a former chief justice of theSupreme Court of Georgia and a grandniece of U.S. Senator and former governorRichard Russell Jr.[1] Her father successfully ran forlieutenant governor in the 1954 election, and, subsequently,in 1958, he was electedgovernor, serving in that position until 1963. Kidd attended Queens College (nowQueens University of Charlotte), and graduated from theUniversity of Georgia, where she received a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Kidd married David Alexander Kidd in 1974. The couple settled in Lavonia and went on to have two children: Frances Elizabeth Kidd Hogan (born 1979) and David Alexander Kidd Jr. ({born 1982).
Kidd started her career as adisc jockey atWNEG (AM) and later worked at the University of Georgia public television (WUGA-TV).
She worked atClemson University in South Carolina, as a television and radio editor, and then returned to UGA to begin working as a national media relations director for several colleges and universities, and the MacArthur Foundation.
Kidd was elected in 1980 in Lavonia City Council, serving three two-year terms. In 1986, she moved to Athens, Georgia and worked for Gehrung Associates, as a media relations consultant for the Keene, NH firm. In 1992, she served as campaign manager forDon Johnson Jr.'s successful run for Congress, and served as his district director during his one term in Congress. In 1996 Kidd returned to UGA as fundraiser and alumni director for The State Botanical Garden of Georgia and the Grady College of Journalism. In 2004, Kidd ran forGeorgia House of Representatives for the 115th district and won against Republican candidateBill Cowsert, but after a single term in the House, lost her bid for Georgia Senate District 46 to Cowsert. Kidd was then elected chair of theDemocratic Party of Georgia in 2007, which she would lead until 2011.
Kidd returned to higher education public relations in 2012 when she became Special Assistant to the President ofPiedmont University in Demorest andAthens, Georgia. Kidd received a Masters in Media Technology in 2016 from Piedmont University. Kidd retired from Piedmont University in 2019.