Lois Herr
Lois Kathryn Herr | |
|---|---|
| Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania's 16th district | |
| Election date November 2, 2010 | |
| Opponent | Joe Pitts (R) |
| Incumbent | Joe Pitts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 23, 1941 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Profession | Marketing and public affairs, author |
Lois Kathryn Herr (born December 23, 1941) is a progressive activist living in Pennsylvania. While working at AT&T, she promoted fighting for equal rights for women in the workplace.[1] A Democrat, she ran for U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district in 2004, 2006 and 2010.[2] In 2013, she was elected to the Borough Council of Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania, and took office in 2014.[3]
Early life and education and career
[edit]Herr was born in Hershey, Pennsylvania.[4] She graduated from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, received a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Fordham University.[4]
Herr's first full-time job, in 1963, was as a seventh grade English teacher in Middletown. The following year she began working at Bell Laboratories. She held various senior management positions with NYNEX, AT&T, New York Telephone and Bell Laboratories through 1990, working in line operations, sales and marketing, government relations, corporate planning and finance. She gradually became aware that women at AT&T did not receive the same benefits as men, and that there were some jobs which were closed to women. Following a 1970 sex discrimination suit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Herr and other women at AT&T worked within the corporation for equal rights for women. AT&T settled the suit in 1973.[5]
She was a Presidential Interexchange Executive, working under President Gerald Ford in the White House Office of Management and Budget. Herr has been scholar-in-residence at Elizabethtown College, taught in their Business Department and Center for Continuing Education and also served as Director of Marketing and Public Affairs.[6]
Publications
[edit]Herr's first book, Women, Power and AT&T: Winning Rights in the Workplace, was published in 2002 by Northeastern University Press. According to WorldCat, it is held in 488 libraries.[7] It was reprinted by URLink in 2020. Her second book, Dear Coach: Letters Home from World War II, was published in 2009, based on over 200 letters sent to her father, Coach Ira Herr, from men and women serving in the war.[8] A third book, Dear Woman of My Dreams, was published by XLIBRIS in 2016.
Political career
[edit]Herr previously served as the Executive Director of the Lancaster County Democratic Committee and was both a local and a state committeeperson in the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. She served also as Chair of the Lebanon County Democratic Committee and a member of the National Organization for Women.[9]
Political campaigns
[edit]Herr ran for the US Congressional seat held by Republican Joseph R. Pitts in 2004, 2006 and 2010. She was defeated in each election by the incumbent.[6][10]
Electoral history
[edit]| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | Third Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Lois Herr | 98,410 | 34.5% | Joe Pitts | 183,620 | 64.4% | William Hagen | 3,269 | 1.25 | ||||
| 2006 | Lois Herr | 80,915 | 39.6% | Joe Pitts | 115,741 | 56.6% | John Murphy | 7,958 | 3.9% | ||||
| 2010 | Lois Herr | 70,994 | 34.6% | Joe Pitts | 134,113 | 65.4% |
In 2013, Herr was elected to the Mount Gretna Borough Council as a nominee of the Democratic Party. Herr received 57 votes, defeating Republican nominee Angela Shea, who had 32 votes.[12]
In 2018, Herr was the Democratic nominee for state senator in Pennsylvania's 48th legislative district and lost to incumbent Republican Mike Folmer.[13]
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Lois Herr | 35,545 | 37.1% | Mike Folmer | 60,357 | 62.9% |
Personal life
[edit]Herr is a native of Hershey, Pennsylvania and currently resides in Mount Gretna.
Works
[edit]- Lois Kathryn Herr, Women, Power and AT&T: Winning Rights in the Workplace, Northeastern (December 12, 2002), ISBN 978-1-55553-537-7
- Lois Kathryn Herr, Dear Coach: Letters Home from World War II, (August 10, 2009), ISBN 978-0-615-30230-0
References
[edit]- ^ "Women, Power, and AT&T: Winning Rights in the Work Place". Hagley Library and Archives News. Hagley Museum and Library. May 7, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ "Herr2010.com". Retrieved September 15, 2016.
- ^ Hackleman, Kathy (January 13, 2014). "Mt. Gretna makes strides on treatment plant upgrades". Lebanon Daily News. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ^ a b "Lois K. Herr (D)". Washington Post. 2004. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
- ^ "Lois Herr Papers". Finding Aid. Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
- ^ a b Boyer, Maurice; Busby, Karen (November 4, 2004). "It's status quo for Election 2004 in Chester County". Avon Grove Sun. TownNews. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
- ^ Herr, Lois Kathryn (January 1, 2003). Women, power, and AT & T: winning rights in the workplace. Northeastern University Press. OCLC 50292370.
- ^ Herr, Lois Kathryn; Herr, Ira Risser (January 1, 2009). Dear Coach: letters home from World War II. Lois Kathryn Herr. OCLC 438753812.
- ^ "Lois Herr on the fringe Clark T. Regitz Manheim Township". Lancaster Newspapers. October 21, 2006. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
- ^ "U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 16". Washington Post. 2006. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
- ^ "Home". electionreturns.state.pa.us.
- ^ "Lebanon County election results". Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ^ "2018 General Election: Senator in the General Assembly". Pennsylvania Department of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
External links
[edit]- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Dear Coach official book site
- Lois K. Herr papers at Hagley Museum and Library
Oral History at https://www.veteranfeministsofamerica.org
- Living people
- 1941 births
- Elizabethtown College alumni
- People from Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Democrats
- American women's rights activists
- Activists from Pennsylvania
- Candidates in the 2004 United States elections
- Candidates in the 2006 United States elections
- Candidates in the 2010 United States elections
- Pennsylvania local politicians
- Women in Pennsylvania politics
- American United Methodists
- 21st-century American women politicians