Dawn Gibbons

Dawn Gibbons
First Lady of Nevada
In office January 1, 2007 – July 21, 2010
Preceded by	Dema Guinn
Succeeded by	Kathleen Teipner Sandoval
Member of the Nevada Assembly from the 25th district
In office 1991–1991
Preceded by	Jim Gibbons
Succeeded by	Jim Gibbons
In office 1999–2003
Preceded by	Brian Sandoval
Succeeded by	Heidi Gansert
Personal details
Born	March 9, 1954 (1954-03-09) (age 57) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jim Gibbons (1985–2010, divorced)
Children	1

Dawn Gibbons (born March 9, 1954) is an American politician from Nevada. She is known for being the wife of Governor Jim Gibbons, although they were divorced on July 21, 2010.

Early and personal life

Dawn Gibbons was born in Atlanta, Georgia and moved to Nevada at the age of 20.^[1] She graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a bachelor's degree in geological studies. Following graduation, she owned and operated two wedding chapels in Reno, Nevada. During this period, she met her future husband, Jim Gibbons, then a Delta Air Lines pilot. They married in 1986. Together they have one child, Jimmy, now serving in the United States Navy and currently at Whiting Field in flight training.

Political Career

In 1991, Dawn Gibbons was appointed to the Nevada Assembly, filling a vacancy created when her husband resigned his seat in order to serve in the Persian Gulf War. She resigned from the state legislature in April 1991, allowing her husband to reclaim his seat.^{[clarification needed]} Following her husband's reappointment to the seat, she resumed her career in business until 1998, when she was elected to the Nevada Assembly, serving from 1999 to 2005. During the 2006 election season, she was defeated in the Republican Party primary to succeed her husband in the U.S. House of Representatives, finishing in third place behind Secretary of State Dean Heller, the eventual winner of both the primary and the general elections, and State Assemblywoman Sharron Angle. In that same election cycle, her husband won both the Republican primary and the general election to become Governor of Nevada.

Divorce

On May 2, 2008, the governor filed for divorce on grounds of incompatibility, citing an undisclosed incident in Reno, and asked the court to determine whether he or his wife would live at the Nevada Governor's Mansion in Carson City.^[2]

Gibbons subsequently moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, and debuted her talk radio show, The Dawn Gibbons Show, on Fox News on March 30, 2010, with Nevada Assembly Republican Minority Leader Heidi Gansert and U.S. Senator Harry Reid as her first guests. Gibbons endorsed Reid in his re-election bid, saying he "was the only one to call to see how I was [after filing for divorce]. The only elected official to do that. He's a gift from God."^[3]

On July 21, 2010, the divorce became final.^[4]

References

1. ^ McAndrew, Siobhan (2 December 2009). "Dawn Gibbons' story: Nevada's first lady talks about her divorce, humiliation and fears for the future". Reno Gazette Journal. http://www.rgj.com/article/20091203/NEWS/912030369/Dawn-Gibbons-story-Nevada-s-first-lady-talks-about-her-divorce-humiliation-fears-future. Retrieved 15 October 2011. 
2. ^ Riley, Brendan (2 May 2008). "Nevada governor files for divorce, cites incompatibility". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-02-1942995444_x.htm. Retrieved 15 October 2011. 
3. ^ Katsilometes, John (29 March 2010). "Dawn Gibbons says booking Harry Reid for radio show ‘an absolute coup’". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/kats-report/2010/mar/29/dawn-gibbons-scores-coup-first-show-harry-reid/. Retrieved 15 October 2011. 
4. ^ Sonner, Scott (July 21, 2010). "Jim and Dawn Gibbons officially divorced". Las Vegas Review-Journal. AP. http://www.lvrj.com/news/gov--gibbons-officially-divorced-98937594.html. Retrieved November 1, 2011. 

External links

• Dawn Gibbons home page

Nevada Assembly
Preceded by Jim Gibbons	Member of the Nevada Assembly from the 25th legislative district 1991	Succeeded by Jim Gibbons
Preceded by Brian Sandoval	Member of the Nevada Assembly from the 25th legislative district 1999–2003	Succeeded by Heidi Gansert

Persondata
Name	Gibbons, Dawn
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 9, 1954
Place of birth	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death