Stephanie Anne Flowers
Member of the Arkansas Senate
from the 8th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Preceded byMathew Pitsch
Member of the Arkansas Senate
from the 25th[1] district
In office
January 14, 2013 – January 9, 2023
Preceded byGene Jeffress
Succeeded byBreanne Davis
Member of the Arkansas Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 2011 – January 14, 2013
Preceded byHank Wilkins
Succeeded byBryan King
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from the 17th district
In office
January 2005 – January 2011
Preceded byCalvin Johnson
Succeeded byHank Wilkins
Personal details
Born (1953-08-08) August 8, 1953
Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Alma materPhilander Smith College
Thurgood Marshall School of Law
ProfessionAttorney

Stephanie Anne Flowers (born August 8, 1953)[2] is an American attorney and Democratic politician, serving in public office since 2004. Flowers started in politics when she was elected in 2004 to the District 17 seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives. In 2011, she was elected to the Arkansas State Senate where she remains presently.[3]

Flowers graduated from Philander Smith College in Little Rock and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, then known as Texas Southern University School of Law, in Houston, Texas. She became active in politics after returning to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where she joined the Democratic Party and established a private law practice.

Elections

  • 2004 Initially in State House District 17; Flowers won the 2004 Democratic primary and ran unopposed for the November 2, 2004 general election.
  • 2006 Flowers was unopposed for both the 2006 Democratic primary and the November 7 general election.
  • 2008 Flowers was unopposed for both the May 20, 2008 primary and the November 4 general election.
  • 2010 With District 5 Senator Hank Wilkins running for the House District 17 seat, Flowers ran for the open District 5 State Senate seat, won the May 18, 2010 Democratic primary with 4,798 votes (56.2 percent)[4] and was unopposed for the November 2, 2010 general election.
  • 2012 Redistricted to District 25. Following the retirement of state Senator Percy Malone, Flowers won the May 22, 2012 Democratic primary with 4,718 votes (58.5 percent) against fellow state Representative Efrem Elliott.[5] She swept the November 6, 2012 general election with 19,955 votes (82.8 percent) against Libertarian candidate David Dinwiddie.[6]

Family

Stephanie Flowers was born to Margaret Brown Flowers, an educator, and William Harold Flowers, a notable attorney who pioneered desegregation of the University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville, AR.[7][8]

Her relative, Vivian Flowers, serves in the Arkansas House of Representatives for the 65th district[9] and previously District 17.

Early career

After graduating from Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Flowers returned to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where she entered into private practice.[10] Flowers served as a deputy prosecutor for the juvenile court in Jefferson County, Arkansas and has been a practicing lawyer for over 30 years.[11]

Senator Flowers

Committee memberships

Stephanie Flowers serves as Vice Chair on the Arkansas Senate Judiciary Committee[12] and on the Joint Budget Claims Committee.[13] Flowers also serves as a member on the following committees: Arkansas Legislative Council,[14] Joint Budget Committee,[15] City, County & Local Affairs Senate Committee,[16] Joint Energy Committee,[17] Children and Youth Senate Committee,[18] and the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus.[19]

Policy

Gun control and Senate Bill 484 (2019)

Flowers went viral in early 2019 when she made passionate remarks[20] about debate on Senate Bill 484,[21] which removed the "duty to retreat" portion of the Stand Your Ground law being presented before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[22] As discussion before the Committee about the bill surpassed two hours, there was a motion to limit commentary to 10 minutes per person.[23] As the only black member of the Committee, Flowers defended the right of citizens to debate the bill, remarking that people like her son don't "walk the same path."[24] Coverage of the remarks especially focused on Flowers's response to Senator Alan Clark after he cautioned her to stop yelling: "What the hell you going to do, shoot me?"[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Senator Stephanie Flowers (D)". Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas General Assembly. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  2. ↑ 91st Arkansas General Assembly Legislative Directory
  3. ↑ "Stephanie Flowers' Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  4. ↑ "2010 Preferential Primary Election". Little Rock, Arkansas: Secretary of State of Arkansas. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Arkansas State Primary Election May 22, 2012". Little Rock, Arkansas: Secretary of State of Arkansas. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Arkansas State General Election November 6, 2012". Little Rock, Arkansas: Secretary of State of Arkansas. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  7. ↑ Kirk, John. "The legacy of William Harold Flowers". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  8. ↑ "Welcome to the Civil Rights Digital Library". crdl.usg.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  9. ↑ "Vivian Flowers - Arkansas House of Representatives". www.arkansashouse.org. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  10. ↑ "Biography of The Honorable Stephanie Flowers: Arkansas State Senator" (PDF). Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Biography of Senator Stephanie Flowers: Chairman - Senate Children and Youth Committee" (PDF). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Committee Detail". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  13. ↑ "Committee Detail". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  14. ↑ "Committee Detail". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  15. ↑ "Committee Detail". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  16. ↑ "Committee Detail". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  17. ↑ "Committee Detail". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  18. ↑ "Committee Detail". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  19. ↑ "Committee Detail". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  20. ↑ Folley, Aris (2019-03-08). "Black Arkansas lawmaker is told 'you need to stop' by white colleague". The Hill. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  21. ↑ Ballinger, Bob (March 3, 2019). "Senate Bille 484" (PDF). Arkansas State Legislature. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  22. ↑ "VIDEO: Arkansas Senator walks out during debate over amending state self-defense laws; panel rejects bill". Arkansas Online. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  23. ↑ Folley, Aris (2019-03-08). "Black Arkansas lawmaker is told 'you need to stop' by white colleague". The Hill. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  24. ↑ "A black lawmaker and mother refused to back down in opposing a 'stand your ground' bill. The measure was defeated". WKTV News. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  25. ↑ Black Arkansas senator and mother slams 'stand your ground' bill - CNN Video, retrieved 2019-04-19
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