Charlie Cole Chaffin

where Chaffin grew up Chaffin was born Charlie Francis Cole on September 13, 1938, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her mother, Grace Francis "Frank" Cole, was a nurse anesthetist and her father, John Walton Cole, was a fourth-generation physician. Her family was very politically active. Her grandfather, Charles F. Cole, was a member of the Grant County Quorum Court, her uncle, Ed F. McDonald, served as the Arkansas Secretary of State and a candidate for governor and her uncle, Jim Cole, was a state legislator. Her father was a member of the Grant County Democratic Central Committee and the Arkansas Board of Education, her mother was involved in civil rights and marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and her brother, John Cole, was a prosecutor and district judge. She married Sam L. Chaffin in 1958 and the couple had three children. == Political career ==

She was elected as a delegate to the 1979–1980 Arkansas Constitutional Convention, beating out six opponents including Senator Virgil Fletcher. She was the chair of the Science and Technology Committee and a member of the Finance and Taxation Committee. Chaffin said later that she chose these committee assignments because she wanted to get involved in areas that were not associated with traditional women's issues. She was one of thirteen women out of a hundred members who attended the convention. She joined the Education Standards Committee in 1983, which was chaired by Hillary Rodham Clinton. She was sworn in on November 20, 1984, by her brother. During the 75th General Assembly, she was a member of the member of the Senate Education Committee. She won the Democratic nomination but ultimately lost the general election. == Later life ==

Chaffin later joined the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts in 1997 as a chemistry teacher. == References ==