Jane Kidd was elected Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia in January of 2007. Before that, she served as a State Representative from Athens, and ran for the State Senate in 2006, despite a Republican redistricting designed to keep her out. As Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, she has continued her record of standing up for working families.

Jane's political career started early. As the daughter of former Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver and the grand-niece of Senator Richard B. Russell, Jane grew up in Georgia politics. She served as chair of the Youth for Talmadge campaign, hit the campaign trail in 1972 for her father's US Senate campaign, and won her first election at age 27, when she was elected to serve 3 terms on the Lavonia City Council. Later Jane was campaign manager for Congressional Candidate, State Senator Don Johnson and upon his election, served as Congressman Johnson's District Director. She was a member of the Clarke County Democratic Women and has served on the Clarke County Democratic Committee since 1998.

Jane has worked as a public relations consultant, specializing in higher education. She has been Alumni Director for her alma mater, the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and was Vice President for University Relations at Clemson University.

Jane lives in Athens. She and her husband of 33 years, David, have two children. Elizabeth is an elementary school teacher, newly married and living in Hawaii. Alex is a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi.

(Photo credit: Vicki Horwitz)