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Joyce Woodhouse (born 1944) is an American politician and a former member of the Nevada Senate. She represented the 5th district from 2006 to 2010 and then from 2012 to 2019, when she became unable to run for re-election due to term limits.

Early life

Woodhouse was born in Wibaux, Montana, in 1944. She was the oldest of five daughters and grew up on her father's Hereford cattle ranch. She attended Carroll College, where she received a bachelor's of arts degree in elementary education, and then the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she received two master's degrees in curriculum and instruction and in educational leadership. She worked as a teacher, an elementary school principal and a program administrator. She was married to Al Wittenberg. She worked as a legislative lobbyist for the Nevada State Education Association.

Political career

Woodhouse was first elected to the Nevada Senate in November 2006, holding office until November 2010.

She faced no opposition in the 2012 Democratic primary for the 5th Senate district and went on to challenge Republican Steve Kirk in the general election. She focused on the economy and education in her campaign, and won the election by 51.96% to 48.04%.

Woodhouse faced Nicholas Lash, a political newcomer inspired by senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, in the 2016 Democratic primary. She won with 85.48% of the vote, and faced Republican Carrie Buck and Libertarian Tim Hagan in the general election. Woodhouse out-raised Buck by $500,000 to $140,000, and won re-election by less than one percentage point, winning by 47.89% to 47.03%.

In 2017, Woodhouse and fellow state senators Nicole Cannizzaro and Patricia Farley faced a recall effort led by Republican Stephen Silberkraus. The state Democratic party sued, stating that 5,500 signatures on the petition were invalid, as the result of people signing who were not registered to vote in Woodhouse's district or people who later asked to have their signatures removed. A separate lawsuit was filed by the party challenging the validity of the recall itself, led by lawyers Marc Elias and Bradley Schrager. In April 2018, Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske declared that the recall effort had failed to receive enough signatures following a recount.

She was co-minority whip in 2016 and then became the co-majority whip in 2017 and the chief majority whip in 2019.

References

1. ^ "Senator Joyce Woodhouse". Nevada State Legislature. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
2. Wharton, Claudene (September 10, 2019). "Nevada Senator Joyce Woodhouse credits 4-H for building her leadership skills at an early age". University of Nevada, Reno. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
3. ^ Vogel, Ed (21 October 2012). "2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Senate District 5". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
4. Vogel, Ed (27 May 2012). "2012 Primary Election: State Senate District 5". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
5. "Nevada State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. 27 November 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
6. ^ Brean, Henry (25 October 2016). "State Senate District 5". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
7. "State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. 3 August 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
8. Chereb, Sandra (5 November 2016). "Reports show fundraising edge for some Nevada legislative candidates". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
9. "Nevada State Senate". Silver State Election. 22 November 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
10. Messerly, Megan; Valley, Jackie (August 9, 2017). "State Sen. Woodhouse targeted in recall effort related to 'sanctuary city' issue". The Nevada Independent. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
11. ^ Lochhead, Colton (November 22, 2017). "Arguments postponed in lawsuit over Nevada recall efforts". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
12. "Nevada Dems sue, claim Woodhouse recall petition signatures invalid". Reno Gazette Journal. November 14, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
13. Lochhead, Colton (November 14, 2017). "Democrats file suit claiming Woodhouse recall petition signatures invalid". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
14. Bradner, Eric (February 7, 2018). "Democrats try to stop Nevada recall and save their state Senate majority". CNN. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
15. Price, Michelle L. (April 9, 2018). "Officials: Too few signatures for Nevada recall campaigns". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
16. Price, Michelle L. (April 18, 2018). "Judge: Recall bid for Nevada Democratic state senators fails". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 25, 2022.

External links

• Project Vote Smart - Senator Joyce Woodhouse (NV) profile
• Follow the Money - Joyce Woodhouse
  • 2006 campaign contributions

• Democratic Party Nevada state senators
• 1944 births
• Living people
• Women state legislators in Nevada
• People from Glendive, Montana
• 21st-century American women politicians
• 21st-century members of the Nevada Legislature