Paul Feleciano Explained

Paul Feleciano
State Senate:Kansas
District:28th
Term Start:1977
Term End:December 8, 2003
Predecessor:Robert Madden
Successor:Henry Helgerson
State House1:Kansas
District1:97th
Term Start1:1973
Term End1:1976
Birth Date:1942 3, mf=yes[1]
Birth Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence:Wichita, Kansas
Spouse:V. Arlene Williams
Party:Democrat

Paul Feleciano Jr. (born March 27, 1942) is an American former politician who spent three decades as a Democrat in the Kansas State Legislature, primarily serving in the Kansas State Senate.

Feleciano was born in what he describes as "the ghetto" in New York City.[2] He joined the U.S. Air Force and his service there brought him to Wichita, Kansas, where he met and married Arlene Williams. In 1972, Feleciano was working as an insurance agent and moonlighting as a bartender when Robert Madden, a member of the Kansas House of Representatives, recruited him to run for the House of Representatives in a redrawn district; Madden himself would run for the 28th Senate district.[2]

Feleciano successfully won election to the House, and was re-elected in 1974. In 1976, he succeeded Madden in the 28th Senate district, where he spent the next 26 years. In 2003, Feleciano resigned his seat, when he was appointed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius to the Kansas Parole Board.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kansas Legislators, Past and Present - Feleciano, Paul . . kslib.info . State Library of Kansas . November 7, 2022.
  2. Web site: Interview of Paul Feleciano . Sexton, Eric . February 11, 2022 . ksoralhistory.org . Kansas Oral History Project . November 7, 2022.