Born in 1955 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Spearman earned a Bachelor of Science from Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia before attending the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, where she graduated with a Masters of Divinity.
She was elected in 2012 to the District 1 seat in the Nevada Senate as the Democratic nominee after defeating incumbent John Jay Lee. Number Republican had filed to run in District 1 which is a solidly Democratic district. District 1 (map) is located entirely within Clark County.
lieutenant is largely composed of the northern section of the city of North Las Vegas but also includes slivers of neighboring jurisdictions.
She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in business administration. Spearman spent 29 years in the United States Army, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
She also served as faculty at the University of Louisville, where she was a lecturer in Pan American studies and director of the multicultural center between 2001 and 2005. She is the founding pastor of Resurrection Faith Community Ministries, a church in North Las Vegas.
She served one term on the board, during which she was elected board president
She did not seek re-election to a second term in 1994. In 2012, Spearman challenged two-term incumbent senator John Lee, a conservative Democrat who had attracted the ire of several traditional Democratic constituencies, including environmental groups and gay rights activists. Those and other groups formed a progressive coalition in support of Spearman, mounting a vigorous campaign to defeat Lee in the Democratic primary.
Although Lee far outraised Spearman, the incumbent lost badly in the Democratic primary election held in June 2012, taking 37% of the vote to Spearman"s 63%.
State senator David Parks was previously the only openly LGBT senator in Nevada. She now serves as one of five openly LGBT legislators, alongside Parks, Senator.
Kelvin Atkinson, Assemblyman James Healey and Assemblyman Andrew Martin.
Spearman is the first lesbian member of the Nevada Legislature.
