Steve Beshear
Steven Lynn Beshear | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 61st Governor of Kentucky | |
| Assumed office December 11, 2007 | |
| Lieutenant | Daniel Mongiardo |
| Preceded by | Ernie Fletcher |
| 48th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky | |
| In office 1984–1988 | |
| Governor | Martha Layne Collins |
| Preceded by | Martha Layne Collins |
| Succeeded by | Brereton C. Jones |
| Attorney General of Kentucky | |
| In office 1980–1984 | |
| Governor | John Y. Brown, Jr. |
| Preceded by | Robert F. Stephens |
| Succeeded by | David L. Armstrong |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 21, 1944 Dawson Springs, Kentucky |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jane Beshear |
| Residence | Lexington, Kentucky |
| Alma mater | University of Kentucky |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Steven Lynn "Steve" Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American politician of the Democratic Party, and the 61st and current governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Beshear had previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives; he was also the state's Attorney General from 1980 to 1984 and Lieutenant Governor from 1984 to 1988.
Education and early career
Beshear attended the University of Kentucky, where he received a bachelor's degree and a law degree. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity at UK.[1]. ref>"Beshear Fish Fry to Have Carlisle County Flavor]]" (PDF). Carlisle Weekly. 2007-10-03. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)</ref>.
Beshear was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives to begin his political career. He represented the 76th District and served in the House from 1974 to 1979. He was elected as Attorney General of Kentucky in 1979, defeating Republican nominee Ron Snyder with 471,177 votes to Snyder's 302,951, and served as Attorney General from 1980 to 1984.
In 1983, Beshear was elected as Lieutenant Governor on a Democratic ticket headed by Martha Layne Collins. Beshear defeated Eugene P. Stuart, the running mate of Jim Bunning, with 568,869 votes to 321,352.
In 1987, he ran for Governor of Kentucky and lost in a packed Democratic primary field. Beshear won 114,439 votes in the primary, good for a third place finish behind former governor John Y. Brown, Jr.'s 163,204 votes and 221,138 votes garnered by Wallace G. Wilkinson, who went on to win the general election that fall. Beshear placed ahead of former governor Julian Carroll's 42,137 votes and also defeated Grady Stumbo, who won 84,613 votes. Three other candidates combined for an additional 8,187 votes in that primary.
After his defeat in the 1987 election, Beshear practiced law in Lexington, Kentucky. He was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 1996, losing to incumbent Mitch McConnell after a spirited campaign.
2007 election
On December 18, 2006, Beshear formally announced his candidacy for governor of Kentucky in the 2007 election with State Senator Daniel Mongiardo as his lieutenant governor. Beshear won the primary; each of his opponents conceded the race to him. Because he exceeded 40 percent of the vote, he avoided a runoff.[2] In the general election, Beshear opposed incumbent Governor Ernie Fletcher. Beshear's platform included expanded gambling, which Fletcher opposed due to the social ills he said come with casinos. On November 6, 2007, Beshear defeated Fletcher by a 59% to 41% margin.[3]
Governor
On December 11, 2007, Beshear was sworn in as Kentucky's 61st governor by Kentucky Supreme Court Associate Justice Bill Cunningham in a private ceremony in the Governor's Mansion in Frankfort. Beshear received the oath of office again during a public ceremony on the steps of the Kentucky State Capitol later that afternoon. The oath of office was administered during the public ceremony by Associate Justice Mary C. Noble.
On February 15, 2008, Beshear unveiled legislation that would allow casino gambling in Kentucky, which he claimed would generate "several hundred millions of dollars" in tax revenue for the state.[4] The constitutional amendment Beshear proposed failed to advance past the General Assembly [5]
Despite his support for casino gambling, Beshear is a staunch advocate of a statewide prohibition of online gambling.[6]
Governor Beshear is currently leading Kentucky in a suit against gambling related domains. The state asked the courts to give it control of over 140 gambling-related domains in an attempt to block Kentucky residents from accessing the sites. “Unlicensed, unregulated, illegal Internet gambling poses a tremendous threat to the citizens of the Commonwealth because of its ease, availability and anonymity,” said Beshear. “The owners and operators of these illegal sites prey on Kentucky citizens, including our youth, and deprive the Commonwealth of millions of dollars in revenue.”[7] Opponents of Beshear's action respond by stating that online gaming is regulated in its home jurisdiction, that there is no such thing as anonymous play, and that this is not taxed or regulated by Kentucky because Kentucky chooses to not tax or regulate online gaming.[8][9][10] In January 2009 the Kentucky Court of Appeals blocked the state from taking the domain names of the online gambling sites.[11]
In February 2009, Beshear declared a state of emergency in Kentucky due to the snow and ice storms hitting the state, and he sought federal aid.[citation needed]
References
- ^ http://www.nndb.com/org/530/000041407/
- ^ "Fletcher, Beshear To Face Off In Nov". LEX18. 2006-05-27. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- ^ "Beshear beats Fletcher to win race for Kentucky governor". 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- ^ Loftus, Tim (2008-02-08). "Beshear to unveil casino bill next week". The Courier-Journal.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Kentucky expanded-gaming amendment fails to advance". Thoroughbred Times. 2008-02-26.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Sept. 22, 2008, Kentucky Post, "Ky. Seizes Domain Names Of Web Gambling Sites"
- ^ Kentucky.gov press release: Kentucky seizes domain names of illegal Internet gambling sites
- ^ Oct. 13, 2008, Lexington Herald-Leader, "Playing bad hand"
- ^ Oct. 7, 2008, Louisville Courier-Journal, "Internet freedom in peril"
- ^ Oct. 6, 2008, Forbes, "Opponents to Ky. online gambling case gathering"
- ^ Kentucky.com: Appeals court blocks state from taking domain names of online gambling sites
External links
- Office of Governor Steve Beshear, Commonwealth of Kentucky official state site
- Beshear 2007 official campaign site
- Profile from SourceWatch Congresspedia
- Louisville Courier-Journal article on May 2007 primary victory
- 1944 births
- Baptists from the United States
- Governors of Kentucky
- Kentucky Attorneys General
- Kentucky Democrats
- Kentucky lawyers
- Lieutenant governors of Kentucky
- Living people
- Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives
- People from Hopkins County, Kentucky
- Prosecutors
- University of Kentucky alumni
- Delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention