Kirk Fordice

Kirk Fordice
61st Governor of Mississippi
In office January 14, 1992 – January 11, 2000
Lieutenant	Eddie Briggs (1992–1996) Ronnie Musgrove (1996–2000)
Preceded by	Ray Mabus
Succeeded by	Ronnie Musgrove
Personal details
Born	February 10, 1934(1934-02-10) Memphis, Tennessee
Died	September 7, 2004(2004-09-07) (aged 70) Jackson, Mississippi
Resting place	Parkway Memorial Cemetery Ridgeland, Mississippi
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Pat Fordice (1955–1999) (divorced) Ann G. Creson (2000–2003) (divorced)
Profession	Soldier, Businessman
Religion	Methodist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army Army Reserve
Years of service	1957–1959; 1959–1977
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	Vietnam War 1st Infantry Division

Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice, Jr. (February 10, 1934 – September 7, 2004) was a politician from the US state of Mississippi. He was the 61st Governor of Mississippi from January 14, 1992, until January 11, 2000.

Biography

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Fordice studied engineering at Purdue University, becoming a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and earning a BS and MS in 1956 and 1957, respectively. After graduation he served with the United States Army as an engineer officer in the 1st Infantry Division for two years. He remained in the Army Reserve until 1977, retiring with the rank of colonel.

Fordice settled in Vicksburg and began a career in heavy construction, eventually founding his own construction company and becoming a millionaire. He won the governorship of Mississippi in the 1991 election, first winning the Republican primary against state auditor Pete Johnson and in the general election against Democratic incumbent Ray Mabus, making him the first Republican to be elected Mississippi governor since Reconstruction-era governor Adelbert Ames, who served from 1874 to 1876. Fordice successfully won re-election in 1995 against Democratic Mississippi secretary of state Dick Molpus. His second inauguration was on January 16, 1996.

An outspoken conservative, Fordice advocated tax cuts, the abolishment of affirmative action, reductions in the welfare system, expanded capital punishment, tougher prison conditions and the building of more prisons.

Fordice also alarmed Jewish groups such as B'nai B'rith by referring to America as "a Christian Nation" during a Republican governors conference. South Carolina governor Carroll Campbell quickly offered a correction, adding "Judeo-" as a prefix to Christian, but Fordice snapped back he meant what he said. Fordice later apologized for any offense.

Fordice also refused to discuss any increase in public school pay raise across the state, even though Mississippi ranked 49th in the nation. When teachers discussed striking he ordered any teacher that went on strike to be immediately fired.^{[citation needed]}

In August 1996, Fordice signed an executive order banning recognition of same-sex marriages in Mississippi.^[1] Lawmakers said then that they would back up the executive order with a law. In 2004, Mississippi voters passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman and further banning recognition of same-sex marriages from other states and countries.^[2]

Fordice said he would have quit his position of Governor while still in office, except that he didn't want to give the Democratic candidate, Lieutenant Governor Ronnie Musgrove, any spot-light time of running the state before the actual election.^[3] Musgrove won the election anyway and became Mississippi's next Governor.

Fordice's tenure was also roiled by an extramarital affair with his high school sweetheart Ann G. Creson, which led to his divorce from his wife of 44 years, Pat Fordice. The controversy included then-65-year-old Fordice's threat to "whip your ass" when reporter Bert Case went to Fordice's house to question him. After leaving office, Fordice married Ann, but they also divorced later.

After retiring, Fordice settled in Madison, Mississippi. He died of leukemia in Jackson at the age of 70 with his ex-wife Pat by his side. He is buried at Parkway Memorial Cemetery in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

References

1. ^ Sun Herald via Findlaw.com: State lawmakers opposed to gay marriages
2. ^ USA Today: Amendment banning gay marriage passes
3. ^ The New York Times: POLITICAL BRIEFING; Now, a New Episode Of the Fordice Saga

• The Associated Press. "Kirk Fordice, 70, Former Governor of Mississippi." The New York Times. September 8, 2004.
• Edsall, Thomas B. "Miss. Governor Ending Historic Tenure," The Washington Post, February 27, 1999; Page L1
• Sansing, David G. "Kirk Fordice," Mississippi History Now

External links

• Photo

Political offices
Preceded by Ray Mabus	Governor of Mississippi January 14, 1992 – January 11, 2000	Succeeded by Ronnie Musgrove

Persondata
Name	Fordice, Kirk
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 10, 1934
Place of birth	Memphis, Tennessee
Date of death	September 7, 2004
Place of death	Jackson, Mississippi