- Steve Beshear
Infobox Officeholder
|150px
name = Steven Lynn Beshear
caption =
order = 61stGovernor of Kentucky
term_start =December 11 ,2007
term_end =
lieutenant =Daniel Mongiardo
predecessor =Ernie Fletcher
order2 = 48thLieutenant Governor of Kentucky
term_start2 = 1984
term_end2 = 1988
governor2 =Martha Layne Collins
predecessor2 =Martha Layne Collins
successor2 =Brereton C. Jones
order3 =Attorney General of Kentucky
term_start3 = 1980
term_end3 = 1984
governor3 =John Y. Brown, Jr.
predecessor3 =Robert F. Stephens
successor3 =David L. Armstrong
birth_date =September 21 ,1944
birth_place =Dawson Springs, Kentucky
death_date =
death_place =
constituency =
party = Democratic
spouse = Jane Beshear
profession =Lawyer
religion =Baptist
alma_mater =University of Kentucky
residence=Lexington, Kentucky 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 ofKentucky .Beshear had previously served in the
Kentucky House of Representatives as well as 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 ofDelta Tau Delta fraternity at UK. [http://www.nndb.com/org/530/000041407/]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 electedAttorney General of Kentucky in 1979, defeating Republican nomineeRon Snyder with 471,177 votes to Snyder's 302,951, and served as Attorney General from 1980 to 1984.In 1983, Beshear was elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky on a Democratic ticket headed by
Martha Layne Collins . Beshear defeatedEugene P. Stuart , the running mate ofJim Bunning , 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 governorJohn Y. Brown, Jr. 's 163,204 votes and 221,138 votes garnered byWallace G. Wilkinson , who went on to win the general election that fall. Beshear placed ahead of former governorJulian Carroll 's 42,137 votes and also defeatedGrady 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 theUnited States Senate in 1996, losing to incumbentMitch McConnell after a spirited campaign.2007 election
On
December 18 ,2006 , Beshear formally announced his candidacy forgovernor of Kentucky in the 2007 election with State SenatorDaniel 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. [cite news |first= |last= |title=Fletcher, Beshear To Face Off In Nov. |url=http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=6554860&nav=menu203_2 |work=LEX18 |publisher= |date=2006-05-27 |accessdate=2007-07-25 ] In the general election, Beshear opposed incumbent GovernorErnie Fletcher . Beshear's platform included expanded gambling, which Fletcher opposed due to the social ills he said come with casinos. OnNovember 6 ,2007 , Beshear defeated Fletcher by a 59% to 41% margin. [cite news |first= |last= |title=Beshear beats Fletcher to win race for Kentucky governor |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/NEWS0106/71106041 |work= |publisher= |date=2007-11-06 |accessdate=2007-11-07 ]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 theKentucky 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. [cite news|title=Beshear to unveil casino bill next week|publisher="The Courier-Journal "|date=2008-02-08|author=Loftus, Tim|url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080208/NEWS01/80208022/1008/NEWS01]Despite his support for casino gambling, Beshear is a staunch advocate of a statewide prohibition of
online gambling . [ [http://www.kypost.com/content/news/commonwealth/story.aspx?content_id=18747748-4ec9-42eb-bad2-5713979b3d6c Sept. 22, 2008, Kentucky Post, "Ky. Seizes Domain Names Of Web Gambling Sites"] ]Governor Beshear, is currently leading Kentucky in a suit against gambling related domains. The state is asking 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.” [ [http://governor.ky.gov/pressrelease.htm?PostingGUID=%7B6930A5AD-8BF6-499C-A4DB-70A3544BFF7D%7D Kentucky.gov press release: Kentucky seizes domain names of illegal Internet gambling sites] ]
Opposition to the governors actions in seizing the domain names has grown from several sources including The
Poker Players Alliance , TheMedia Freedom Project , andAmericans for Tax Reform . [ [http://www.freedomkentucky.org/index.php?title=Gambling_In_Kentucky Gambling In Kentucky] FreedomKentucky.org "retrieved October 9, 2008"] Judge Thomas Wingate is expected to hand down a ruling on the issue on October 15, 2008. [ [http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/kentucky-internet-gambling-ruling-to-occur-on-october-15th-495/ Kentucky Internet Gambling Ruling to Occur on October 15th] PokerNewsDaily.com "retrieved October 9, 2008"]References
External links
* [http://governor.ky.gov/ Office of Governor Steve Beshear, Commonwealth of Kentucky official state site]
* [http://www.stevebeshear.com/ Beshear 2007 Campaign site]
* [http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=272 Project Vote Smart - Steven L. Beshear]
* [http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070523/NEWS0106/70523008 Louisville Courier-Journal article on May 2007 primary victory]
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