Bob Wise

Infobox Officeholder
name= Bob Wise
small

caption=
order= 33^rd
office= Governor of West Virginia
term_start= 2001
term_end= 2005
predecessor= Cecil H. Underwood
successor= Joe Manchin
order2 = Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 3rd congressional district
term_start2 = 1983
term_end2 = 1993
predecessor2 = Mick Staton
successor2 = Nick Rahall
order3 = Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district
term_start3 = 1993
term_end3 = 2001
predecessor3 = Harley O. Staggers, Jr.
successor3 = Shelley Moore Capito
birth_date= birth date and age|1948|01|6
birth_place= Washington, D.C. Youngstown, OH
death_date=
death_place=
spouse= Sandy Wise
alma_mater= Tulane University
party= Democrat
religion=
footnotes=

Robert Ellsworth "Bob" Wise, Jr. (born January 6, 1948) is an American politician. A Democrat, Wise served as the Governor of West Virginia from January 2001 to January 2005.

Biography

Early life

Wise was born in Washington, D.C.. He received a B.A. from Duke University in 1970 and a law degree from Tulane University Law School in 1975. Wise's political career began in 1980, when he defeated an incumbent senator for election to the state Senate of West Virginia as a Democrat from the state capital, Charleston.

Congressional career

In 1981, Wise started a career in the West Virginia Senate before being elected in 1982 to the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 3rd congressional district. He unseated incumbent Republican Mick Staton in a close race, but was reelected eight times without serious opposition. His district was renumbered the 2nd after West Virginia's declining population cost it a congressional seat after the 1990 United States Census. Wise served as an at-large whip, regional whip, and parliamentarian for the Democratic Party. He also served as ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In December 1998, Representative Bob Wise announced that he was considering forming an exploratory committee to raise money for a campaign for governor.cite news|author=Fischer, Karin and Stacey Ruckle|title=Wise turns his attention toward governor's job - Congressman to form a panel to explore his options|publisher=Charleston Daily Mail|date=December 22, 1998|accessdate=2008-08-21|page=1A|url=http://docs.newsbank.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:CDMB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0FE89D44A7FD0EB6&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB617760FFC75]

In 2000, Wise ran for governor against incumbent Republican Cecil H. Underwood, winning 51 percent to 47 percent.

Governor of West Virginia

Wise's tenure as Governor of West Virginia, during an overall economic downturn following the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the economic fallout from the September 11, 2001 attacks saw the greatest loss in employment in state history (including the Great Depression) and a tightened fiscal environmentFact|date=February 2007. During this period, Wise responded to the economic challenges of the state by attempting to attract businesses through an extensive tax and infrastructure assistance program. In one instance, the state issued $215 million in grants to spur $1 billion investment in projects, such as the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, Cabela's, the Marshall University Biotechnology Development Center and the West Virginia High Technology Consortium.

Wise is credited with creating the PROMISE scholarship, which allows many West Virginia students to attend any public, state university free of charge. The program is funded through video lottery revenue,cite news|author=Garrison, Michael S. and J. Thomas Jones|title=The success of Promise Scholarship keeping more students in W.Va.|publisher=Charleston Gazette|date=December 1, 2004|accessdate=2008-08-25|page=P5A|url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=106BA92BAD6EA83C&p_docnum=7&p_queryname=7] and was inspired by the HOPE scholarship program in Georgia. Since its inception, the percentage of students leaving the state to pursue postsecondary degrees has dropped to their lowest levels since the mid-1990s. Wise was also the first governor to propose full funding for the Higher Education Grant Program.

During his term he chaired the National Governors Association Committee on Natural Resources and the Southern States Energy Board.

On May 12, 2003, Wise acknowledged having had an extramarital affair with state Development Office employee Angela Mascia-Frye.cite news|last=McElhinny|first=Brad|title=Some forgiving of Wise, Many of those questioned think well of governor|publisher=Charleston Daily Mail|date=May 24, 2003|accessdate=2008-08-21|page=1A|url=http://docs.newsbank.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:CDMB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0FE897B2302C1CFE&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB617760FFC75] . On that same day, Mascia-Frye's husband, Phillip Frye, stated that he filed for divorce earlier on April 7, citing the relationship with Wise.cite news|last=Hohmann|first=George|title=Woman's state job detailed, Mascia-Frye hired at lowest level in group 2 years ago|publisher=Charleston Daily Mail|date=May 21, 2003|accessdate=2008-08-21|page=1A|url=http://docs.newsbank.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:CDMB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0FE897B127E3FE16&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB617760FFC75] cite news|last=Wrenn|first=Deanna|title=Mascia-Frye accompanied Wise on plane, Both attended development - meeting in Detroit|publisher=Charleston Daily Mail|date=May 21, 2003|accessdate=2008-08-21|page=2A|url=http://docs.newsbank.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:CDMB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0FE897B0C1939692&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB617760FFC75]

Post-political Career

On May 23, Secretary of State Joe Manchin, also a Democrat, stated that he would run for office of Governor instead of opting for another term as Secretary of State. He also stated that he would oppose Wise in the primary election.cite news|title=Wise far from a sure thing among Democrats, Leaders consider other candidates in aftermath of affair|publisher=Charleston Daily Mail|date=May 29, 2003|accessdate=2008-08-21|page=6C|url=http://docs.newsbank.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:CDMB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0FE897B48698B8D3&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB617760FFC75]

In August, Wise announced that he would not seek reelection in 2004, becoming the first governor to not seek a second term since the West Virginia state constitution was amended in 1970 to allow consecutive terms. [cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DEFD61E31F930A2575BC0A9659C8B63|title=National Briefing|Mid-Atlantic: West Virginia: Governor Will Not Seek Second Term|publisher=The New York Times|date=2003, August 13] cite news|title=Wise says he's leaving state in better shape Outgoing governor gives farewell address|publisher=Charleston Daily Mail|date=January 13, 2005|accessdate=2008-08-25|page=P5A|url=]

Following his term, he returned to Washington, where he now serves as the President of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a nonprofit organization devoted to secondary education policy.

Wise and his wife, Sandy, have two children, Robert (born in 1987), who attends the University of Pennsylvania, and Alexandra (born in 1989), who currently attends Princeton University.

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.wvculture.org/history/wiseia.html Inaugural Address of Robert E. Wise, Jr.]
* [http://www.all4ed.org/about_the_alliance/bob-wise Official Bob Wise biography]