Ned McWherter

Ned Ray McWherter
Governor McWherter speaking at a ceremony, December 1988
46th Governor of Tennessee
In office January 17, 1987 – January 21, 1995
Lieutenant	John S. Wilder
Preceded by	Lamar Alexander
Succeeded by	Donald K. Sundquist
Personal details
Born	October 15, 1930(1930-10-15) Palmersville, Tennessee
Died	April 4, 2011(2011-04-04) (aged 80) Nashville, Tennessee
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Bette Jean Beck McWherter (deceased)
Profession	Politician
Religion	United Methodist

Ned Ray McWherter (October 15, 1930 – April 4, 2011) was an American politician who served as the 46th Governor of Tennessee from 1987 to 1995.^[1] He was a Democrat.

McWherter was born in Palmersville, Weakley County, Tennessee.^[2] He was a member of the United Methodist Church, McWherter served for 21 years in the Tennessee National Guard before retiring with the rank of captain.

Early political career

McWherter began his political career in 1968 when he won a seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives from Weakley County. After only serving two terms in the General Assembly, he was elected Speaker of the House. He held this position for 14 years, longer than anyone in Tennessee history at that time.^[2] During his time in the legislature, he served in the following areas: State Building Commission, Joint Fiscal Review Committee, the Council on Pensions and Retirement, the Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial Development Commission, and the State Agri-Industries Board. He was also the chairman of the House Calendar and Rules Committee, the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee and the House General Welfare Committee.

Statewide office

In 1986 McWherter won a spirited^{[citation needed]} primary over Public Service Commissioner Jane Eskind and Nashville mayor Richard Fulton for the Democratic nomination for governor. He faced former Republican governor Winfield Dunn in what was initially considered one of the hotter races of the 1986 cycle. However, Dunn's campaign stalled when 1st District Congressman Jimmy Quillen, the de facto leader of the Republican Party in East Tennessee, refused to support Dunn and encouraged several prominent East Tennessee Republicans to withhold their support as well. Quillen had never forgiven Dunn for his opposition to a medical school at East Tennessee State University. Without significant support in East Tennessee for Dunn, McWherter was virtually assured of election in November. Dunn was able only to hold McWherter's victory margin to just under nine points due to strong support from his former base in Memphis. While several former state House speakers have risen to the governorship, McWherter is the only person to hold that post right up to the time he was elected governor.

During his first term, McWherter insisted that all formal governmental proceedings be open to the public and press, thus implementing the spirit, as well as the letter, of the "sunshine law" he had helped to author and sponsor while a member of the House. He had opened doors to minority groups in Tennessee as Speaker by appointing the first black committee chairmen in Southern history and assisted women into influential leadership roles in the legislature. His "21st century Schools" education reform program launched similar programs in other states and his replacement of the Medicaid program with the TennCare system gained national attention. As governor, he also served nationally and local on councils and committees including the board of governors, Council of State Governments, the Executive Committees of the Southern Conference, the Weakley County Head Start Program and the Executive Committee of the Northwest Tennessee Economic Development District. [[ In 1990, McWherter was invited to speak at a chapel service at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee at the request of his life-long friend, E. Claude Gardner, then President of the University.

He was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second term in 1990, carrying approximately two-thirds of the vote over the essentially token candidacy of the Republican nominee, first-term state representative Dwight Henry. (Many prominent Tennessee Republicans actually supported McWherter for re-election, some tacitly, others fairly openly.) A tax study commission appointed during his first term reported at the beginning of his second, recommending a state income tax be implemented. An income tax has long been considered the third rail of Tennessee politics. McWherter gave the idea lukewarm support at first, but the idea was eventually dropped entirely, not to resurface again during his time as governor.

During McWherter's second term, Senator Al Gore was elected Vice President, thus creating a vacancy in the Senate. McWherter appointed his deputy governor, Harlan Matthews, to serve as U.S. Senator until the 1994 election.

Post-Governorship

McWherter would have been an overwhelming favorite for a third term if he had been permitted to run for one by the state constitution; when asked about this, he stated that he would not have run for another term even if it had been permissible. Following the end of his second term as governor in 1995, McWherter was appointed to the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service by President Bill Clinton. McWherter lived the remainder of his life in Tennessee, where he was very active in the Tennessee Democratic Party. His business holdings included several nursing homes and a beer distributorship.

McWherter was married to the late Bette Jean Beck McWherter, who died in 1973, and is the father of two children. His son Michael Ray McWherter is a businessman and was a candidate in the 2010 Tennessee gubernatorial race, and his daughter Linda Ramsey is a doctor of physical education at the University of Tennessee at Martin.^[3] He funded the construction of the library at the University of Memphis and the Learning Resources Center at Middle Tennessee State University, and both both buildings have been named in his honor.

McWherter died on April 4, 2011 in a Nashville hospital where he was being treated for cancer .^[4] He was 80 years old.

References

1. ^ Ned R. McWherter Profile, Forbes.com
2. ^ ^{a b} Tennessee Governor Ned Ray McWherter, National Governors' Association website
3. ^ Ned Ray McWherter, University of Tennessee-Martin website
4. ^ Former Governor, Ned McWherter Dead

Political offices
Preceded by James McKinney	Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives 1973–1987	Succeeded by Ed Murray
Preceded by Lamar Alexander	Governor of Tennessee 1987–1995	Succeeded by Don Sundquist
Party political offices
Preceded by Randy Tyree	Democratic Party nominee for Governor of Tennessee 1986, 1990	Succeeded by Phil Bredesen

Persondata
Name	Macwherter, Ned Ray
Alternative names
Short description	Governor of Tennessee & Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives
Date of birth	October 15, 1930
Place of birth	Palmersville, Tennessee
Date of death	April 4, 2011
Place of death	Nashville, Tennessee