Mel Carnahan | |
---|---|
United States Senator-elect from Missouri | |
In office Elected posthumously | |
Preceded by | John Ashcroft (as senator) |
Succeeded by | Jean Carnahan (as senator) |
51st Governor of Missouri | |
In office January 11, 1993 – October 16, 2000 | |
Lieutenant | Roger B. Wilson |
Preceded by | John Ashcroft |
Succeeded by | Roger B. Wilson |
43rd Lieutenant Governor of Missouri | |
In office January 9, 1989 – January 11, 1993 | |
Governor | John Ashcroft |
Preceded by | Harriett Woods |
Succeeded by | Roger B. Wilson |
40th Treasurer of Missouri | |
In office January 12, 1981 – January 14, 1985 | |
Governor | Kit Bond |
Preceded by | Jim Spainhower |
Succeeded by | Wendell Bailey |
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from Phelps County | |
In office January 2, 1963 – January 4, 1967 | |
Preceded by | Gene Sally |
Succeeded by | District abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Melvin Eugene Carnahan February 11, 1934 Birch Tree, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | October 16, 2000 near Hillsboro, Missouri, U.S. | (aged 66)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | |
Children | 4, including Russ and Robin |
Parent |
|
Relatives | See Carnahan family |
Education |
George Washington University (
BA) University of Missouri ( JD) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Air Force |
Rank | First Lieutenant |
Unit | Air Force Office of Special Investigations |
Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 16, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st Governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in 2000. Carnahan was a Democrat and held various positions in government.
First elected as a municipal judge in 1960, Carnahan eventually was elected as a State Representative—where he became majority leader during his second term. After being defeated in a race for state Senate in 1966, Carnahan practiced law in Rolla. After a lengthy absence, Carnahan returned to politics in 1980, being elected to the position State Treasurer. He served in the post for 4 years, until he was defeated in a bid for the office of Governor in 1984. In 1988, he made a second political comeback, winning an election for the job of Lieutenant Governor, the sole Democratic win statewide that year.
In 1992, Carnahan made a second bid for Governor, and defeated St. Louis Mayor Vincent Schoemehl in the Democratic primary, and defeated state Attorney General William Webster in November to be elected the Governor of Missouri. During his first term, he signed legislation into law concerning education, and taxes, while also dealing with crises such as the Great Flood of 1993. Carnahan was re-elected in 1996, defeating State Auditor Margaret Kelly. During his second term, he faced adversity on issues such as abortion, where his veto of a bill restricting abortion was overridden by the state legislature, and faced controversy surrounding his pardon of a death row inmate at the behest of Pope John Paul II.
In 2000, he ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent John Ashcroft in a hotly contested election. During the final weeks of the campaign, Carnahan was killed in a plane crash while on his way to a campaign event. He was posthumously elected to the U.S. Senate and his widow Jean Carnahan was appointed to serve in the Senate until a special election was held in 2002.
Melvin Eugene Carnahan was born in Birch Tree, Missouri, [1] and grew up on a small farm near Ellsinore. [2] He was the son of Kathel (née Schupp) and A. S. J. Carnahan, and had one sibling, an older brother Robert "Bob" Carnahan. [3] Carnahan's mother was a teacher and his father was the superintendent of Ellsinore schools. [4] In 1944, the elder Carnahan was elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing the eight congressional district, serving from 1945 to 1947 and from 1949 to 1961. A.S.J. Carnahan later became the U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone under John F. Kennedy. As a child, Mel Carnahan traveled with his father across the district, attending local events. [5] In 1948, because his father was running for Congress, Carnahan was present for Harry Truman's final campaign stop in St. Louis during that year's presidential election. [6] The younger Carnahan later said he developed a desire for public service from his father. [7]
In 1945, Carnahan moved to Washington D.C. with his father, though moved back to Missouri when his father was defeated for re-election. He moved back there in 1949, where he met his future wife Jean at a Baptist church. [8] He graduated from Anacostia High School, [9] earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in business administration at George Washington University in 1954. [10] After graduating, Carnahan joined the United States Air Force (USAF), but failed the physical due to passing out during a blood test. He then served as a special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, serving from 1954 to October, 1956. [11] He rose to the rank of First Lieutenant. [12] After returning home, he received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) [13] from the University of Missouri School of Law in Columbia in 1959, graduating Order of the Coif. [14] He then moved to Rolla, the largest city in his father's congressional district, with an intent to follow his father's career path. [15]
Carnahan's political career started in 1960 at the age of 26 when he was elected to serve as a municipal judge in Rolla. In 1962, he ran for a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives. In the Democratic primary, Carnahan defeated three opponents. [16] That November, he won the election for the Phelps County house district. [17] He won re-election in 1964, and that same year, the Democratic caucus elected him as assistant floor leader to majority leader H.P. Patterson. [18] In 1965, Paterson died and the caucus elected Carnahan as his successor. [19]
During his tenure, Carnahan served as a member of the Judiciary Committee and helped to pass one of the state's first conflict-of-interest laws, requiring legislators and lobbyists to report any interests on a bill. Carnahan also used his influence as majority leader to help advance a bill banning racial discrimination in public places; this bill was later signed into law by Governor Warren E. Hearnes. [20]
In 1965, Missouri was forced to redraw its legislative districts due to a federal court ruling the state's districts suffered from malapportionment. [21] Carnahan helped draw up a redistricting plan but voters rejected it in a special election. [22] Carnahan later clashed with Governor Hearnes over his re-apportionment plan for state districts, in which Hearnes, rather than the legislature, would pick the members of the independent committee. [23] [24] Eventually, a compromise was reached and a new redistricting commission was created. [25]
In 1966, Carnahan ran in the 20th district for the state Senate. In the Democratic primary, he faced Gene Sally, a former state representative and state senator whom Governor Hearnes had supported, albeit implicitly. [26] Carnahan defeated Sally in what his wife Jean later described as one of the hardest-fought campaigns he had run. [27] Carnahan faced Republican state senator Don Owens in the general election. [28] The 20th district was considered more-Democratic-leaning but still competitive. [29] In November, Owens defeated Carnahan, in something of an upset. [30] Carnahan later said of the defeat: "Strangely enough, I value the experience of losing. It does something to you, but it gives perspective." [31]
After his defeat and after his term in the state house expired, Carnahan returned to practicing law in Rolla. In 1971, he briefly expressed interest in a bid for Missouri's 8th congressional district. [32] Ultimately, incumbent Richard Ichord, who defeated Carnahan's father in 1960, and was planning a gubernatorial bid, ran for re-election to the seat. [33] In addition to practicing law, Carnahan also held a role in Rozark Farms Inc., a charcoal company his father founded, until 1975, when Carnahan sold his share of the company to his brother. [34] During this time, Carnahan also became president of the Rolla school board; [35] during his tenure on the board, he brought in a new superintendent and helped raise funds to build a new junior high school. [36]
In 1979, Carnahan announced his return to politics by declaring his candidacy for Missouri State Treasurer, [37] which he also intended to use as a basis for a future gubernatorial run. [38] He had briefly considered another bid for Missouri's eighth congressional district, which was being vacated by Richard Ichord, but had already declared his candidacy for the Treasurer post when Ichord made a decision. [31]
In the Democratic primary, Carnahan faced state representative and former house-majority whip Ed Sweeney, who attacked Carnahan as being beholden to banking interests, [39] and would be reticent to act against banks who donated to him. [38] Carnahan criticized Sweeney for being hypocritical because Sweeney had unsuccessfully sought banking interests himself. [40] Carnahan defeated Sweeney and faced former state senator Gerald Winship in the general election. Carnahan focused his campaign on continuing to build on the work of outgoing treasurer Jim Spainhower in giving targeted relief, [41] and refrained from making personal attacks on his opponent. [42] Carnahan won the election, returning him to elected office. [43]
He served as Treasurer from 1981 to 1985. During his tenure, Carnahan increased the number of banks performing state businesses. To address the issue of favoritism, Carnahan issued changes to policy, such as setting up a committee to determine which banks would be chosen to perform state business. [44] He also enforced a policy that would give state funds to banks that gave agriculture-related loans. [45] Also during his tenure, Carnahan deposited state money into interest accounts. [46]
In 1984, Carnahan ran for Governor of Missouri. During his campaign, he walked from St. Louis to Kansas City to meet voters. [47] The walk began in May and ended in June, with Carnahan walking over 300 miles (480 km). [48] That August, Carnahan lost the Democratic primary election to Lieutenant Governor Kenneth Rothman, who lost the general election that year to state Attorney General John Ashcroft. The same year, Carnahan opposed Missouri ballot issues, Amendments 5 and 7, which would legalize parimutuel betting and create a state lottery, [49] [50] though he said during his gubernatorial campaign he would implement the amendments if the public supported them. [51] Both amendments passed with over 60% of the vote. [52] [53]
After his defeat, Carnahan returned to practicing law in Rolla. [54] In 1986, Democrats sought him to run for Missouri's 8th congressional district against incumbent Bill Emerson. [55] He did not run, [56] and Wayne Cryts would ultimately become the Democratic nominee. During this time, Carnahan expressed interest in becoming chair of the Missouri Democratic Party. [57] Instead, after initially expressing a lack of interest in running, [58] in 1988, Carnahan made his second return to electoral politics by running for Lieutenant Governor, [59] which he won. [60] Carnahan's election to the Lieutenant Governorship was the sole Democratic statewide win that year. [61]
The role of Lieutenant Governor had been seen as irrelevant, and some officials, such as state senator Harry Wiggins proposed the position be abolished. [62] Carnahan campaigned for more funding for the office, [63] and to expand his staffing and his access to state planes. [64] He also expressed interest in using the office for highway development. [61]
In 1990, a brief dispute emerged when Carnahan, as acting governor, signed legislation into law, but Republican Secretary of State Roy Blunt refused to authorize any of what he signed. [65] Earlier that year, Blunt refused to authorize documents Republican Governor John Ashcroft signed while he was out of state, a move some contended had been planned. [66] Ashcroft called upon the Supreme Court of Missouri to clarify the Lieutenant Governor's role while the Governor was out of state. [67] A circuit judge ruled the Governor was in charge, [68] a ruling the state's Supreme Court later affirmed. [69] This time was later speculated to be the beginning of a bitter rivalry between Ashcroft and Carnahan. [70] [71]
While serving as Lieutenant Governor, Carnahan endorsed Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton for President of the United States in the Missouri primary. [72] [73]
In being the sole winning Democrat statewide, Carnahan immediately was seen as a possible choice for the governorship. [74] In 1989, Carnahan announced his intent to run for Governor in 1992. [75] In the Democratic primary, he faced Mayor of St. Louis Vincent C. Schoemehl, who referred to Carnahan as a "redneck from Rolla". [76] Politicians from both parties had perceived Carnahan as a weak candidate who was nice, but unexciting. [77] Some of Schoemehl's supporters tried to persuade him to run against Senator Kit Bond in the 1992 U.S. Senate race. [78] Carnahan won the Democratic nomination by a wide margin, winning every county but Ste. Genevieve. [79]
Carnahan faced Republican state Attorney General William L. Webster in the general election. Webster's campaign was hurt by controversy surrounding the state's Second Injury Fund and his ties to private lawyers who were associated with the fund. [80] In the general election on November 3, Carnahan was elected as Governor of Missouri amidst a strong Democratic performance in the state. [81] Carnahan's election as governor made him the first Democrat to win the office since Joseph Teasdale's victory in 1976. [82]
Carnahan was sworn into office on January 11, 1993. [83] On January 15, 1993, Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder struck down the state's method of public school funding. [84] In response to the ruling, Carnahan proposed a new funding formula and signed into law the "Outstanding Schools Act" in May 1993. [85] The law's reforms included funding for smaller classrooms, putting computers in classrooms, and supporting vocational programs. [86] Carnahan secured approval from the legislature to increase taxes on income, corporate and tobacco to raise funds. [87] The bill raised a total of $315 million in new taxes, and earned Carnahan the moniker "the education governor". [88]
The bill faced opponents who charged that Carnahan broke a promise to bring major tax increases to a vote by the people. [89] U.S. Representative Mel Hancock criticized the tax increases, saying they defied the state's Hancock Amendment, of which Hancock was the namesake. [90] Consequently, Hancock was able to put an amendment on the 1994 ballot that would require voter approval to raise taxes. [91] Carnahan opposed and campaigned against the amendment, saying it would force the state to cut between billions of dollars from its budget, necessitating the layoffs of teachers and state police. [92] Retiring U.S. Senator John Danforth also opposed the amendment, [93] which was defeated by a nearly-40-point margin. [94] In the aftermath, Carnahan worked to persuade lawmakers to support an annual cap on tax increases. [95] In 1996, he supported Amendment 4, a ballot proposal that limited tax raises to no more than $50 million a year, unless the people of Missouri voted otherwise. The amendment passed with 69 percent in favor of its implementation. [96]
Carnahan also had to deal with natural disasters such as the Great Flood of 1993, one of the most destructive floods in U.S. history. [97] Carnahan returned from a trip to Europe to come home and declare a state of emergency in every county in the state. [98] Carnahan traveled across Missouri surveying damage [99] and called a special session of the state legislature to decide how to pay for the damage. [100] As a result of the floods, Carnahan oversaw the buyout of affected towns, including as the cities of Pattonsburg [101] Bellefontaine Neighbors. [102] His actions during the emergency earned him praise from other governors and earned him the position of Vice Chairman of the Democratic Governor's Association and Vice Chairman of the Southern Governor's Association. [103] He later became chair of the organization and gained a seat on the executive committee of the National Governors Association. [104]
In 1994, Carnahan called for two new prisons, and six facilities for juvenile offenders. [105] During this time, two prisons would be built, one in Bonne Terre and the other in Licking. [106] In July of that year, Carnahan signed a welfare package that included a provision that made recipients sign an agreement to get off of welfare in two years in exchange for training for jobs and better benefits. [107] In September 1994, Carnahan oversaw the impeachment of Secretary of State Judith Moriarty, who had backdated election papers for her son. [108] He appealed to Moriarty to resign but she refused. [109] Consequently, he called for a special session for her impeachment. [110] Moriarty was impeached [111] and removed from office. [112] Carnahan appointed her replacement Bekki Cook. [113]
In 1995, Carnahan underwent a trade mission to South Korea, one of Missouri's top trading partners. [114] The mission lead to new deals between Missouri businesses valued at over $2 million. [115] That same year, Carnahan appointed Ronnie L. White to the Supreme Court of Missouri, the first Black judge to be appointed to the court. [116] White later became the state's first Black chief justice, [117] and eventually a federal judge. [118] Carnahan would later describe the appointment of White as one of his proudest appointments. [119] Carnahan held high approval ratings throughout his first term. [120]
In 1996, Carnahan ran for re-election, campaigning on the Outstanding Schools Act, which he argued made way for modernized education methods in the state. [121] His opponent was Republican State Auditor Margaret B. Kelly. Kelly criticized Carnahan as "tax-man Carnahan" for the tax increases needed to pay for education, which she contended were a broken promise from the Governor. [122] On November 5, 1996, Carnahan defeated Kelly to win a second term in office. [123]
The 1997 legislative session saw the legislature fail to deliver a budget to the Governor in a timely fashion, the first time it had ever happened. This development saw bills pertaining to education and health be defeated in the session. [124] In spite of this, Carnahan passed a reduction of the state's grocery tax and on private pensions. [125]
In 1998, Carnahan made further tax cuts, increasing tax credits for the elderly and disabled. [126] The following year, he again cut taxes and increased income-tax exemptions for the first time in over 50 years and signed legislation that would give tax credits on prescription drugs to elderly people. [127] By the end of 1999, the tax cuts totaled about $1.3 billion. [128] Carnahan also signed into law a bill to expand Medicaid coverage for children in poverty that was estimated to insure over 90,000 children. [129]
In 1998, Carnahan made his second appointment to the Missouri Supreme Court, appointing Michael A. Wolff, a former legal advisor to Carnahan. [130] Wolff would later serve as chief justice on the court from 2005 to 2007. [131] In 1999, parts of the state were affected by a severe drought, affecting the production of crops such as soybeans. [132] Carnahan declared all 114 counties a disaster area, [133] and sought federal help and assistance to severely affected counties. [134] The drought would mostly subside in the summer of 2000. [135]
In 1999, Carnahan, who supported the death penalty, commuted the death sentence of Missouri inmate Darrell Mease after Pope John Paul II requested he do so during his visit to St. Louis. [136] This move was controversial: Carnahan's office received more phone calls against the move than those supportive, [137] and 34% of voters said in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch poll they were more likely to vote against Carnahan in his U.S. Senate bid. [138] That same year, he opposed a proposition that would have allowed Missourians to carry concealed weapons. [139] The campaign against the proposal, which was run by his daughter Robin, [140] won by a two-point margin despite being vastly outspent. [141]
Carnahan had vetoed three abortion bills in 1997, [142] but the issue returned to the political agenda in 1999, when the Missouri legislature proposed a bill to ban what were referred to as partial-birth abortions by the procedure's opponents. [143] Carnahan vetoed the bill due to its language, which he argued went farther than restricting just the procedure, [144] and because it lacked exceptions for protecting the mother's health. [145] The legislature overrode Carnahan's veto, making him the seventh governor since Missouri statehood to have a veto overridden. [146]
In November 1998, Carnahan announced his intention to challenge the incumbent John Ashcroft for his U.S. Senate seat in 2000. [147] He had been considered as a possible contender for the Class 1 Senate seat in 1994 but declined to run for the open seat, opting for re-election. [148] He had also generated speculation about a bid in 1998 against Kit Bond, saying he was "very likely" to look at a bid [149] but again declined to run. [150]
The election had been seen as having a personal element due to Carnahan and Ashcroft's reported dislike of one another, [151] though both denied having any rivalry. [152] The campaign became intense, becoming one of the closest races in the U.S. [153] The election saw negative campaigning; Carnahan was attacked for his actions as governor, and for other incidents, such as photographs of him performing in blackface in 1960. [154] Carnahan attacked Ashcroft for having a conservative voting record, despite employing moderate rhetoric, [155] while defending his own record as a "moderate, progressive" governor. [156] During the campaign, Carnahan launched a tour by train, using a tactic adopted by Harry S. Truman. [157] The tour was an homage to the former President, who had previously held the Senate seat Carnahan was campaigning for. [158]
Early in the evening of October 16, 2000, Carnahan, his son Randy, and his campaign advisor Chris Sifford left from St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia, Illinois, to attend a campaign event in New Madrid. [159] The twin-engine Cessna 335 airplane, which Randy piloted, [160] crashed near Hillsboro, Missouri, killing all three people on board. [161] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later ruled the crash was due to Randy becoming disoriented, and was exacerbated by inclement weather and instrument failure. [162]
The presidential debate, which was held the next day in St. Louis, opened with a moment of silence and both candidates made remarks about Carnahan's death. [163] A memorial service for Carnahan was held in the State Capitol in Jefferson City on October 20. [164] The service was attended by federal and state politicians such as President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and U.S. Senators and former Governors, Kit Bond and John Ashcroft. [165] At the funeral, President Clinton said:
"I loved the guy, and anybody who thinks he was dull never looked him straight in the eye, because he had steel and passion and fire, and I think he rather enjoyed being underestimated by the people who disagreed with him". [166]
The day after Carnahan's death, Lieutenant Governor Roger B. Wilson became Governor and served the remainder of Carnahan's term. [167] Because Missouri election law did not allow Carnahan's name to be removed from the November 7, 2000, ballot, [168] Governor Wilson promised to appoint his widow Jean Carnahan to the seat if it became vacant, as a result of Mel Carnahan's election win. [169] In October, shortly before his death, Carnahan had trailed in the polls. [170] Following his death, Carnahan's campaign continued, using slogans such as "I'm Still with Mel" and "Don't Let the Fire Go Out" and Carnahan took the lead in a few polls. [171] In the election, Carnahan became the first person in U.S. history to posthumously win a U.S. Senate election. [172] His death was thought to have helped other races down-ballot, including that year's race for Governor. [173] Following the election win, Jean Carnahan was appointed to the Senate and served until November 2002, when Republican Jim Talent defeated her in a special election. [174]
In 1965, Carnahan received an award from Missouri House Speaker Thomas C. Graham, recognizing him as the chamber's most-outstanding Democrat. [175] Also during his tenure as a state legislator, he twice received St. Louis Globe-Democrat's Meritorious Service award. [176] In 1999, he was inducted into the DeMolay International Hall of Fame. [177]
In 2001, the Armory and Reserve Center in Rolla, Missouri, was renamed The Mel Carnahan Armory and Reserve Center. [178] That same year, the renaming of the U.S. Court House and Custom House in St. Louis to Carnahan Courthouse was announced by mayor Clarence Harmon. [179] The Carnahan High School of the Future was named after him in 2003. [180] The garden in the Missouri Capitol was renamed after Carnahan. [181] A bust of him was placed there in 2023, [182] and received a dedication in 2024, just one week after his wife's death. [183]
Carnahan met his future wife Jean Carpenter at a church event, and sat next to her in Anacostia high school. [184] The two married in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 1954. [185] They had four children, who would all become lawyers as well: [186] Roger "Randy" Carnahan, who piloted the airplane and died in the same crash that killed his father; Russ Carnahan, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Missouri's 3rd District (2005–2013); Robin Carnahan, former Missouri Secretary of State (2005–2013), 2010 U.S. Senate Nominee, and Administrator of General Services under President Joe Biden; and Tom Carnahan, founder of Wind Capital Group, which builds wind farms. [187] The family had a Newfoundland dog named Beaumont. [176] The Carnahan family was involved with Mel's campaigns; they waited in line for days before filing opened to ensure Carnahan's name would appear first on the primary ballot for Treasurer in 1980. [188] [189]
A reporter once said of Carnahan: "Never the most exciting politician on the Missouri scene, Carnahan stubbornly and quietly plowed through office after office." [190] Carnahan was noted for having an upright image coupled with a relaxed personality. [191] Many supporters of his wore straight-arrow pins to highlight this. [192] He also had a humorous side; he once granted a pardon to a boy who sought one after lying to his parents. [193] Carnahan and his family were active members of First Baptist Church of Rolla, where he served as an ordained deacon, and he and his wife taught Sunday School. [194] In his spare time, Carnahan was a pilot. [195]
Melvin Eugene Carnahan was born in Birch Tree, Mo., in Shannon County.
Mel Carnahan was raised on a small farm near Ellsinore...
He was the late governor's only sibling, eight years older than Mel.
Kathel Carnahan taught English and AS J Carnahan' was superintendent of Ellsinore Schools.
In the forties, when Mel was twelve years old, the two of them drove throughout their Ozark congressional district attending church picnics, visiting on town squares, and nailing posters onto trees and fence posts.
From his father, Carnahan developed his desire and foundation for public service
Wife Mary and son Mel, now in the sixth grade, moved to Washington in 1945... Carnahan said. He wasn't there long. His father lost his first re-election bid in 1946. Mel Carnahan was back in beloved Ellsinore until the middle of 10th grade, when his father won back his seat and the family was back in Washington. This time, the change went better. Shortly after the family's return, 15-year-old Mel met a classmate at the local Baptist church and ended up in a seat next to hers the next day at Anacostia High School. The girl was Jean Carpenter.
He was graduated from Anacostia high school in Washington D C...
Carnahan joined the service after graduation and sustained his first major disappointment. He failed the physical to become a pilot... He had fainted during the blood test. Attributing it to stress or fatigue, he begged for reconsideration but was turned down. He served his two Air Force years from mid-1954 to October 1956 at a desk, mostly with the department's Office of Special Investigation.
Upon graduation, Mr. Carnahan entered the United States Air Force where he achieved the rank of first lieutenant, serving as special agent for the Office of Special Investigation.
Governor Carnahan received... a J.D. degree... from the University of Missouri-Colombia.
Governor Carnahan was a... member of... the Class of 1959. He was a member of the Missouri Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a law graduate.
With a law degree in hand, he then looked for a rural Missouri home. Rolla fit the bill. "It was the largest town in my father's congressional district," Carnahan said. "I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps."
Mel Carnahan, son of former U.S. Rep. A. S. J. Carnahan outdistanced three opponents Tuesday to win the Democratic nomination for the Missouri General Assembly. Carnahan totaled 1784 votes to 1428 for Ralph Marcellus, 1233 for Jay White and 911 for Louis (Lou) Hargis.
Majority Floor Leader will be H.F. (Pat) Patterson of Columbia and Mel Carnahan of Rolla will be his assistant
Majority Democrats of the Missouri House Wednesday chose Rep. Mel Carnahan, D-Phelps County as the new Majority Floor Leader. He replaces H.F. (Pat) Patterson D-Boone County who died a week ago Tuesday in the Capitol.
While in the House, Carnahan was a member of the Judiciary Committee that approved one of the state's first conflict-of-interest bills. The measure, which became law, required the governor, lieutenant governor and any member of the Legislature who had an interest in a bill to report that information before acting on the legislation.... Carnahan also used his power as majority leader to rescue a bill that prohibited racial discrimination in places of public accommodation. Carnahan successfully moved that the bill be advanced out of order. The bill was later approved and signed into law. The measure affected nearly all businesses in the state; it prohibited discrimination because of race, creed, color, religion, national origin or ancestry.
Hearne gave tacit support to Sally a friend he had appointed secretary of the state Highway Reciprocity Commission... Sally is a former representative and a former state senator.
Mel's 1968 (sic) bid for the state senate started with a bitter primary battle—one of the toughest of the nineteen races he would run.
Carnahan will now oppose Sena-tor Don Owens Republican in the general election in November.
The 20th isn't exactly Republican flavored. Only Gasconade county is considered GOP territory according to observers with Osage and Franklin classed as marginal. The rest are Democratic In spite of this the re-districting commission in the state senate called the 20th a "marginal" district.
In a telephone interview Monday with Carnahan, the Rolla attorney told the Houston Newspapers that he definitely is interested in the Congressional seat.
Representative Richard H. Ichord (Dem.), Houston, who was considered certain until recent days to become a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor said today he would not enter the race. Instead, he said he would file for reelection to Congress from the eighth district.
Carnahan says his own qualifications are "20 years as a lawyer and businessman." The business was Rozark Farms Inc., a company founded by his father in Elsinore, which produced lump charcoal then sold to other companies to be processed into the smaller briquettes sold in stores. "My brother and I were absentee owners. We hired persons to manage it. But I ran the books and payroll out of my law office," Carnahan said. He sold his interest to his brother in 1975, when the company employed 25 persons.
But Carnahan also took a break from public service, spending more than decade practicing law, raising his four children alongside his wife Jean, and serving as school board president back home in Rolla.
He served on the local School Board for five years, bringing in a new superintendent and persuading the public to approve the bonds needed to build a new junior high the community's first new school building in 28 years.
After the 1980 campaign, in which the usual charges were traded about favoritism on the part of the treasurer's office toward certain banks, Treasurer Mel Carnahan changed the office's banking and investment practices. While Central Trust Bank of Jefferson City continued to process state checks and handle other essential recordkeeping chores, other major banks around the state such as Boatmen's Bank of St. Louis, United Missouri Bank of Kansas City, and Mercantile Bank of St. Louis were also given some of the state's business. To prevent future charges of favoritism in selecting banks to deposit state funds, Carnahan set up a committee to determine which banks would be chosen using a revolving list and a special formula.
He also worked to make sure state money was deposited in interest-bearing accounts as speedily as possible to boost the interest the state earns.
During most of 1985, Carnahan has been keeping a low profile in Rolla, practicing law...
Sen. Harry Wiggins, D-Kansas City, said he will sponsor a constitutional change, which if the voters approved it, would make Carnahan the last Lieutenant Governor... "The office is meaningless" Sen. Wiggins declared,
He'd like to do more flying on state planes to outstate events. He'd also like to put a staffer each in St. Louis and Kansas City to deal with constituents.
In an action that some political observers claimed was prearranged, Ashcroft faxed from Japan some documents to Secretary of State Roy Blunt and asked that his facsimile signature be authenticated. Blunt refused to authenticate the signature from out of state, leading to a ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court in State ex rel. Ashcroft v. Blunt.
They also had a fierce personal rivalry, dating from when Mr. Carnahan served as lieutenant governor under Mr. Ashcroft.
But his terse words for Ashcroft also fit in with the duo's distinct dislike for each other- stemming, some say, from Carnahan's stint as Lt. Governor during Ashcroft's second term as governor, from 1989–93
Carnahan's father, the late Mel Carnahan, a former governor, gave Clinton a pivotal endorsement when he ran for president in 1992.
This former state treasurer was the only Democrat to capture a statewide post, and he stands as that party's most logical candidate for governor in 1992.
Lt. Gov. Mel Carnahan says he plans to seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 1992 even if St. Louis Mayor Vincent C. Schoemenl Jr. also seeks the office. "I fully expect to be a candidate," Carnahan said in an interview Wednesday. "I think most people see me as the logical unity candidate."
Outspoken Mayor Vincent C. Schoemehl Jr. spoke out again Thursday, this time calling Lt. Gov. Mel Carnahan a "redneck from Rolla" on a radio talk show here.
Carnahan was viewed by many Democrats and Republicans alike as a weak candidate. He often was described as a nice guy with a reputation as: A dull speaker. A poor fund-raiser. A politician who seemed to lack "fire in the belly."
A series of articles in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch charged that many lawyers appointed by Webster to defend the fund contributed campaign funds to him. Also, according to the St. Louis newspaper, lawyers who contributed to Webster tended to get larger settlements from the Second Injury Fund. Webster was charged with political favoritism and wrongdoing by his primary election opponents, but still won his party's nomination. In the general election the negative publicity surrounding the Second Injury Fund was a major factor in Webster's loss to Carnahan.
Mel Carnahan's election marked the first time Missouri has elected a Democratic governor since Joseph P. Teasdale was elected in 1976.
Mel Carnahan placed his hand on a Bible that had been his great-grandfather's, took the oath of office and became Missouri's 49th governor on Monday.
Missouri's system of funding public schools is "irrational" and "does not pass constitutional muster," Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder ruled Friday.
a $315 million tax increase for public schools, to encourage improved teacher performance, smaller classes, computers in classrooms and vocational programs.
In 1993, Carnahan recommended and secured legislative approval for increases in the personal and corporate income tax and cigarette tax and a new tobacco products tax for use in financing a circuit court-ordered revision of the foundation program for elementary and secondary schools.
Governor Carnahan signed the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993, which raised $315 million in new taxes... Not surprisingly, Carnahan became known as "the education governor".
Opponents charged that Bill 380 — The Outstanding Schools Act — violated a campaign pledge by Carnahan to take major tax increases to a vote of the people.
Rep. Mel Hancock, R-Springfield, Mo., contends that tax increases approved by Gov. Mel Carnahan and the Missouri Legislature violate the state's Hancock Amendment. The constitutional amendment, which Hancock wrote as a member of the state Legislature, restricts tax and fee increases without a public vote.
Rep. Mel Hancock, R-Spring-field, said he filed about 240,000 signatures for his Hancock II plan, which would require state tax increases to be put to a statewide vote.
Carnahan campaigned hard to defeat it, but after he did so, he turned to Hancock's partner from the 1980 initiative effort, the Missouri Farm Bureau, to help persuade lawmakers to enact an annual cap on tax increases. Passed in April 1996 – just in time for Carnahan's re-election campaign – it allowed for annual new taxes and fees up to $50 million, with a provision adjusting that number for inflation.
...the Governor urged support of Amendment 4 that restricted lawmakers to raising taxes no more than $50 million a year without a vote of the people. In April 1996 Missourians gave the measure a hearty 69 percent voter approval.
The size and impact of the Great Flood of 1993 was unprecedented and has been considered the most costly and devastating flood to ravage the U.S. in modern history.
On July 9, newly-elected Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, a Democrat, cut his European vacation short after only one day to return to his soggy state and declared all 114 Missouri counties as state disaster areas.
Gov. Mel Carnahan planned to announce today that he will call a special session of the Legislature starting Sept. 15 to deal with the state's flood damage.
The townspeople of Pattonsburg Mo gathered on main street Friday July 22 at 1:00 pm to hear Governor Mel Carnahan announce the amount of the planned buyout for the town's relocation. Cheers and applause from the audience greeted the announcement that Pattonsburg has been awarded $115 million for the relocation of 18 businesses and 142 homes according to the official figures. This is the largest buyout in the state of Missouri.
He also served as a member of the National Governors Association Executive Committee.
Gov. Mel Carnahan called Wednesday for two new prisons... Carnahan also wants to build six facilities for juvenile offenders...
Missouri built two new prisons in the 1990s: the Eastern Reception and Diagnostic Correctional Center in Bonne Terre and the Southern Central Correctional Center in Licking.
Gov. Mel Carnahan signed legislation Monday that he characterized as welfare reform... The centerpiece of the new law, which goes into effect Aug. 28 is a requirement that most aid recipients sign contracts pledging to get out of the system within two years. In exchange, they would receive job training and higher benefits.
Gov. Mel Carnahan told Secretary of State Judith K. Moriarty Tuesday that she should resign by noon today or face impeachment by the Missouri House... Moriarty said through a spokesman that she would not resign...
The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to impeach Secretary of State Judith K. Moriarty for misconduct that "breached the public trust."
In a unanimous opinion Monday, the Missouri Supreme Court convicted Secretary of State Judith K. Moriarty of misconduct and removed her from office.
...Gov. Mel Carnahan appointed Jackson native and Cape Girardeau resident Rebecca McDowell Cook.
Gov. Mel Carnahan is scheduled to fly to Korea today for a weeklong summit aimed at bolstering the country's trade relations with Missouri... Korea is one of Missouri's top 10 trading partners...
Gov. Mel Carnahan's trade mission to South Korea has landed $2.6 million in deals for St. Louis and Missouri firms.
Gov. Mel Carnahan on Monday named appellate Judge Ronnie L. White as the first black Missouri Supreme Court judge in the 175-year history of the court.
Camahan drew applause when he told the audience that White was "one of my proudest appointments."
Carnahan's approval ratings were consistently high.
He made the Outstanding Schools Act the centerpiece of his campaign, claiming it paved the way for more modern schools, reduced class sizes, and increased the number of computers in classrooms.
Although she did not officially begin her campaign until this month, Ms. Kelly, 61, is making up for lost time by aggressively portraying the governor as "Tax Man Carnahan." To her, the 1993 tax is a broken promise for which Mr. Carnahan should pay.
For the first time in history, lawmakers were unable to deliver a budget to the Governor's desk in the constitutionally prescribed time. Substantive health and education bills were lost in the final days of the session.
The tax package that lawmakers approved eliminates a 3-cent sales tax on groceries and cuts taxes on private pensions.
The law increases tax credits nicknamed circuit-breakers for the elderly and disabled.
Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan (D), a challenger to Sen. John D. Ashcroft (R) in 2000, recently signed a $202 million tax cut, including the first boost in the personal exemption in more than 50 years. Carnahan can boast of $1.3 billion in tax cuts since his second term began in 1997—and will be mailing out rebates this fall and again in the election year.
Gov. Mel Carnahan signed into law a measure extending Medicaid coverage to children in families earning up to three times the federal poverty level... The law will extend health coverage to 90,000 children who now lack insurance.
Wasting little time, Gov. Mel Carnahan on Monday named St. Louis University law professor Michael A. Wolff the governor's former legal counsel to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court.
He served as chief justice of the Court from July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2007.
After an extraordinary personal appeal from Pope John Paul II, Gov. Mel Carnahan, a supporter of capital punishment, today commuted the death sentence of a convicted murderer to life in prison without parole.
Almost 34 percent of respondents to a Post-Dispatch survey said they were more likely to vote against Carnahan because of the commutation; less than 8 percent said they were more likely to vote for him.
Gov. Mel Carnahan said he opposes the concealed-weapons measure on the April 6 ballot
The opposition to Prop B was largely organized by SSWC. Based in St. Louis, it was led by the daughter of Governor Mel Carnahan, Robin Carnahan, who served as the group's campaign manager.
...by late 1997 the state legislature had sent to his desk three abortion-related bills sponsored by Sam Lee and other right-to-life lobbyists, but the governor vetoed all three.
Abortion opponents easily passed a bill Wednesday in the Missouri House that they say would ban a controversial mid- to late-term abortion procedure.
The new Missouri law goes further than other laws, however. "If it had applied to only partial birth abortion, and provided an exception for protecting the health of the mother, I would have signed it. But it was written to reach back with subtlety of language to the fifth and sixth week of pregnancy," said Mr Carnahan.
He is the seventh governor in state history to suffer a veto override – this one at the hands of his own party.
Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan said Friday that he would not challenge the re-election of Republican Sen. Christopher Bond in 1998. "I think that's a winnable race, but I think one would need to start early. I'm not prepared to start at this time. I'm very intent on the session, on our issues . . . there, and I'm going to give that our full attention," Carnahan told The Associated Press.
Adding to the drama of this election is the less-than-friendly personal relationship between the two men. "They don't particularly care for each other," says Jones.
Both deny the long-standing rumors they dislike each other, a rift some say was spawned when Carnahan was lieutenant governor under Ashcroft.
The closest race in the nation appears to be in Missouri, where Ashcroft battles Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan. Polling has shown the two men locked in a tight race, and there is no way to pick a winner.
Carnahan, a Democrat completing his second four-year term as governor, said his task will be to show voters that Ashcroft is trying to appear more moderate than his voting record indicates on issues such as Social Security, Medicare, gun safety and prescription drug coverage. "John has accumulated a voting record that is very much out of step with the mainstream wishes of voters in Missouri...yet his rhetoric places him very much back in the middle," Carnahan said.
Carnahan's journey is dubbed the "Working Families Whistlestop Train Tour." He borrowed the idea from President Truman, who popularized train tours during his 1948 reelection campaign.
Missouri's Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan, who wants to be his state's next senator, has kicked off a four-day, 21-county whistle stop tour much like a another famous Missouri senator years ago. "The seat I'm seeking in the U.S. Senate is Harry Truman's old seat," Carnahan tells voters.
They took off just before 7 p.m. from St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia, Ill., bound for New Madrid, Mo., and a banquet organized by Black ministers. Several hundred people were assembled and waiting at the banquet hall.
Randy Carnahan, the governor's son, was flying the Cessna 335 under instrument flight rules...
On October 16, 2000, about 1933 central daylight time (CDT), a Cessna 335, N8354N, crashed near Hillsboro, Missouri. The pilot and two passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed.
A federal probe of the plane crash that killed Gov. Mel Carnahan found that his pilot son, Randy, grew disoriented and lost control of the Cessna 335, in part because the key instrument guiding him through darkness, rain and fog malfunctioned.
Missouri paid tribute Friday to Gov. Mel Carnahan, killed in a plane crash earlier this week en route to a campaign appearance.
I was in the press pool assigned to accompany Clinton and his entourage when they flew in for the funeral. They included the president's wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and his then-wife, Tipper Gore... In Jefferson City, the presidential motorcade parked beneath the Capitol after dropping off the dignitaries and the army of journalists so they could join the funeral procession from the Governor's Mansion to the Capitol, led by the governor's widow, Jean Carnahan. Ashcroft and Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo. – both former governors – also were part of the procession.
At two-thirteen am, Tuesday morning, Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson was sworn in as governor to serve the remaining three months in Carnahan's term.
Mel Carnahan, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, died in a plane crash October 16, 2000; Missouri statutes required that his name remain on the official ballot for the general election as it was too late to remove it. Carnahan won the seat posthumously on November 7, 2000
"Should Mel Carnahan receive the largest number of votes in the election," new Missouri Gov. Roger Wilson announced today, "it is my intention to ask Jean Carnahan if she would fill [the] term."
When Carnahan was killed just weeks before election day, most polls indicated he was trailing Ashcroft by a slight margin.
Mr. Ashcroft generally led in the polls when his opponent was alive. After the crash, when it was too late to replace Mr. Carnahan on the ballot, most analysts conceded the race to Mr. Ashcroft. He even stopped campaigning for 10 days, saying it would be disrespectful of the dead. But in that period, the momentum began to shift. Signs and stickers began appearing throughout the state, saying: I'm still with Mel and Don't let the fire go out. Suddenly he was staying even in the polls, and then even pulling ahead in some surveys after the state's new governor, a Democrat, floated the idea that he would like to name Jean Carnahan, the candidate's widow, to the seat if her husband won the election.
The story of the extraordinary 107th began on election day in November 2000, when—for the first time in history—voters knowingly elected a deceased candidate, Mel Carnahan of Missouri, to a Senate seat.
As close as the Ashcroft-Carnahan race was, it was nowhere near as close as the gubernatorial election, which was decided by a razor-thin margin. Bob Holden beat Jim Talent by roughly thirty thousand votes; once again, in such a close race it is not unreasonable to suggest that the grief Missourians felt after the death of Carnahan helped pushed Holden into office. Like Carnahan,
On September 5, 2003, Carnahan opened its doors as Carnahan Middle School. It was named in memory of the late governor Melvin Eugene Carnahan
After the death of Governor Carnahan, the garden was renamed as a memorial to his work.
A bust of late Gov. Mel Carnahan now overlooks a garden on the State Capitol grounds that bears his name.
A bust of former governor Mel Carnahan was dedicated Thursday at the Carnahan Memorial Garden in Jefferson City. The dedicated occurred just over a week after the death of his wife, former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan, on Jan. 30.
She met Mr. Carnahan when they were teenagers at a Sunday night youth group at a Baptist church, and they sat next to each other in class at Anacostia High School, the family said. The couple were married on June 12, 1954.
They had four children, a girl and three boys, all of whom became lawyers
Tom Carnahan, the son of the late Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan and former Missouri U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan... Tom Carnahan founded Wind Capital Group in 2005 and, according to the White House news release announcing the U.N. role, "became a leading developer, owner and operator of utility-scale wind farms in rural America.
Carnahan's supporters wore straight-arrow pins to symbolize Carnahan's image...
Cody captured all the attention when he wrote to Gov. Mel Carnahan, asking for "amnesty" from being grounded... Carnahan faxed back a response that day: Pardon granted. "I hope the authorities (your parents) are not too upset with me, and that they decide to accept my act of clemency in the same spirit of good will in which it was given," the governor wrote.
Mel and Jean remain active in the First Baptist Church of Rolla where they have both served as Sunday school teachers and Mel serves as a deacon.