Dick Molpus

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Richard "Dick" Molpus (D) was Secretary of State for Mississippi from 1984 to 1996. Prior to becoming Secretary of State, he served as head of the Mississippi Office of State and Federal Programs, gaining notoriety for cleaning up a scandal-ridden office and consolidating it into a much smaller, more efficient organization. Perhaps more notably, he was a key player in lobbying the Mississippi Legislature to pass the historic Education Reform Act of 1982. Molpus made much of his role in his run for Secretary of State, and this helped him tremendously to stand out from other candidates and secure nomination and election to the largely custodial office.

In 1988, after having been reelected as Secretary of State the preceding fall, he ran for the United States Senate seat vacated by Democrat John Stennis, losing in the Democratic primary to Congressman Wayne Dowdy, who eventually lost in the general election to Trent Lott. In 1995, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor, but lost to the Republican incumbent, Kirk Fordice.

Molpus is a strong advocate of public education in Mississippi, and served on staff for Governor William Winter. Winter's fleet of erudite young staffers, which included Molpus and future governor Ray Mabus, became referred as "The Boys of Spring."

Since 1995, Molpus has been CEO of Woodlands Timber, a land investment company.

His wife's name is Sally. They are very active in the Parents for Public School's chapter in Jackson, Mississippi.

[edit] Background/Education

He hails from Philadelphia, Mississippi (made infamous in the movie Mississippi Burning as the site where three civil rights activists were murdered); he attended the University of Mississippi.