Kirk Fordice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kirk Fordice | |
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| In office January 14, 1992 – January 11, 2000 |
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| Lieutenant | Eddie Briggs (1992-1996) Ronnie Musgrove (1996-2000) |
| Preceded by | Ray Mabus |
| Succeeded by | Ronnie Musgrove |
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| Born | February 10, 1934 Memphis, Tennessee |
| Died | September 7, 2004 (aged 70) Jackson, Mississippi |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Pat Fordice (1955-1999) (divorced) Ann G. Creson (2000-2003) (divorced) |
| Profession | Soldier, Businessman |
Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice, Jr. (February 10, 1934 – September 7, 2004) was a politician from the U.S. state of Mississippi. He was the Governor of Mississippi from 1992 until 2000.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Fordice studied engineering at Purdue University, becoming a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and earning a BS and MS in 1956 and 1957, respectively. After graduation he served with the United States Army as an engineer officer in the 1st Infantry Division for two years. He remained in the Army Reserve until 1977, retiring with the rank of colonel.
Fordice settled in Vicksburg and began a career in heavy construction, eventually founding his own construction company and becoming a millionaire. He won the governorship of Mississippi in the 1991 election, first winning the Republican primary against former state auditor Pete Johnson and in the general election against Democratic incumbent Ray Mabus, making him the first Republican to be elected governor since Reconstruction era governor Adelbert Ames, who served from 1874 to 1876. Fordice successfully won re-election in 1995 against Democratic Mississippi secretary of state Dick Molpus.
An outspoken conservative, Fordice advocated tax cuts, the abolishment of race quotas, reductions in the welfare system, capital punishment, tougher prison conditions and the building of more prison cells.
However, Fordice often became an issue himself, and was one of the bluntest of modern American politicians. His relationship with state's black community was very contentious. He refused to apologize for Mississippi's violent racial history, and wore a tie featuring a Confederate battle flag when he announced his opposition to a plan setting aside $4 million of state construction contracts for minority-owned firms. When the U.S. Supreme Court considered ordering the state to spend more money on the state's historically black colleges, Fordice suggested that he might call out the Mississippi National Guard rather than comply.
Fordice also alarmed Jewish groups such as B'nai B'rith by referring to America as "a Christian Nation" during a Republican governors conference. South Carolina governor Carroll Campbell quickly offered a correction, adding "Judeo-" as a prefix to Christian, but Fordice snapped back he meant what he said. Fordice later apologized for any offense.
Fordice also refused to discuss any increase in public school pay raise across the state, even though Mississippi ranked 49th in the nation. When teachers discussed striking he ordered any teacher that went on strike to be immediately fired.[citation needed]
In August 1996, Fordice signed an executive order banning recognition of same-sex marriages in Mississippi.[1] Lawmakers said then that they would back up the executive order with a law. In 2004, Mississippi voters passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman and further banning recognition of same-sex marriages from other states and countries.[2]
Fordice said he would have quit his position of Governor while still in office, except that he didn't want to give the Democratic candidate, Lieutenant Governor Ronnie Musgrove, any spot-light time of running the state before the actual election.[3] Musgrove won the election anyway and became Mississippi's next Governor.
Fordice's tenure was also roiled by an extramarital affair with his high school sweetheart Ann G. Creson, which led to his divorce from his wife of 44 years, Pat Fordice. After leaving office, he married Ann, but they also divorced later.
After retiring, Fordice settled in Madison, Mississippi. He died of leukemia in Jackson at the age of 70 with his ex-wife Pat by his side. He is buried at Parkway Memorial Cemetery in Ridgeland, Mississippi.
[edit] References
- ^ Sun Herald via Findlaw.com: State lawmakers opposed to gay marriages
- ^ USA Today: Amendment banning gay marriage passes
- ^ The New York Times: POLITICAL BRIEFING; Now, a New Episode Of the Fordice Saga
- The Associated Press. "Kirk Fordice, 70, Former Governor of Mississippi." The New York Times. September 8, 2004.
- Edsall, Thomas B. "Miss. Governor Ending Historic Tenure," The Washington Post, February 27, 1999; Page L1
- Sansing, David G. "Kirk Fordice," Mississippi History Now
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Ray Mabus |
Governor of Mississippi 1992-2000 |
Succeeded by Ronnie Musgrove |
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