Wallace Wilkinson
| Wallace Glenn Wilkinson, Sr. | |
 | |
57th Governor of Kentucky
| |
| In office December 8, 1987 – December 10, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Martha Layne Collins |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Brerton Chandler Jones |
| Born | December 12, 1941 Casey County, Kentucky |
| Died | July 5, 2002 (aged 60) Lexington, Kentucky. |
| Resting place | Sarasota Memorial Park in Sarasota, Florida |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Martha Carol Stafford Wilkinson (married 1960-2002, his death) |
| Children | Wallace Wilkinson, Jr.>br>
Andrew Stafford Wilkinson |
| Alma mater | Liberty (Kentucky) High School Campbellsville College |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Wallace Glenn Wilkinson, Sr. (December 12, 1941 – July 5, 2002), was a businessman who served a single term from 1987 to 1991 as the 57th Governor of his native Kentucky. He was a Democrat.[1]
A native of Casey County in central Kentucky, Wilkinson was the son of Hershel Wilkinson (1896-1974), a farmer and grocer, and the former Cleo Lay (1906-1986). He had two older brothers, Clarence (1924-1999) and Leonard Herschel (1929-1999) and a sister, Alma Lou Haggard (1945-2018).[1]
In 1959, he graduated from Liberty High School in the town of Liberty, the seat of Casey County, at which he played basketball. He worked in several jobs as a teenager, including co-ownership of a shoeshine stand. He studied at Campbellsville College in Campbellsville in neighboring Taylor County. In 1962, he enrolled at the University of Kentucky in Lexington but left college to start a nationally successful book retail business, which made a fortune selling used textbooks. Wilkinson earned great wealth through investments in real estate, farming, transportation, banking, coal, and construction.[2] Jernigan died in a Lexington motel just three months after the alleged kidnapping.[3]
Political life
In 1987, Wilkinson joined a crowded field in the Kentucky Democratic gubernatorial primary. He made little headway until he hired James Carville of New Orleans as his campaign consultant. He advocated a state lottery to raise money for the state's coffers, which he accomplished through a state constitutional amendment. He won the primary over two former governors, John Young Brown, Jr., and Julian Morton Carroll, and the sitting lieutenant governor and later governor, Steve Beshear. Wilkinson carried the support of Democratic power broker, former Governor and United States Senator A. B. "Happy" Chandler, who in 1967 endorsed Louie B. Nunn. Wilkinson admired U.S. President Ronald Reagan, although he said that he wished Reagan had remained a Democrat like himself. Reagan switched parties in 1962 and was elected governor of California four years later. He also tried to stay out of the public spotlight until he ran for governor.[4]
Then he polled nearly two thirds of the vote in the general election, against his Republican challenger, state Representative John David Harper (1930-2001) of Shepherdsville in Bullitt County near Louisville[5] A Moderate Republican, Harper was nominated when the conservative attorney Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Forgy, who had been the counsel to Republican former Governor Louie B. Nunn, withdrew from the race because of fund-raising problems. In the general election, Wilkinson defeated Harper by a vote of 504,674 (65 percent) to 273,141. He exceeded the previous majority of 62.8 percent which Julian Carroll had set in 1975.[6] Wikinson prevailed in 115 of Kentucky's 120 counties, 16 more than the record 99 that Julian Carroll took in 1975. Among the counties he lost is Fayette, his long-time place of residence.[7].
Governor Wilkinson crafted an education reform bill. But his administration was plagued by political scandal and an uneasy relationship with the state legislature and with Lieutenant Governor Brereton Jones, a former West Virginia Republican-turned-Kentucky Democrat. The two disagreed on many points, and Wilkinson finished several thousand votes behind Jones. Wilkinson unsuccessfully proposed an amendment to the state constitution that would allow him to pursue a second consecutive term as governor. Kentucky governors have since gained the right of succession, but for decades the commonwealth had a "one-term and out" rule. When the measure failed, his wife, Martha Carol Stafford Wilkinson (1941-2014), whom he wed in 1960, attempted to run for governor to succeed him but soon withdrew because of diminished support for her candidacy. Mrs. Wilkinson's parents were also grocers. As First Lady, she was known as an advocate for adult literacy.[8]
After leaving office, Wilkinson encountered difficult financial times. In 2001, a group of creditors filed suit against him because of questionable business practices. He was accused of operating a Ponzi scheme to prop up his struggling businesses. He and Martha filed for bankruptcy later that year. Wilkinson died at the age of sixty of arterial blockages, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and a stroke. His wife withdrew life support in accordance with his previously-expressed wishes. The Wilkinson's are both interred at Sarasota Cemetery in Sarasota, Florida.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wallace Glenn Wilkinson (1941-2002) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed November 22, 2021.
- ↑ The Mystery of the Wilkinson Kidnapping - kentuckymonthly.com, accessed Novembr 22, 2021.
- ↑ Jerome B Jernigan (1929-1984) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed November 22, 2021.
- ↑ Andy Mead, "Man Who Covets Privacy Has Grown More Public," "Lexington Herald-Leader, April 12, 1984.
- ↑ John David Harper (1930-2001) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed November 22, 2021.
- ↑ Al Cross, "Wilkinson, Wallace Glenn," in Lowell H. Harrison, James C. Klotter, and Thomas D. Clark," The Kentucky Encyclopedia (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1992), ISBN 0-8131-1772-0.
- ↑ Cindy Rugely, "Low Turnout, Other Factors Temper Wilkinson Victory, Lexington Herald-Leader, November 4, 1987.
- ↑ Martha Carol Stafford Wilkinson (1941-2014) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed November 22, 2021.
