Reubin O'Donovan Askew (born September 11, 1928) is an American politician, who served as the 37th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida from 1971 to 1979.

Early life and career[link]

Askew was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, one of the six children of Leon G. Askew and Alberta Askew. His parents divorced,^[1] and in 1937, he and his mother moved to Pensacola, Florida. Askew was a member of Escambia Chapter Order of DeMolay in Pensacola. He was initiated in 1944. Askew graduated from Pensacola High School in 1946.

Later that year, he entered the Army as a paratrooper and in 1948 was discharged in the rank of Sergeant. Askew attended Florida State University, at which he was a brother of Delta Tau Delta and Alpha Phi Omega. At FSU, Askew served as Student Body President. He later attended law school at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. He served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1953, as an military intelligence officer, overseeing airplane reconnaissance photographs of Western Europe, though he felt uncomfortable with this task as it violated existing treaties.^[2]

In 1956, Askew was elected as Assistant County Solicitor of Escambia County, Florida. In 1958, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and, in 1962, to the Florida Senate, from 1969 to 1970 he served as President Pro Tempore of the Florida State Senate. He received the Legion of Honor from the International Supreme Council of the Order of DeMolay in 1971.

He emerged as a progressive lawmaker, opposing racial segregation and supporting fairer legislative representation for urban counties.^[3]

Governorship[link]

Askew won the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1970. State Secretary of Florida Thomas Burton Adams, Jr., was his running-mate for lieutenant governor. In its endorsement of Askew-Adams and the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Lawton Chiles of Lakeland, who defeated Republican William C. Cramer of St. Petersburg, the Miami Herald said that Askew had "captured the imagination of a state that plainly deserves new leadership." The incumbent Republican governor, Claude R. Kirk, Jr., ridiculed his opponent Askew as "a momma's boy who wouldn't have the courage to stand up under the fire of the legislators" and a "nice sweet-looking fellow chosen by liberals ... to front for them."^[4] Such rhetoric helped to reinvigorate the Democratic coalition. Mike Thompson, who managed the 1970 Republican gubernatorial primary campaign waged by state Representative L. A. "Skip" Bafalis, sat out the general election between Kirk and Askew. Himself the unsuccessful Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 1974, Thompson insisted that the often ascerbic Kirk had demolished "the coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats who elected him in 1966. ... The trail from Tallahassee to Palm Beach is littered with the bodies of former friends, supporters, and citizens -- all of whom made the fatal mistake of believing the words of Claude Kirk."^[5]

By the margin of 57-43 percent, Askew and Adams unseated Kirk and his running-mate, Lieutenant Governor Ray C. Osborne. From 1887 to 1969, with the appointment of Osborne, the Florida Constitution did not provide for a lieutenant governor. In 1974, Askew was re-elected, with J. H. Williams) as his running mate. He is one of just five Florida Governors to be elected for two terms (the others were LeRoy Collins, Bob Graham, Lawton Chiles, and Jeb Bush). Askew was also the first Governor to serve two full four-year terms (Bush is the second; Collins was elected to a two-year term followed by a four-year term, Graham resigned shortly before the end of his second term to become U.S. Senator, and Chiles died in office near the end of his second term).

In 1974, Governor Askew was named by the TIME magazine as one of the 200 Faces for the Future.^[6]

Civil rights issues and the New South[link]

As governor, Askew was one of the first of the 'New South' governors, at the same time as Governors Jimmy Carter of Georgia, Dale Bumpers of Arkansas (who defeated Orval Faubus), John C. West of South Carolina and later Bill Clinton of Arkansas. He supported school desegregation and the controversial idea of busing to achieve racial balance (mandatory integration); in addition he named the first black Justice of the State Supreme Court, Joseph Woodrow Hatchett^[1] and appointed M. Athalie Range Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs, the first black since Reconstruction and the first woman to head a state agency in Florida. Additionally, Askew appointed Jesse J. McCrary Jr. as Secretary of State in 1978, the first black to hold a cabinet level office in Florida in the modern era.

Capital punishment[link]

After the U.S. Supreme Court Furman v. Georgia decision effectively overturned existing state laws for capital punishment in the United States in 1972, Florida was the first state to enact a new death penalty statute,^[7] which Governor Askew signed. Afterwards the Supreme Court accepted new state death-penalty laws in Gregg v. Georgia. Immediately after the ruling, which effectively reinstated the use of the death penalty in the United States, Governor Askew began signing death warrants,^[8] but executions were not resumed until the administration of his successor, Bob Graham.

Askew personally believed that death penalty was only necessary in rare cases.^[9] Governor Askew ordered a new investigation into the case of two death row inmates, Wilbert Lee and Freddie Pitts, who had been wrongfully convicted of murder in 1963. Askew participated in part of the inquiry and in 1975 pardoned both inmates.^[10]

Presidential politics[link]

Askew's national stature in the Democratic party grew, and in 1972, he was the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Miami. For the 1972 presidential election, he was offered the Vice Presidential slot on the Democratic ticket with Presidential nominee George McGovern, but he turned it down. He later accepted an appointment as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Ambassadorial Appointments under President Jimmy Carter.

He was also mentioned^[who?] as a front-runner for the 1976 Vice Presidential nomination.

Later career[link]

Trade Representative[link]

Barred from seeking a third term as governor, Askew finished his second term as governor and then accepted President Carter's invitation to be the United States Trade Representative and served until Carter's term ended in January 1981.

Askew was the first Trade Representative who held title United States Trade Representative, not Special Trade Representative, as his predecessors were called.^[11]

Presidential bid in 1984 and Senatorial bid in 1988[link]

Askew joined a Miami law firm and at the same time began to organize a Presidential bid for the 1984 presidential election. He announced his candidacy on February 23, 1983 after making visits to all 50 states. Askew never gained traction within the national Democratic party. Although progressive on civil rights, Askew was notably more conservative than most of the other candidates. He was pro-life on abortion, a position that nevertheless failed to win over voters in Catholic Iowa, against the nuclear freeze, against the Equal Rights Amendment, against the right of homosexuals to work as teachers, and for President Ronald Reagan's invasion of Grenada in October 1983. Askew withdrew on March 1, 1984, after he finished last in the New Hampshire Democratic Primary. In 1987, he declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate; however, in May 1988, he withdrew from the contest, citing lack of fundraising.

In retirement[link]

In 1994, former Governor Askew was named to the founding class of the Florida DeMolay Hall of Fame, a Masonic honorarium.

The Reuben O'D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University was named for him and offers courses in government at several Florida universities. The Askew School awards undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees, and offers non-degree certificate programs, in public administration and related disciplines. It has been consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the premier public affairs schools in the United States. Askew lectures on state and local government as well as international trade.

In 1994, the Reubin O'D Askew Institute on Politics and Society at the University of Florida was created in recognition of the fact that the state needed a vehicle to bring people interested in the future of Florida together to discuss issues facing the state. Rapid population growth in recent years has meant that many Floridians are unaware of the state's history or the major issues which must be resolved to ensure a bright future for all citizens.

Personal life[link]

Askew’s middle name, ‘’O’Donovan’’, was his mother’s maiden name, and he kept the double initial (O’D.) in her honor.^[1]

He married the former Donna Lou Harper in August 1956, and they have been married for more than 50 years.^[1] They have two children: daughter and son.^[12]

Askew’s father and two brothers had a “serious drinking problem”,^[1] which helps explain why he is a lifelong teetotaller and non-smoker.^[2]

Askew legacy[link]

Widely regarded as an effective Governor, Askew was named one of the 50 most important Floridians for "Tax reform, racial justice and honesty in government were the hallmarks of his governorship".

He was also found by Harvard Scholars as one of the best U.S. Governors in 20th century.

The Student Life Center at Florida State University was renamed to the Reubin O'D. Askew Student Life Center in his honor. The library at his high school alma mater, Pensacola High School, was also named after him.^[13] Interstate 110 in Pensacola is named the Reubin O'Donovan Askew Parkway.

He was designated a Great Floridian by the Florida Department of State in 1998. The program is intended to recognize and record the achievements of Floridians, living and deceased, who have made major contributions to the progress and welfare of this state.^[14]

Fictionalized portraits[link]

The character of Freddy Picker, a former Florida Governor and a primary Democratic candidate for President in the novel and movie Primary Colors was partially based on Askew.

[edit] Electoral history^[15]

Democratic primary for Governor, 1970

• Earl Faircloth - 227,413 (29.96%)
• Reubin O'Donovan Askew - 206,333 (27.18%)
• John E. Mathews - 186,053 (24.51%)
• Chuck Hall - 139,384 (18.36%)

Democratic primary for Governor runoff

• Reubin O'Donovan Askew - 447,025 (57.68%)
• Earl Faircloth - 328,038 (42.32%)

Florida gubernatorial election, 1970

• Reubin O'Donovan Askew/Thomas Burton Adams, Jr. (D) - 984,305 (56.88%)
• Claude Roy Kirk, Jr./Ray C. Osborne (R, Inc.) - 746,243 (43.12%)

Democratic primary for Governor, 1974

• Reubin O'Donovan Askew (Inc.) - 579,137 (68.83%)
• Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. - 137,008 (16.28%)
• Thomas Burton Adams, Jr. - 85,557 (10.17%)
• Norman Bie - 39,758 (4.73%)

Florida gubernatorial election, 1974

• Reubin O'Donovan Askew (Inc.)/J. H. Williams (D) - 1,118,954 (61.20%)
• Jerry Thomas/Mike Thompson - 709,438 (38.80%)

United States presidential election, 1984 (Democratic primaries)

• Walter Mondale - 6,952,912 (38.34%)
• Gary Hart - 6,504,842 (35.87%)
• Jesse Jackson - 3,282,431 (18.10%)
• John Glenn - 617,909 (3.41%)
• George McGovern - 334,801 (1.85%)
• Unpledged - 146,212 (0.81%)
• Lyndon LaRouche - 123,649 (0.68%)
• Reubin O'Donovan Askew - 52,759 (0.29%)
• Alan Cranston - 51,437 (0.28%)
• Ernest Hollings - 33,684 (0.19%)
• Ronald Reagan (write-in) - 10,096 (0.06%)

See also[link]

• List of University of Florida honorary degree recipients

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida
• Florida DeMolay hall of Fame website
• DeMolay hall of Fame website
• Oral History Interview with Reubin Askew from Oral Histories of the American South
• Florida Legislature website: The 2007 Florida Statutes-Title XVIII
• Reubin O'D. Askew Institute on Politics and Society
• Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University

v t e Governors of Florida Military (1821) Jackson Territorial (1822–1845) Duval Eaton Call Reid Call Branch State (since 1845) Moseley Brown Broome Perry Milton Allison Marvin Walker Reed Hart Stearns Drew Bloxham Perry Fleming Mitchell Bloxham Jennings Broward Gilchrist Trammell Catts Hardee Martin Carlton Sholtz Cone Holland Caldwell Warren McCarty Johns Collins Bryant Burns Kirk Askew Graham Mixson Martinez Chiles MacKay Bush Crist Scott

v t e United States Trade Representative Christian Herter (1962) William M. Roth (1967) Carl J. Gilbert (1969) William D. Eberle (1971) Frederick B. Dent (1975) Robert S. Strauss (1977) Reubin Askew (1979) William E. Brock III (1981) Clayton K. Yeutter (1985) Carla A. Hills (1989) Mickey Kantor (1993) Charlene Barshefsky (1997) Robert Zoellick (2001) Rob Portman (2005) Susan Schwab (2006) Ron Kirk (2009)

v t e Democratic Party nominees for Governor of Florida (1953-) McCarty • Collins • Bryant • Burns • High • Askew • Graham • Pajcic • Chiles • MacKay • McBride • Davis • Sink

Pat Frank (May 5, 1907 – October 12, 1964) is the pen name of the American writer, newspaperman, and government consultant Harry Hart Frank.^[1] Frank's best known work is the 1959 post-apocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon. His other books include Mr. Adam, Hold Back the Night and Forbidden Area.

Biography[link]

Frank was born in Chicago in 1907. Frank spent many years as a journalist and information handler for several newspapers, agencies, and government bureaus.^[2] During his early career, he lived mainly in New York and Washington (and service overseas during World War II, when he worked for the Office of War Information and was a correspondent in Italy, Austria, Germany, and Turkey). He died on October 12, 1964 in Jacksonville, Florida, age 57, of acute pancreatitis.^[3]

Works[link]

Nearly all men are sterile in Mr. Adam (1946), Frank's first published work. His other novels include Hold Back the Night, An Affair of State, and Forbidden Area. Frank's experiences reporting on the Korean War are described in his autobiographical travelogue The Long Way Round and influenced Hold Back the Night.

Frank wrote his most popular work, the post-apocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon, while living in Tangerine, Florida, on Lake Beauclaire near Mount Dora. Vivian Owens, an author familiar with local history, states that "Pistolville," the name Frank gave to an area near Fort Repose in the novel, was in fact a location situated just between the southern edge of Mount Dora to its north and Tangerine to its south.^[4] According to Owens, greater Mount Dora was intended by Frank to be the model for his semi-fictional Fort Repose.^[5]

Frank also authored a 160 page non-fiction book, How To Survive the H Bomb And Why (1962).

His short story "The Girl Who Almost Got Away" was the basis for the Howard Hawk's movie Man's Favorite Sport.

Frank received the American Heritage Foundation Award in 1961.

See also[link]

• Alas, Babylon
• Fallout shelter
• Retreat (survivalism)
• Survivalism
• United States civil defense

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

External links[link]

• Pat Frank at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Pat Frank’s ‘Alas, Babylon,’ 50 years later in The Florida Times-Union

Governor of Florida
Official seal
Incumbent Rick Scott since January 4, 2011
Residence	Florida Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, can succeed self once
Inaugural holder	William Dunn Moseley
Formation	1845
Deputy	Jennifer Carroll
Salary	$132,932 (2009)[1]
Website	www.flgov.com

The Governor of Florida is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Florida, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.^[2] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florida Legislature,^[3] to convene the legislature,^[4] and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.^[5]

When Florida was first acquired by the United States, future president Andrew Jackson served as its military governor. Florida Territory was established in 1822, and five people served as governor over six distinct terms. The first territorial governor, William Pope Duval, served 12 years, the longest of any governor to date. Since statehood in 1845 there have been 43 people who have served as governor, one of whom served two distinct terms. Three state governors have served two full four-year terms: William D. Bloxham, in two stints; and Reubin Askew and Jeb Bush, who each served their terms consecutively. Bob Graham almost served two terms, as he resigned with only three days left. The shortest term in office belongs to Wayne Mixson, who served three days following the resignation of his predecessor.

The current governor is Rick Scott, who took office on January 4, 2011.

Governors[link]

Military governor[link]

For the a list of governors before Florida became a United States territory, see the list of colonial governors of Florida.

Spanish Florida was acquired from Spain in the Adams–Onís Treaty, which took effect July 10, 1821.^[6] Parts of West Florida had already been assigned to Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi; the remainder and East Florida were governed by the commander of the military force that had helped secure American influence in the region.

Picture	Governor	Took office	Left office	Appointed by	Notes
	Andrew Jackson	March 10, 1821	December 31, 1821	James Monroe	[a][b]

Governors of the Territory of Florida[link]

Florida Territory was organized on March 30, 1822, combining East and West Florida.^[11]

Picture	Governor	Took office	Left office	Appointed by
	William Pope Duval	April 17, 1822	April 24, 1834	James Monroe
				John Quincy Adams
				Andrew Jackson
	John Eaton	April 24, 1834	March 16, 1836	Andrew Jackson
	Richard K. Call	March 16, 1836	December 2, 1839	Andrew Jackson
	Robert R. Reid	December 2, 1839	March 19, 1841	Martin Van Buren
	Richard K. Call	March 19, 1841	August 11, 1844	William Henry Harrison
				John Tyler
	John Branch	August 11, 1844	June 25, 1845	John Tyler

Governors of the State of Florida[link]

William Dunn Moseley, 1st Governor of Florida File:DavidSWalker.jpg David S. Walker, 8th Governor of Florida Napoleon B. Broward, 19th Governor of Florida Spessard Holland, 28th Governor of Florida Lawton Chiles, 41st Governor of Florida Jeb Bush, 43rd Governor of Florida Charlie Crist, 44th Governor of Florida

The State of Florida was admitted to the Union on March 3, 1845. It seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861,^[12] and joined the Confederate States of America on February 8, 1861,^[13] as a founding member; there was no Union government in exile, so there was a single line of governors. Following the end of the American Civil War, it was part of the Third Military District.^[14] Florida was readmitted to the Union on June 25, 1868.^[15]

The first Florida Constitution, ratified in 1838, provided that a governor be elected every four years, who was not allowed to serve consecutive terms.^[16] The secessionist constitution of 1861 would have reduced this to two years and removed the term limit,^[17] but the state fell to the Union before the first election under that constitution. The rejected constitution of 1865 and the ratified constitution of 1868 maintained the four-year term,^[18][19] though without the earlier term limit, which was reintroduced in the 1885 constitution.^[20] The current constitution of 1968 states that should the governor serve, or would have served had they not resigned, more than six years in two consecutive terms, he cannot be elected to the succeeding term.^[21] The start of a term was set in 1885 at the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the January following the election,^[20] where it has remained.^[22]

Originally, the president of the state senate acted as governor should that office be vacant.^[23] The 1865 and 1868 constitutions created the office of lieutenant governor,^[24][25] who would similarly act as governor. This office was abolished in 1885, with the president of the senate again taking on that duty.^[26] The 1968 constitution recreated the office of lieutenant governor, who now becomes governor in the absence of the governor.^[27] The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket.^[21]

Florida was a strongly Democratic state before the Civil War, electing only candidates from the Democratic and Whig parties. It elected three Republican governors following Reconstruction, but after the Democratic Party re-established control, 89 years passed before voters chose another Republican.

      Democratic (34)       Independent (1)^[c]       Prohibition (1)       Provisional (1)       Republican (8)^[c]       Whig (1)

Other high offices held[link]

Fourteen of Florida's governors have served higher federal offices, including one President of the United States, two Cabinet secretaries, and one ambassador. One served as Governor of North Carolina, and all fourteen were elected to the U.S. Congress, though only nine represented Florida, and only seven actually took their seats. One died before taking office, and the other was refused his seat by the U.S. Senate shortly after the American Civil War, because Florida had not yet been reconstructed. One governor (marked with *) resigned to take his seat in the Senate.