Frank O'Bannon

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Order:	47th Governor of Indiana
Term of Office:	January, 1997 – September 13, 2003
Predecessor:	Evan Bayh
Successor:	Joseph Kernan
Date of Birth:	January 30, 1930 (age 77)
Place of Birth:	Louisville, Kentucky
First Lady:	Judy O'Bannon
Profession:	Newspaper Owner
Religion:	Methodist
Political Party:	Democratic
Lieutenant Governor:	Joseph Kernan (1997– 2003)

Frank Lewis O'Bannon (1930-2003) was an American politician who was Governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death, on September 13, 2003.

1 Background
2 Politics Before Governor
3 Governor
4 Death
5 External links

[edit] Background

O'Bannon was a native of Corydon, Indiana, where his family owned the Corydon Democrat, the town's newspaper. He attended Indiana University, with a B.A. in government, 1952, and a law degree in 1957.

He also spent two years in the United States Air Force. He was chairman of the board of the family newspaper publishing firm until the time of his death.

[edit] Politics Before Governor

First elected to his father's seat in the Indiana state senate in 1970, where he was the primary sponsor of legislation reintroducing the death penalty, he became lieutenant governor in 1989 when Evan Bayh was elected governor. As lieutenant governor, he served as the state's Director of Commerce and Commissioner of Agriculture.

[edit] Governor

In 1996 O'Bannon ran for governor. He overcame an early deficit against his Republican opponent, Indianapolis mayor Stephen Goldsmith and won in a close race, 52% to 47%. He was re-elected by a larger margin in 2000 against second district Congressman David M. McIntosh.

During the boom years of the 1990s, when Indiana amassed a record $2 billion surplus, O'Bannon was able to cut taxes by $1.5 billion, hire 500 more police officers in the state and win increased funding for schools and extended health insurance for poor families. In 2000 he won an easy re-election bid.

After the market downturn, however, Indiana lost 120,000 jobs, tax revenues dropped, and O'Bannon had to cut social services in order to spare education. In 2001 he worked with the state legislature to formulate a major restructuring of the state tax system. His opponents blamed him for botching the state's finances. They pointed to an embezzlement from a public retirement fund, a slow response by his environmental agency to a big fish kill, and problems at two state centers for the developmentally disabled.

[edit] Death

On September 8, 2003, O'Bannon was in Chicago, Illinois attending the U.S. Midwest-Japan trade conference when he suffered a massive stroke.

He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. His condition worsened and based on his living will, his family decided to use no further means of support and care. He died on September 13, 2003, aged 73, leaving behind his wife Judy (Asmus), three children (Polly, Jennifer and Jonathan) and five grandchildren.

He was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Joe Kernan.

O'Bannon is the subject of a 2006 biography, "Legacy of a Governor: The Life of Indiana's Frank O'Bannon." The book, written by former O'Bannon staffer Andrew Stoner, contains a forward by his wife, Judy O'Bannon. The book was published by Rooftop Publishing, Inc. of Bloomington, Ind.

[edit] External links

http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Governor-Indianas-Frank-Obannon/dp/160008012X/sr=8-3/qid=1170690824/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/105-5699371-2839648?ie=UTF8&s=books

Preceded by John M. Mutz	Lieutenant Governor of Indiana 1989-1997	Succeeded by Joe Kernan
Preceded by Evan Bayh	Governor of Indiana 1997-2003	Succeeded by Joe Kernan