C. Ben Ross
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| C. Ben Ross | |
|
15th Governor of Idaho
|
|
|---|---|
| In office January 5, 1931 – January 4, 1937 |
|
| Lieutenant | G. P. Mix (1931) George E. Hill (1933) G. P. Mix (1935) |
| Preceded by | H. C. Baldridge |
| Succeeded by | Barzilla W. Clark |
|
|
|
| Born | December 27, 1876 Parma, Idaho Territory |
| Died | March 31, 1946 (aged 69) Boise, Idaho |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Edna May Reavis |
| Residence | Pocatello |
| Profession | Rancher |
| Religion | Congregationalist |
Charles Benjamin Ross (born December 27, 1876 in Parma, Idaho Territory – died March 31, 1946 in Boise, Idaho) was the first native-born Governor of Idaho and an important Idaho political figure throughout the 1930s. Ross served as governor from 1931 until 1937.
Ross began his political career in Canyon County, serving as county commissioner from 1915 to 1921. He moved to Bannock County and served as mayor of Pocatello from 1922 to 1930.
Ross won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1928. Although he nearly tripled the Democratic vote total of his predecessor, Asher B. Wilson, thanks to the recent demise of the Idaho Progressive Party, he was defeated by the Republican incumbent H. C. Baldridge.
Ross won the nomination again in 1930, winning the open seat against Republican John McMurray. He was reelected in 1932 and 1934, becoming the first person to win election as Governor of Idaho three times.
Ross ran for United States Senate in 1936 but was defeated by longtime Republican incumbent William E. Borah.
The first sales tax in Idaho was enacted in 1935 with Ross' support. A famous line used against Ross by sales tax opponents was "A Penny for Benny." Opponents also used the following poem against him: "Benny got our penny/Benny got our goat/We'll get our Benny/When we go to vote." The sales tax was repealed by a statewide referendum in 1936.
In 1938 Ross ran for governor a fifth time, defeating incumbent Barzilla W. Clark in the Democratic primary but losing to state Republican Party chairman C. A. Bottolfsen in the general election.
After losing the 1938 gubernatorial election, "Cowboy Ben" retired from public life. He is referred to as "Founding Father" of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation and was looked to as a champion of the Idaho Democratic Party.
Ross is buried in Parma.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by H. C. Baldridge |
Governor of Idaho January 5, 1931 – January 4, 1937 |
Succeeded by Barzilla W. Clark |
|
|||||||
 |
This article about an Idaho politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
