| Herman Willard Rattliff | |
|---|---|
| Herman W. Rattliff (standard political photo) |
|
| Kentucky State Representative from District 51 (now Taylor and Adair counties) | |
| In office January 1968 – December 1986 |
|
| Preceded by | James E. Whitlock |
| Succeeded by | Ray H. Altman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 1, 1926 Green County, Kentucky, USA |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Jewell Merritt Rattliff |
| Children | David Brian Rattliff Kristi Lynn Hickerson |
| Residence | Campbellsville, Taylor County, Kentucky |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Religion | United Methodist |
Herman Willard Rattliff (born April 1, 1926)[1] is a retired businessman from Campbellsville, Kentucky, who served from 1968-1986 as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives.[2] He authored the Rattliff-Ward Textbook Act of 1976.[3]
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Rattliff was one of five sons and two daughters born to James W. Rattliff (1904–1987), a tenant farmer, and the former Estell Dobson (1907–1984), a couple from Green County in south central Kentucky.[4] Ratliff’s living siblings are Doris Rodgers of Campbellsville, J.W. Rattliff of Greensburg, and Vernon Rattliff of Lexington. His deceased siblings were Willya Rattliff Cox (1936–2004) of Greensburg,[5] Emmett Wesley Rattliff (1924–1983) of Campbellsville, and Ronald Gene "Ronnie" Rattliff (died 1990) of Greensburg.[6]
Rattliff did not complete high school but procured a General Education Diploma. He served in the United States Army during World War II, having been based from 1945–1947, primarily in the Philippine Islands. He left the military at the rank of staff sergeant. Rattliff, along with former Campbellsville Mayor Robert "Bobby" Miller, is among sixteen World War II veterans included in the 2009 book They Were Soldiers, the Stories of Those from Taylor County who Served during World War II, published by the Campbellsville University journalism department.[7]
In 1951, Rattliff married the former Jewell Merritt (born February 1, 1932), a Campbellsville native who had lived for a time in Cincinnati, Ohio. The couple has two children, David Brian Rattliff (born 1957), an attorney in Louisville, Kentucky, and Kristi Lynn Hickerson (born 1960) of Campbellsville, and a grandchild, Cameron David Rattliff.
Rattliff and a partner, Raymond Burress, opened Supertone Studios in downtown Campbellsville in 1949. The studio handled some of the photographic contracts for numerous area school districts. It was sold and relocated in 1990. From 1974-2004, Rattliff also raised Charolais cattle outside Campbellsville in Taylor County.[8]
Rattliff's political activities date back to 1953, when he initiated the Taylor County Young Republicans Club and founded such groups throughout south central Kentucky. After his legislative service ended in 1986, the clubs largely disappeared. He was initially elected on November 7, 1967, to the Kentucky House from District 29, which then encompassed Marion and Taylor counites. He was reelected in the same district on November 4, 1969. In the two elections, Rattliff defeated the Democratic nominees, respectively, J.E. Pickett and Sam B. Thomas (1925–2007), both from Marion County. The incumbent Democrat, James E. Whitlock (born 1934), did not seek a fourth term in 1967.[2] In that first race, Rattliff ran on the ticket headed by Louie B. Nunn of Glasgow in Barren County, who was elected as the state's first Republican governor since 1943. Rattliff was also the first Republican in generations to represent Taylor County in the state House. He outpolled ticket-mate Nunn in House District 29.
In 1971, Sam Thomas was elected to the Kentucky House in a revised 24th District, as Rattliff was moved into the 51st District,[2] which then included Green and Taylor counties and four precincts from nearby Metcalfe County. Thomas and Rattliff were hence House colleagues for the remainder of their careers. On May 25, 1971, Rattliff won the Republican nomination over Russell Close and then garnered his third term in the November general election. The Republican candidate for governor that year, Thomas D. Emberton, was defeated by the sitting Democratic Lieutenant Governor Wendell Ford of Owensboro, who became a U.S. senator in 1975. After the 1990 redistricting, by which time Ray H. Altman of Campbellsville held the representative’s position, the mostly Republican District 51 was reconfigured to include Taylor and Adair counties, the county seat of which is Columbia.
In 1973, Rattliff was elected in District 51 midway in Ford's gubernatorial term. First, in the May 29 Republican primary, he defeated Marion Horn, Jr., of Campbellsville.[9] Then in the November 6 general election, Rattliff prevailed over the Democratic nominee, Brooks Edwards of Green County. Thereafter, he was unopposed in the general election held on November 4, 1975.[10]
During his tenure, Rattliff served on the transportation and agriculture committees, which are particularly important to District 51. Rattliff worked for passage of several bills of which the Democrats claimed authorship. One of the bills increased the penalties for drug abuse. The previously-mentioned Rattliff-Ward Textbook Act,[3] provided for taxpayer-funded textbooks in high schools. A third measure brought public school support staff, including bus drivers, lunchroom workers, custodians, and teacher aides, into the Kentucky state teacher retirement and insurance systems. Rattliff once said that he learned as a Kentucky Republican that he would usually have to be contented to procure enactment of his desired bills, but he would not likely obtain political credit, the textbook act having been the exception to that pattern.
Rattliff was the Republican House Caucus chairman from 1976-1982. He worked alongside State Senator Doug Moseley, formerly of Columbia and Campbellsville, who once described Rattliff as "one of the best legislators they ever had in Frankfort. . . If Herman Rattliff said it, he followed through."[11]
In 1981, Rattliff had a closer race than previously against the Democrat Rufus Hansford of Campbellsville. Kentucky legislative elections were switched to even years in 1984 to coincide with congressional elections. This meant that the legislature in Kentucky would be elected in years separate from the governor and other state constitutional officers. Hence the term to which Rattliff was elected on November 3, 1981, was extended to three years. On November 6, 1984, Rattliff won his last term by handily defeating the Campbellsville Democrat William "Tonnie" Ford. Neither Rattliff nor Moseley sought reelection in 1986, and the pair was succeeded, respectively, by fellow Republicans Ray Altman and David L. Williams of Burkesville, the seat of Cumberland County.[2]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James E. Whitlock |
Kentucky State Representative from Campbellsville (District 51)
Herman Willard Rattliff |
Succeeded by Ray Heistand Altman |