| James Geringer | |
|---|---|
| 30th Governor of Wyoming | |
| In office January 2, 1995 – January 6, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Mike Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Dave Freudenthal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 24, 1944 Wheatland, Wyoming |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Sherri Geringer |
| Profession | Politician, Farmer |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
James Edward "Jim" Geringer (born April 24, 1944) was the 30th Governor of Wyoming.
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Geringer was raised on a farm in Wheatland, Wyoming. He attended Kansas State University and was a member of Triangle Fraternity, earning a degree in mechanical engineering. He served for ten years in the United States Air Force before retiring. He briefly worked at a power generating station in Wheatland, Wyoming before purchasing a farm.
In 1982, Geringer successfully ran as a Republican for a seat in the Wyoming House of Representatives. After serving there for six years, he won a seat in the Wyoming Senate. In 1994, State Senator Geringer was elected as Wyoming's governor.
Geringer was generally a conservative throughout his political career. As governor, he helped pass laws that regulated class action lawsuits, reformed bankruptcy laws, toughened crime laws, legalized charter schools, and lowered taxes. However, he broke with the Republican Party in supporting environmental rulings and the Equal Rights Amendment.
In 1997, Governor Geringer called for a boycott of America Online after Sondra London posted a series of murder confessions sent to her from "Happy Face Killer" Keith Jesperson, protesting that he found the items to be offensive. Although London voluntarily removed the pages in question, AOL banned her from the AOL domain, which in turn prompted an outpouring of support from all over the World Wide Web, including multiple offers of free server space. London thanked Geringer on Larry King Live for catapulting her website into the limelight, even though it wasn't Geringer intention.
Geringer is a character in the play The Laramie Project, about the Matthew Shepard murder and trial, which was a major news event while he was Governor. He makes a statement in the play about being opposed to a hate crimes law, which President Bill Clinton strongly supported, as did Judy Shepard, mother of the murdered college student.
After serving as governor, he joined Redlands, Calif., ESRI [1] as director of policy and public sector strategies.
Geringer is one of the founding governors of Western Governors University (WGU) and is currently chairman of the WGU Board of Trustees.[1]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike Sullivan |
Governor of Wyoming January 2, 1995 – January 6, 2003 |
Succeeded by Dave Freudenthal |
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