Edward J. King

Edward Joseph King
66th Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 4, 1979 – January 6, 1983
Lieutenant	Thomas P. O'Neill III
Preceded by	Michael Dukakis
Succeeded by	Michael Dukakis
Personal details
Born	(1925-05-11)May 11, 1925 Chelsea, Massachusetts
Died	September 18, 2006( 2006-09-18) (aged 81) Burlington, Massachusetts
Political party	Democrat (Switched to Republican after leaving office)
Spouse(s)	Josephine "Jody" King
Religion	Roman Catholic

Edward Joseph "Ed" King (May 11, 1925 – September 18, 2006) was the 66th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts from 1979 to 1983.

Early life

King was born on May 11, 1925 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. During his teens, King worked as a Pinsetter in a Revere Beach bowling alley to help pay for his schooling. Toward the end of World War II he served in the United States Navy. He was given a medical discharge due to a broken ankle.^[1]

Athletic career

King graduated from Boston College in 1948 and went on to played professional football as a guard with the All-America Football Conference Buffalo Bisons from 1948 to 1949 and the National Football League's Baltimore Colts in 1950.

Massport

After his athletic career, King took accounting and business courses at Bentley College. In 1953 he went to work for the accounting firm of Lybrand, Ross Bros., & Montgomery. After performing an audit for the Museum of Science he was hired to serve as its assistant director and comptroller.^[1]

In 1959 King became comptroller for the newly formed Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). He later became the port authority's secretary-treasurer. In 1963 he became the Authority's executive director.^[1]

During King's tenure as executive director, Logan International Airport was transformed into a modern facility. Upgrades were made to the runways and terminals and the Volpe International Terminal (Terminal E) was built. Under King's watch, the authority went from a deficit to a surplus. However, he was criticized for ignoring the wishes of East Boston residents during airport expansion projects. His critics also claim that the airport's success was not due to King, but due to the success of the jet age. Massport also became known for providing legislators with jobs for their constituents, gifts, and no-bid contracts.^[1]

King had a poor relationship with the Massachusetts Port Authority Board of Directors, who wanted King to consult with the board before he proceeded with the expansion of the airport and other projects. In December 1974 the board voted 4 to 2 to fire King.^[1]

New England Council

After his dismissal, King became president of the New England Council, a regional Chamber of commerce-like organization funded by business interests. In this position, King performed a variety of duties, including lobbying the federal government for legislation to limit environment restrictions on business and coordinating an attempt to have the national solar energy research center located in New England.^[1]

Governor

On October 25, 1977, King announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for Governor. A fiscal and social conservative, King ran as a pro-life candidate and supported capital punishment, offshore drilling, increased nuclear power, greater research on solar energy, less business regulation, raising the drinking age to 21, and mandatory sentences for drug dealers.^[2][3] King was able to raise more money than his opponents due to his support from the business community. King focused his spending on extensive media advertising while his main primary opponent, incumbent Governor Michael Dukakis, spent more money on organization.^[4]

In September 1978, King defeated Dukakis in the Democratic primary. He then went on to defeat a liberal Republican, Massachusetts House Minority Leader Francis W. Hatch, Jr., in the November election.

During his term of office, King froze property taxes, reduced state spending on social programs, undertook a variety of efforts to encourage increased business and agricultural opportunities in the Commonwealth, introduced mandatory minimum sentences, and passed legislation to reintroduce the death penalty in Massachusetts, a measure which was later ruled unconstitutional by the state's Supreme Judicial Court. When advocating capital punishment, President Ronald Reagan called King his "favorite Democratic governor" and King endorsed Reagan in the 1984 Presidential election.^[5]

King was defeated for the Democratic nomination for governor by Michael Dukakis in 1982.

Following his term of office, Governor King joined the public relations firm of Hill & Knowlton. In 1985 King switched his party affiliation to the Republican Party^[6] and considered running for governor in 1986 and 1990 on the Republican ticket. Until the time of his death, he maintained residences in both Massachusetts and Florida.

His wife Josephine died in 1995. He was survived by two sons, Timothy and Brian; two sisters, Helen Kennedy and Mary King; and five grandchildren. His brother Paul was a judge in the Massachusetts court system.

Cabinet

References

External links

• Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Biography
• New York Times obituary: Ex-Gov. Edward J. King, 81, Who Defeated Dukakis, Dies at the Wayback Machine (archived November 14, 2012) (September 19, 2006)

Governors of Massachusetts Colony (1629–86) Endecott Winthrop T. Dudley Haynes Vane Winthrop T. Dudley Bellingham Winthrop Endecott T. Dudley Winthrop Endecott T. Dudley Endecott Bellingham Endecott Bellingham Leverett Bradstreet Dominion (1686–89) J. Dudley Andros Bradstreet Province (1692–1776) W. Phips Stoughton Bellomont Stoughton Governor's Council J. Dudley Governor's Council J. Dudley Tailer Shute Dummer Burnet Dummer Tailer Belcher Shirley S. Phips Shirley S. Phips Governor's Council Pownall Hutchinson Bernard Hutchinson Gage Commonwealth (since 1776) Hancock Cushing Bowdoin Hancock Adams Sumner Gill Governor's Council Strong Sullivan Lincoln, Sr. Gore Gerry Strong Brooks Eustis Morton Lincoln, Jr. Davis Armstrong Everett Morton Davis Morton Briggs Boutwell Clifford E. Washburn Gardner Banks Andrew Bullock Claflin W. Washburn Talbot Gaston Rice Talbot Long Butler Robinson Ames Brackett Russell Greenhalge Wolcott Crane Bates Douglas Guild Draper Foss Walsh McCall Coolidge Cox Fuller Allen Ely Curley Hurley Saltonstall Tobin Bradford Dever Herter Furcolo Volpe Peabody Volpe Sargent Dukakis King Dukakis Weld Cellucci Swift Romney Patrick Baker Italics indicate acting officeholders