Jerry Ward

Jerry Ward (born July 19, 1948) is an American politician and businessman.

Early life

An Alaska Native born in Anchorage, Alaska, Ward served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War and was in the Navy Seabees. Ward was in the real estate business.

Political career

In 1982, Ward was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives as a Republican, serving in 1983-84.

In 1990, he won the Alaska Independence Party primary for Lt. Governor. However, he and his running mate, gubernatorial candidate John Howard Lindauer, stepped aside in favor of former Governor Walter Hickel, and the defecting Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, state Senator Jack Coghill, who won the general election over ex-Anchorage Mayor, Democrat Tony Knowles and state Senator Willie Hensley, with Republican state Senator Arliss Sturgulewski finishing third.

In 1996 and 2000 he won elections to the Alaska State Senate.[1][2]

In 1998, running again for statewide office, he joined now-Republican Lindauer as his lieutenant governor candidate. Thanks in part to a campaign financing scandal, their ticket finished far behind incumbent Governor Knowles and third behind a write-in candidate, state senator Robin L. Taylor.

Ward was defeated for reelection in 2002 by prison opponent and City of Kenai mayor Tom Wagoner of the Republican Moderate Party. He lost again in 2004 to Wagoner, by then a Republican.[3]

In 2006, Ward ran once more for Lt. Governor in the Republican primary, but was defeated by Sean Parnell.[4]

While in the state senate, Ward was heavily involved in repeated, unsuccessful attempts to build a for-profit prison in Alaska.[5][6] Those schemes eventually resulted in federal criminal prosecutions of executives and legislators.[7] Although Ward was still under investigation as of 2009, he was never charged.[8]

Ward ran Donald Trump's 2016 campaign in Alaska, was rewarded with a position in the Department of Education, but resigned not long afterward.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Alaska State Legislature-Senator Jerry Ward
  2. ↑ Alaska Division of Elections-Jerry Ward
  3. ↑ Weimar charged corruption probe, Alaska Dispatch News, Lisa Demer, August 11, 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Sean Parnell: The Manchurian Governor?, Alaska Dispatch News, Craig Medred, April 19, 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  5. ↑ Senate Passes Fort Greely Prison Bill, Alaska House and Senate Majority, Wendy Lindskoog, Jerry Ritter, March 31, 1998. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Prison bill gets facelift, Peninsula Clarion, Dan Joling, February 2, 2001. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  7. ↑ Push for Private Prison was downfall, Alaska Dispatch News, Tom Kizzia, August 12, 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  8. ↑ Key players contest FBI whistleblower allegations, Alaska Dispatch News, Richard Mauer, Lisa Demer, February 15, 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Trump's loyalist army is getting swallowed up by the swamp, Vanity Fair, Abigail Tracy, April 6, 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
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