Steve Beshear facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Steve Beshear
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Beshear in 2014
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| 61st Governor of Kentucky | |
| In office December 11, 2007 – December 8, 2015 |
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| Lieutenant |
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| Preceded by | Ernie Fletcher |
| Succeeded by | Matt Bevin |
| 49th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky | |
| In office December 13, 1983 – December 8, 1987 |
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| Governor | Martha Layne Collins |
| Preceded by | Martha Layne Collins |
| Succeeded by | Brereton Jones |
| 43rd Attorney General of Kentucky | |
| In office January 7, 1980 – December 13, 1983 Acting: December 5, 1979 – January 7, 1980 |
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| Governor | John Y. Brown Jr. |
| Preceded by | Robert F. Stephens |
| Succeeded by | David L. Armstrong |
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 76th district |
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| In office January 1, 1974 – January 1, 1980 |
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| Preceded by | Bart Peak |
| Succeeded by | Jerry Lundergan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Steven Lynn Beshear
September 21, 1944 Dawson Springs, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Jane Klingner
(m. 1969) |
| Children | 2, including Andy |
| Education | University of Kentucky (BA, JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Unit | United States Army Reserve |
Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. A governor is the leader of a state, similar to a president for a country.
Before becoming governor, Beshear held several other important roles in Kentucky. He was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980. He then served as the state's 44th Attorney General from 1980 to 1983. An Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the state. After that, he was the 49th Lieutenant Governor from 1983 to 1987. The Lieutenant Governor is the second-highest official in the state and takes over if the governor cannot serve.
After law school, Beshear worked as a lawyer in New York before returning to Kentucky. He became known for helping regular people with their problems. He ran for governor in 1987 but did not win. For the next 20 years, he worked as a lawyer. In 1996, he ran for the U.S. Senate but was not elected. He returned to politics in 2007 and won the election for governor. He was re-elected in 2011. His son, Andy Beshear, later became governor of Kentucky in 2019.
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Early Life and Education
Steve Beshear was born on September 21, 1944, in Hopkins County, Kentucky. He was one of five children. He grew up in a small town called Dawson Springs. His father owned a furniture store, ran a funeral home, and was also the town's mayor. Steve's father, grandfather, and uncle were all ministers in their church. As a child, Steve went to church with both his father and his mother. He also went with his uncle when he campaigned for a seat in the state House of Representatives.
Beshear was the top student in his class when he graduated from Dawson Springs High School in 1962. He then went to the University of Kentucky. He earned a degree in History in 1966. While in college, he was a member of a social club and an honor society. He was also elected student body treasurer and later student body president. In 1968, Beshear graduated with honors from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
In 1969, he married Jane Klingner. They have two sons, Jeffery Scott Beshear and Andrew Graham Beshear. Andy is the current Governor of Kentucky. They also have two grandsons and one granddaughter. After they got married, the Beshears moved to New York City. Steve worked for a law firm there. He also served in the United States Army Reserve.
After two and a half years, the family moved back to Kentucky. Beshear joined a law firm in Lexington. In 1974, he started his own law firm. He led this firm until he was elected Attorney General in 1979.
Early Political Career
In 1973, Beshear started his political journey. He was elected to represent Fayette County in the Kentucky House of Representatives. His fellow lawmakers recognized him as the most outstanding new legislator. He was re-elected two more times.
As a lawmaker, Beshear became known for supporting consumers. He worked on laws to protect the environment. He also tried to end the practice of commercial bail bonding. One of his big successes was helping to pass a law to improve care for newborn babies at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.
Serving as Attorney General
Beshear was the first person to announce he would run for Attorney General of Kentucky in 1979. The main part of his campaign was his promise to protect consumers. He wanted to help them when utility companies tried to raise prices. He won the election easily.
When the Attorney General before him resigned, Beshear was appointed to fill the spot early. As Attorney General, he created the state's first division to fight Medicaid fraud. His office also helped lead a project to fight organized crime in coal mining areas.
Beshear had a couple of disagreements during his time as Attorney General. One was about displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state law requiring this was against the Constitution. Beshear said that displaying them in classrooms was not allowed.
Another disagreement was about the governor's mansion. The First Lady, Phyllis George Brown, raised money to fix up the mansion. When it was done, she charged people to take tours. A lawmaker asked Beshear to challenge this fee. Beshear tried to stop the fee, but a judge said it was allowed. This caused some tension between Beshear and Governor John Y. Brown Jr..
Becoming Lieutenant Governor
Because he could only serve one term as Attorney General, Beshear decided to run for Lieutenant Governor in 1983. He won the Democratic primary election. In the main election, he easily defeated his Republican opponent.
During his time as Lieutenant Governor, Beshear started the Kentucky Tomorrow Commission. This group was created to suggest ways to help the state grow and develop in the future. The commission made many recommendations, including some changes to the state constitution. While not all ideas were adopted right away, some have been put into place since then.
Some people thought Beshear started this commission to help him run for governor later. He did run for governor in 1987. However, he finished third in a crowded primary election. This meant he did not get to run in the main election for governor that year.
Time Away from Politics
After his 1987 election loss, Beshear went back to being a lawyer. He worked on several important legal cases. He also had surgery for prostate cancer in 1994 and recovered well.
Beshear stayed out of politics for almost ten years. But in late 1995, other Democratic leaders encouraged him to run for U.S. Senator against Mitch McConnell. Beshear was the favorite to win the Democratic primary election, and he did.
In the main election, Beshear faced a tough challenge against McConnell. McConnell raised a lot more money than Beshear. Beshear argued that McConnell's money came from groups that tried to influence laws. McConnell said that donating money was part of free speech. Beshear also said that Republicans, including McConnell, wanted to cut Medicare. McConnell replied that they only wanted to slow its growth, which was similar to what President Bill Clinton proposed.
The campaign became very personal. McConnell claimed a club Beshear belonged to did not have African-American members. Beshear denied this and criticized a McConnell supporter. In the end, Beshear lost the election to McConnell. It was McConnell's biggest win margin at the time.
After this loss, Beshear continued his law practice.
Running for Governor in 2007
On December 18, 2006, Beshear announced he would run for governor in 2007. His running mate was state senator Daniel Mongiardo. Beshear promised to bring "integrity" back to the governor's office. This was a criticism of the current governor, Ernie Fletcher, whose administration was being investigated for its hiring practices.
Beshear tried to stand out from other candidates by supporting a change to the state constitution. This change would allow more casinos in Kentucky. He said this could bring in $500 million in new money without raising taxes. Other candidates initially supported this idea, but some changed their minds as Beshear made it a central part of his campaign.
Beshear won the Democratic primary election. He then faced Governor Fletcher in the general election. Beshear focused on the investigation into Fletcher's administration. Fletcher, in turn, strongly opposed Beshear's casino plan. Beshear won the election by a significant margin.
Running for Governor in 2011
In 2009, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo decided to run for the U.S. Senate. This meant he would not be Beshear's running mate for re-election. Beshear then announced that Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson would be his new running mate for the 2011 campaign.
Beshear did not have any opponents in the Democratic primary election. In the Republican primary, Senate President David Williams won. Another candidate, Gatewood Galbraith, ran as an Independent.
On November 8, 2011, Beshear was re-elected as governor of Kentucky. He won with nearly 56% of the votes in the three-way race. On the same night, Democratic candidates won almost all of the other statewide offices.
Governorship
Soon after becoming governor, Beshear ordered budget cuts. He said the state had a large money shortage. The Republican Senate President questioned these cuts. Beshear explained that the state had more spending needs than available money.
Beshear faced a political challenge early in his term. A special election was held to fill his lieutenant governor's state Senate seat. Even though Democrats had more registered voters in the area, a Republican won the seat. This gave Republicans more power in the state Senate.
Working with Lawmakers
A lot of the discussions in the 2008 legislative session were about creating a budget for the next two years. The state was expected to have a nearly $1 billion shortage. Beshear was surprised by how much time the budget issues took. He noted that lawmakers were much more independent than they used to be. He wanted to focus on early childhood education and health care for children, but these were not fully addressed.
Beshear also proposed a law to allow casino gambling in Kentucky. His plan included letting 12 casinos open in the state. However, this plan faced strong opposition and did not pass. Other proposals Beshear supported, like ethics reform and a cigarette tax increase, also failed to pass.
In the final hours of the session, lawmakers used a controversial practice of stopping the clocks. This allowed them to pass bills after the official deadline. Beshear later vetoed one of these bills, which was about road building. A judge later ruled that this practice of stopping the clocks was not allowed.
Beshear called a special legislative session in July 2008 to address the state's pension system. Lawmakers had reached an agreement on a plan after the regular session ended. The special session lasted five days and the bill was passed.
Other Important Issues
After the legislative session, Beshear focused on energy. He divided the state's Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet to create a new Energy and Environmental Cabinet. This change reversed a previous consolidation. Later, Beshear released the state's first complete energy plan. This plan looked at expanding solar, wind, and biomass energy. It also considered new ideas like coal gasification.
Beshear also had a disagreement with the state Council on Postsecondary Education. He believed they hired their new president without a proper search and that the person was not qualified. The Attorney General agreed that the hiring was illegal. The person hired later resigned.
In September 2008, Beshear's administration tried to block Kentucky residents from accessing certain gambling websites. Beshear said these sites were illegal and hurt the state's horse racing industry. A judge first agreed with Beshear, but a higher court overturned that ruling. The case went all the way to the Kentucky Supreme Court. In 2015, a judge ruled in favor of the state and awarded a large amount in damages.
Challenges and Changes in 2009
In 2009, the state faced a $456 million budget shortage due to a worsening economy. Expanded gambling was again suggested as a way to get more money. A bill to allow slot machines at racetracks passed one committee but did not go further. Instead, lawmakers passed a series of tax bills to deal with the shortage.
The House of Representatives had a rule that the last two days of their session were only for overriding governor's vetoes. Beshear hoped they would change this rule to consider other important bills. These bills included more money for public defenders and economic incentives. However, the House refused to change the rules.
After the 2009 session, the Attorney General was asked to give opinions on two gambling-related issues. One was about "Instant Racing," which lets people bet on past horse races. The other was about whether video lottery terminals were legal. The Attorney General said both could be allowed with some changes.
In an effort to save money, the Kentucky State Police announced they would only offer the state driving test in English. It had been offered in 22 other languages. Beshear quickly reversed this decision, saying he was not informed and that it was wrong. He promised the foreign language tests would be updated.
In April 2009, Beshear announced a partnership to build a research center in Lexington. This center would develop advanced battery technologies for electric cars. A week later, a group announced they would build a battery manufacturing plant in Hardin County, partly because of the nearby research center. However, the project did not get the federal money it needed, and the plant was not built.
Beshear called another special legislative session in June 2009 to address another $1 billion budget shortage. He also added the economic incentives package and a measure to expand gambling. The House passed the gambling bill, but it failed in the Republican-controlled Senate. The budget and economic incentives bills did pass in this session.
Working Through 2010 and 2011
In 2010, Beshear presented his budget plan. The state was facing a $1.5 billion shortage. Beshear again suggested using money from expanded gambling. However, leaders in both the House and Senate said that gambling laws would not pass that session. Lawmakers could not agree on a budget by the deadline. Beshear criticized them for not passing a budget. In May 2010, lawmakers met again and passed a budget. Beshear used his power to remove 19 items from the budget.
In July 2010, Beshear announced that most state employees would have six mandatory, unpaid days off to save money. A union representing state workers tried to stop this, but a judge allowed it to proceed. The union later dropped the lawsuit.
In 2011, there was little expectation for the legislative session. This was because Senate President David Williams announced he would run against Beshear in the upcoming gubernatorial election. This made cooperation between the two leaders difficult.
Lawmakers could not agree on several important issues. These included tougher laws against illegal immigration and raising the legal age for dropping out of high school from sixteen to eighteen. They also could not agree on how to cover a shortage in the state's Medicaid program.
Beshear immediately called for a special legislative session to address the Medicaid issue and the dropout age. In this special session, lawmakers approved raising the minimum dropout age to 18. Beshear was later honored for his work on this and for not cutting education funding. Lawmakers also approved a plan for Medicaid that allowed Beshear to move funds.
After Being Governor
Beshear gave the Democratic response to a speech by President Donald Trump in February 2017. He was chosen because he had successfully put the Affordable Care Act into action in Kentucky. He was also chosen to try and connect with white, rural voters who Democrats felt they had lost.
Some Democrats praised the choice, saying Beshear knew a lot about health care. However, others thought it was a mistake. Many people on social media and TV made fun of the speech. The New York Post pointed out one part where Beshear said, "I'm a proud Democrat, but first and foremost, I'm a proud Republican, and Democrat, and mostly, American." People also joked about the setting for his speech, which was a dimly lit diner with people sitting motionless behind him.
In 2017, Beshear was a special fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He taught a course there about leadership from a governor's point of view.
Images for kids
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ZAP cars like this one would have been manufactured in Kentucky before the proposed factory lost its funding
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Governor Beshear in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Steve Beshear para niños
