Jerry Ward(born July 19, 1948) is anAmericanpolitician and businessman.
Jerry Ward | |
|---|---|
| Member of theAlaska Senate from the E district | |
| In office January 21, 1997 – January 21, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Judith Salo |
| Succeeded by | Tom Wagoner |
| Member of theAlaska House of Representatives from the 13 district | |
| In office January 21, 1983 – January 21, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Patrick O'Connell |
| Succeeded by | Pat Pourchot |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 19, 1948 Anchorage, Alaska,U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
Early life
editAnAlaska Nativeborn inAnchorage, Alaska,Ward served in theUnited States Navyduring theVietnam Warand was in the NavySeabees.Ward was in the real estate business.
Political career
editIn 1982, Ward was elected to theAlaska House of Representativesas aRepublican,serving from 1983 until 1985.
In 1990, he won the Alaska Independence Party primary for Lt. Governor. However, he and his running mate, gubernatorial candidateJohn Howard Lindauer,stepped aside in favor of former GovernorWalter Hickel,and the defecting Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, state SenatorJack Coghill,who won the general election over ex-Anchorage Mayor, DemocratTony Knowlesand state SenatorWillie Hensley,with Republican state SenatorArliss Sturgulewskifinishing third.
In 1996 and 2000 he won elections to theAlaska 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 senatorRobin L. Taylor.
Ward was defeated for reelection in 2002 by prison opponent andCity of KenaimayorTom Wagonerof the Republican Moderate Party.
He lost again in 2004 to Wagoner, by then a Republican.[3]
During his terms in the state senate, Ward was substantially involved in numerous failed attempts to build Alaskanfor-profit prisons.[4][5]Those schemes eventually resulted infederal criminal prosecutionsof numerous corporate executives and Republican legislators.[6]Although he wasn't charged, Ward remained under investigation as of 2009.[7]On December 15, 2008, theAnchorage Daily Newsreported that Ward was implicated in the probe. He had been accused of a conspiracy involving Bill Weimar to accept an illegal $20,000 campaign contribution.[8]Weimar had a $5.5 million interest, contingent solely on the approval and building of aCornell Companiesprison in Alaska. On August 23, 2004, Weimar sent a $3,000 check toward the settlement of a $20,000 invoice from a political consultancy. Later that same day he sent by express mail $8,500 in cash drawn from aPolson, Montanabank. A day later he sent another $8,500 in cash drawn from the Polson bank, according to federal court documents.[9]Daily cash transactions of over $10,000 mandate federal reporting per theBank Secrecy Act.[10]Ward allegedly convinced a witness in the trial against Senator Ted Stevens to lie about an immunity deal in court to ensure that Ward was included in it and would therefore not be prosecuted. According to federal prosecutors, Ward had been under investigation for some time over his relationship with Weimar, ultimately convicted of two felony counts in the matter, receiving a federal prison sentence. While he also was presumed to be under continued investigation, Ward was not charged.[11]
In 2006, Ward ran once more for Lt. Governor in the Republican primary but was defeated bySean Parnell.[12]
Ward ranDonald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign in Alaska, was rewarded with a position in the Department of Education, but resigned not long afterward.[13]
References
edit- ^"Alaska State Legislature-Senator Jerry Ward".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-05-10.Retrieved2013-09-20.
- ^"Alaska Division of Elections-Jerry Ward".Archived fromthe originalon 2018-06-30.Retrieved2013-09-20.
- ^Weimar charged corruption probe,Alaska Dispatch News,Lisa Demer, August 11, 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^Senate Passes Fort Greely Prison Bill,Alaska House and Senate Majority,Wendy Lindskoog, Jerry Ritter, March 31, 1998. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^Prison bill gets facelift,Peninsula Clarion,Dan Joling, February 2, 2001. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^Push for Private Prison was downfall,Alaska Dispatch News,Tom Kizzia, August 12, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^Key players contest FBI whistleblower allegations,Alaska Dispatch News,Richard Mauer, Lisa Demer, February 15, 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^Alaska's political corruption scandal reaped prison, vindication, and uncertainty for the accused,Anchorage Daily News,Jill Burke, February 11, 2011 (Updated June 30, 2016). Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^Big Arm man part of corruption case,Daily Inter Lake,Nicholas Ledden, October 29, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^Bank Secrecy Act,Investopedia,Will Kenton, April 06, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^"Story".Archived fromthe originalon December 17, 2008.RetrievedJuly 4,2022.
- ^Sean Parnell: The Manchurian Governor?,Alaska Dispatch News,Craig Medred, April 19, 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ^Trump's loyalist army is getting swallowed up by the swamp,Vanity Fair,Abigail Tracy, April 6, 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
External links
edit- Jerry Wardat100 Years of Alaska's Legislature