David Hall (Oklahoma politician)

David Hall
20thGovernor of Oklahoma
In office January 11, 1971 – January 13, 1975
Lieutenant	George Nigh
Preceded by	Dewey Bartlett
Succeeded by	David Boren
Personal details
Born	(1930-10-20)October 20, 1930 Oklahoma City,Oklahoma,U.S.
Died	May 6, 2016(2016-05-06)(aged 85) San Diego,California,U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jo Evans
Education	University of Oklahoma(BA) Harvard University University of Tulsa(LLB)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1952–1954 (active) 1954–1956 (reserve)
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Korean War

David Hall(October 20, 1930 – May 6, 2016) was an AmericanDemocraticpolitician. He served as the 20thgovernor of Oklahomafrom January 11, 1971, to January 13, 1975. Prior to winning election as governor, Hall served as county attorney forTulsa Countyand as a law professor at theUniversity of Tulsa.

After leaving office, Hall was convicted ofbriberyandextortion.He became the first Oklahoma governor to be convicted of criminal acts committed during his tenure. He served 19 months of a three-year sentence at thefederal prisoninSafford, Arizona.

Early life

David Hall was born inOklahoma City, Oklahoma,and was the son of William Arthur "Red" Hall and Aubrey Nell French. Hall attendedClassen High Schoolin Oklahoma City, where he played on the 1948 Class A high school basketball State Championship team. He graduatedPhi Beta Kappafrom theUniversity of Oklahomain 1952; he was a member ofPhi Gamma Deltafraternity.

Hall was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps in college and after graduating he joined theUnited States Air Force.He completed his initial training atLackland Air Force Basein Texas, then was assigned as a flight navigation instructor atSan Marcos Air Force Basein Texas. Hall served until 1954, when he transferred to theAir Force Reserve,in which he served until 1956. He attendedHarvard Law Schoolfor a year, then transferred to theUniversity of Tulsa College of Law,from which he graduated in 1959. From 1959 to 1962, he served as assistant county attorney forTulsa County, Oklahoma,and as county attorney from February 10, 1962 to January 2, 1967. From 1968 to 1971, he served as a law professor at theUniversity of Tulsa.

Governor of Oklahoma

Hall as a gubernatorial candidate.

In the1966 election,Hall finished a close third place in the Democratic primary for governor.Four years later,he defeated incumbentRepublicanGovernorDewey F. Bartlettin the closest gubernatorial election in state history, and took office only after a recount confirmed his victory. As governor, he championed education and transportation issues. His administration issued a landmark public policy analysis book of Oklahoma's education system entitled "Measuring up and Moving On." Hall and his appointees to the state highway commission and turnpike authority were committed to expanding the state's roads. During his term as governor, the state drastically expanded the vocational technical (later renamed career-tech) system of facilities offering low or no cost training certificates for residents. As governor, he signed into law the Oklahoma Income Tax Act, which enacted Oklahoma'sincome tax code.

Hall's administration and policy initiatives were opposed and attacked on a regular basis by the state's largest newspaper,The Daily Oklahoman,and its powerful publisherE.K. Gaylord,who had supported Bartlett over Hall in the1970 election.

Unsuccessful re-election bid

Hall was unsuccessful in his quest for re-election in the1974 election.He obtained only 27 percent of the vote, a third-place finish in the Democratic primary. He trailed U.S. CongressmanClem McSpaddenand State Representative andOklahoma Baptist UniversityprofessorDavid Boren,who eventually won the nomination in a runoff and the general election over RepublicanJim Inhofe.

Charges and retirement

Three days after leaving office in January 1975, Hall was indicted on federalracketeeringandextortioncharges, in a conspiracy involving Hall and Oklahoma Secretary of State John Rogers willfully steering State of Oklahoma employee retiree funds to investment funds controlled byDallas, Texas,businessman W. W. "Doc" Taylor. At Hall's trial, Rogers testified that he became an informant after Hall offered him a bribe. Hall was convicted ofbriberyand extortion,and became the first Oklahoma Governor to be convicted of criminal acts committed during his tenure. After exhausting all appeals, he served 19 months of a three-year sentence at thefederal prisonin Safford, Arizona. (John Ehrlichman,of Watergate fame, was also housed at the same time at Safford.)Upon his release from prison in 1978, he wasdisbarredby theOklahoma Bar Association,which effectively prevented him from practicing law in Oklahoma. Leaving the public spotlight, he moved toLa Jolla, California,where he worked in real estate and other ventures.

Return to Oklahoma

On February 13, 2007, Hall made his first appearance in the state ofOklahomasince he left office over thirty years before. He appeared at theOklahoma History Centerto help launch a new exhibit that features all of the Governors of the State of Oklahoma. Hall remarked that it was "like coming back to heaven." He authored a memoir, 2012'sTwisted Justice: A Memoir of Conspiracies and Personal Politicswhich features his recollections of his time in office, and his reflections on his prison sentence and subsequent career.

Death

Hall died at aSan Diego, Californiaarea hospital on May 6, 2016, at the age of 85. He had earlier been implanted with a pacemaker and had expected to be discharged from the hospital, but then developed a blood clot that ultimately went to his brain and caused a fatalstroke.

External links

• Voices of Oklahoma interview with David Hall- first-person interview conducted on February 13, 2012
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Hall, David