Former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew dies

[Laxman]

Source: AOL

Former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew, who guided the state through a period of school busing to achieve integration in the 1970s, died early Thursday. He was 85.

Askew died surrounded by family members at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, Ron Sachs, a former aide and family spokesman, told The Associated Press.

Askew was admitted to the hospital Saturday, his family said. Over the past three months, he has suffered from aspiration pneumonia, hip surgery and, most recently, a stroke.Askew rose from obscurity in the Florida Legislature to become the Democrats' surprise gubernatorial nominee in 1970 and then beat the incumbent Republican, Claude Kirk.

His eight years in office coincided with the end of the Vietnam War, Watergate and dramatic social change across the nation. He was a liberal on racial issues and crusaded for overhauling the state's tax laws, open government, environmental protection, ethics legislation and streamlining the courts and other governmental agencies.

Read more: http://www.aol.com/article/2014/03/13/former-florida-gov-reubin-askew-dies/20848946/

[lostnfound]

1. Rest In Peace, good governor.

Florida in his era was a better place because of open government and environmental protection.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. I'd do anything to have a Florida governor like him again.

Given that two of the past three governors here have been utterly atrocious and thoroughly detrimental to the best interests of my state.

[Laxman]

3. Could Someone Like This....

get elected statewide in Florida today? My recollection of Governor Askew is vague and there was nowhere near the political coverage we have today, but I do remember reading about how he handled several issues-especially school desegregation-while in high school. Here is a better summary of his public career from the NY Times.

Reubin Askew, a Former Progressive Governor of Florida, Dies at 85

Reubin Askew, a progressive “New South” Democrat who promoted racial equality and ethics reforms as a two-term governor of Florida in the 1970s and campaigned briefly for the presidency in 1984 and for the Senate in 1988, died early Thursday in Tallahassee. He was 85.

It was apparent from the start that this governor would be different. He did not drink, smoke or swear, was a Presbyterian elder and projected a strong sense of morality. “We served no alcohol for eight years in the Governor’s Mansion,” he recalled in a 2006 interview with FloridaTrend.com. “I always laughed and said you’d be surprised how early people go home when you don’t give them any alcohol.”

In his first term, Mr. Askew pushed through a 5 percent corporate income tax, and eased consumer, property and school taxes: minor miracles in a revenue-starved, anti-tax state. He also reformed penal statutes, streamlined the judiciary, achieved no-fault divorce and auto insurance laws, raised welfare benefits and extended workers’ compensation to migrant laborers.

While the Legislature resisted his ideas for education reforms and for a consumer advocate, the governor protected environmentally fragile lands, restricted coastal construction and blocked oceanfront casinos. He also began to integrate state government, starting with the Highway Patrol. He named blacks to state commissions and boards, and supported proposals to bus children to desegregate public schools.

remarkable stuff for a state that has much different political leadership today. The link to the Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/us/politics/reubin-askew-former-florida-governor-dies-at-85.html