Former 'New South' Governor Reubin Askew dies at 85

[steve2470]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/13/us-usa-florida-askew-idUSBREA2C13720140313

(Reuters) - Former Florida Governor Reubin Askew, a champion of tax reform and open government who became a pivotal figure in Florida politics, died on Thursday aged 85.

He was admitted to hospital in Tallahassee on Saturday with pneumonia and suffered a stroke, according to his former aide, Ron Sachs, speaking on behalf of the family.

Askew was known as one of the "New South" governors - Jimmy Carter in Georgia, Dale Bumpers in Arkansas and John West in South Carolina were others - who were elected in 1970 and turned the region's political focus away from race and toward education, economic development and environmental concerns.

He was the keynote speaker of the 1972 Democratic National Convention and was considered a possible vice-presidential nominee. He said he did not want to put his family in the glare of national attention, though he later made a brief run for president in 1984, dropping out after a low finish in the New Hampshire primary.

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I shook his hand maybe 30 years ago. RIP Mr. Askew and condolences to the family.