Mel Carnahan: Son of rural teachers praised as `education governor'
By Scott Charton, Associated Press, 10/17/00
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Mel Carnahan once gambled his political future as Missouri's governor by raising taxes for schools -- a risk that later earned him the title "education governor."
Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan pictured here speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles last August. (AP Photo)
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Carnahan biography
NAME: Melvin Eugene Carnahan.
BORN: 1934; 66 years old.
HOMETOWN: Rolla, Mo.; born in Birch Tree, Mo.
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in business administration from George Washington University; law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
PROFESSIONAL: Served as agent in the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations during the Korean War; Rolla municipal judge, 1960; state representative, 1962-66; majority floor leader, Missouri House, 1964-66; state treasure, 1980-84; lieutenant governor, 1988-92; Missouri governor, 1992-present.
PERSONAL: Married to Jean; children: Roger, Russ, Robin and Tom; two grandchildren; a licensed pilot.
QUOTE: "As a youth, I remember (Adlai) Stevenson saying public service was a 'high calling' and urging young people to get involved. I am still enough of an idealist to believe he was right."
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The move paid off when Carnahan was re-elected by a landslide in 1996.
"I did what I thought was right," Carnahan said in a 1996 interview with The Associated Press. It was a common theme for the two-term governor.
Carnahan, 66, died Monday night in a plane crash outside St. Louis on his way to a U.S. Senate campaign appearance. Also killed was his oldest son, Roger "Randy" Carnahan, and the governor's longtime adviser Chris Sifford, relatives of Sifford said.
Carnahan, a Democrat, was finishing his second term as governor and running for the Senate seat held by Republican John Ashcroft. Their race has been one of the closest and most bitterly contested in the nation this year.
The son of rural teachers, Melvin Eugene Carnahan was born Feb. 11, 1934, in Birch Tree, in the Ozark Mountains.
He had hoped to join the Air Force after graduating from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., but failed the physical because he passed out during a blood test.
Carnahan later earned his pilot's license and flew often to escape the pressures of office. Randy Carnahan, one of the couple's four children, was also a licensed pilot and often flew his father to campaign events.
As a lawyer and Baptist deacon, Carnahan was known for an upright image and a laid-back style. His supporters wore straight-arrow lapel pins as a sign of loyalty and adherence to high ethical standards.
But Carnahan also poked fun in his stuffy image. At Halloween, Carnahan and his wife put on elaborate costumes to welcome thousands of trick-or-treaters to the governor's mansion.
The avuncular Carnahan also displayed easy rapport with young people. He once invited a little girl to come for lunch when she asked to meet the governor. Carnahan also pardoned a boy who had been grounded by his parents for telling a fib.
Carnahan won his first public election at age 26 as a municipal judge in his hometown of Rolla. He was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives two years later and served two terms, and later served as state treasurer.
In 1988, Carnahan was elected lieutenant governor. In 1992, he won the governor's office in a landslide, and he won a second term in 1996.
He was known as Missouri's "education governor" and in 1993 enacted a $315 million tax increase to benefit public education after a state judge threw out the state's education funding system.
Carnahan was depending upon his dedication to schools and Missouri's children to help him win a seat in the Senate.
Sunday, after sharing a debate stage in Kansas City with Ashcroft, Carnahan said: "It felt good. I think I made my case for becoming Missouri's next U.S. senator and I hope the people will see fit to give me the job."
--- On the Net:
Carnahan's site: http://www.gov.state.mo.us/bio.htm
