Robert Dolph Ray (September 26, 1928 – July 8, 2018) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. He served as the 38th governor of Iowa from January 16, 1969 to January 14, 1983.
Robert D. Ray | |
---|---|
![]() Ray in 1977 | |
38th Governor of Iowa | |
In office January 16, 1969 – January 14, 1983 | |
Lieutenant Governor | Roger Jepsen Arthur Neu Terry Branstad |
Preceded by | Robert D. Fulton |
Succeeded by | Terry Branstad |
President of Drake University (interim) | |
In office 1998 | |
Mayor of Des Moines | |
Acting | |
In office May 5, 1997 – November 3, 1997 | |
Preceded by | Arthur Davis |
Succeeded by | Preston Daniels |
Chair of the National Governors Association | |
In office June 8, 1975 – July 4, 1976 | |
Preceded by | Cal Rampton |
Succeeded by | Cecil Andrus |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert Dolph Ray September 26, 1928 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
Died | July 8, 2018 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. | (aged 89)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Billie Hornberger (m. 1951) |
Children | 3 daughters |
Education | Drake University (BA, LLB) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
During his tenure as governor, Ray served as chair of the National Governors Association from 1975 to 1976; led to the passage of the Iowa Burials Protection Act of 1976, which was the first legislative act in the United States that specifically protected American Indian remains;[1] and accepted thousands of refugees into Iowa.[2]
In his later years, Ray served as acting mayor of Des Moines from May 1997 to November 1997 and was interim president of Drake University in 1998.[3]
Early life and education
editRay was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1928.[4] He graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1946. After high school, Ray served in the United States Army.[5]
Ray received a Bachelor of Arts degree in business from Drake University in 1952 and a law degree in 1954.[5]
Career
editRay began his career as a trial lawyer. Following several years practicing law, Ray became chair of the Iowa Republican Party in 1963.[5] Ray supported Pennsylvania governor William Scranton in the 1964 Republican presidential primaries.
Governor of Iowa
editIn 1969, Ray became the governor of Iowa. During Ray's time in office, the Iowa Constitution was modified, increasing the governor's term of office from two years to four years. Ray served as chair of the National Governors Association from 1975 to 1976. He also served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, the Midwestern Governors Association, the Education Commission of the States and was the president of the Council of State Governments.[6] As governor, Ray issued executive orders promoting civil rights, energy conservation, and paperwork reduction as well as establishing the Governor's Economy Committee, the Iowa Council for Children, the Task Force on Government Ethics, the Science Advisory Council, the Iowa Department of Transportation, and the Iowa High Technology Commission.[7] Ray signed legislation establishing the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women in 1974.[8] In 1982, that commission named him the first recipient of the Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice.[9] In 1976, Ray, along with his wife Billie Ray and three daughters, became the first governor of Iowa to occupy Terrace Hill, the official governor's mansion.[10]
Ray reduced property taxes and increased the income tax in order to fund the public schools of Iowa. The school foundation plan, which was passed by the legislature and signed by Ray in 1971, was crafted with the intention to lessen inequities among school districts. Arthur Neu, who served as State Senator and as Ray's lieutenant governor from 1973 to 1979, noted in an interview: "School funding was one of the most important pieces of legislation we worked on. It set Iowa schools on the path to being the best in the nation. It’s a plan a lot of other states copied." Ray also signed into law bipartisan legislation that supported collective bargaining for public employees and removed sales taxes from groceries and prescription drugs. He opposed the death penalty and supported abortion for women in cases that risked women's health, and in cases of rape and incest.[11][12]
One of the defining moments in Ray's governorship was in April 1972, when as Commander in Chief of the Iowa National Guard, he ordered the grounding of more than a thousand vehicles and ninety planes, until the federal government paid for the damages to the McCarville and Tjernagel families, whose houses had been destroyed by crashing Air Force planes in 1968.[13][14]
One of Ray's proudest achievements was signing a bottle bill into law. The bottle bill, which received opposition from labor unions and aluminium manufacturers but support from the Sierra Club, the Farm Bureau and the Boy Scouts of America, required Iowans to pay a 5-cent deposit on containers in order to encourage the practice of recycling and the reduction of litter on the roads of the state. Ray noted that "Americans are part of a throw-away society".[15]
Ray served as a delegate to the United Nations Conference on Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland in 1979.[16] Ray was an advocate of the nickel deposit on aluminum cans.[17]
Ray's tenure in office was notable for his humanitarianism on behalf of Southeast Asian Tai Dam refugees.[18] Ray agreed to bring the group to the United States by creating his own refugee resettlement program.[2] Ray announced that the state of Iowa would accept 1,500 additional refugees in January 1979. Ray wrote letters to President Jimmy Carter and other governors asking them to support greater admissions of boat people.[19] Opinion polls from the period demonstrated Ray's refugee resettlement and relief efforts were very controversial.[2] Many feared competition for jobs, diversion of funds from needy native Iowans, and racial mixing.[18]
Ray also enacted the first laws in the U.S. that protected American Indian graves.[20] In the early 1970s, Maria Pearson was appalled that the skeletal remains of Native Americans were treated differently from those of caucasians.[20] Pearson protested to Ray, finally gaining an audience with him after sitting outside his office in traditional attire.[20] Ray cooperated with Pearson, and their work led to the passage of the Iowa Burials Protection Act of 1976, the first legislative act in the U.S. that specifically protected American Indian remains.[1] This act was the predecessor of the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.[1][21]
Ray supported Howard Baker in the 1980 Republican Party presidential primaries.[22]
Later career
editAfter leaving the governor's office in 1983, Ray became CEO of Life Investors Inc, an insurance company.[5] Ray served as interim mayor of Des Moines from May to November 1997.[5]
Ray was the interim president of Drake University in 1998.[5] In 1997, he helped form the Institute for Character Development at Drake University.[23]
Ray was co-chair (along with Bob Edgar) of the bipartisan National Coalition on Health Care.[24]
Awards
editIn 2005, Ray became the only governor or former governor to have received Iowa's highest civilian honor, the Iowa Award, by the Iowa Centennial Memorial Commission.[25]
Personal life
editIn 1951, Ray married Billie Lee Hornberger, his high school sweet heart. Ray had three daughters.[5] In Ray's later years, he suffered from Parkinson's disease.
On July 8, 2018, Ray died at a nursing home in Des Moines, Iowa. He was 89.[5][8]
References
edit- ^ a b c Gradwohl, D. M.; J.B. Thomson; M.J. Perry (2005). Still Running: A Tribute to Maria Pearson, Yankton Sioux. Special issue of the Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society. Vol. 52. Iowa City: Iowa Archeological Society.
- ^ a b c "Robert D. Ray: An Iowa Governor, a Humanitarian Leader". PBS. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ Finney, David (July 8, 2018). "Bob Ray, beloved 5-term Iowa governor, dies at 89". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- ^ "Former Governor Robert D. Ray Dies at 89". WhoTV. July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Bob Ray, beloved 5-term Iowa governor, dies at 89". Des Moines Register. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ Robert D. Ray, NGA.org, retrieved March 2, 2022
- ^ Executive Orders of Governor Robert D. Ray, webpage, retrieved December 31, 2009
- ^ a b "Robert D. Ray, longtime Iowa governor, dies at 89". Politico. July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice, webpage, retrieved December 31, 2009
- ^ Homes of Iowa Governors, webpage, retrieved December 31, 2009
- ^ "Bob Ray: A remarkable Iowan's life — from seventh-grade class president, to 'Governorray,' and beyond".
- ^ Iowa: The Middle Land; Dorothy Schwieder, 1996
- ^ "Iowa Grounds Guard's Planes In Dispute Over Crash Damage".
- ^ "ARMED FORCES: Grounded in Iowa".
- ^ "A Deposit on Bottles Now Required in Iowa".
- ^ "'He had to analyze everything'". QCTimes. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "Robert D. Ray". Iowa Heritage. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ a b Walsh, Matthew. The Good Governor: Robert Ray and the Indochinese Refugees of Iowa (McFarland & Co, 2017)
- ^ "Former Iowa Governor Robert Ray dies at age 89". KETV. July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Maria Pearson". Ameshistory. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ Pearson, Maria D. (2000). "Give Me Back My People's Bones: Repatriation and Reburial of American Indian Skeletal Remains in Iowa". In G. Bataille; D.M. Gradwohl; C.L.P. Silet (eds.). Perspectives on American Indians in Iowa- An Expanded Edition. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. pp. 131–141.
- ^ "Ray, Robert D."
- ^ Stateline Midwest, Vol. 18, No. 4, April 2009, p. 8, webpage, retrieved December 31, 2009
- ^ Annual Report of the National Coalition on Health Care, 2008 – 2009, webpage, retrieved December 31, 2009
- ^ Iowa Profile, webpage, retrieved December 31, 2009