Joseph Teasdale
Teasdale (c. 1977)
48th Governor of Missouri
In office
January 10, 1977 – January 12, 1981
LieutenantBill Phelps
Preceded byKit Bond
Succeeded byKit Bond
Personal details
Born
Joseph Patrick Teasdale

(1936-03-29)March 29, 1936
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
DiedMay 8, 2014(2014-05-08) (aged 78)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Theresa Ferkenhoff
​
(m. 1973)​
RelationsWilliam B. Teasdale (grandfather)
Children3
EducationRockhurst University (BA)
Saint Louis University (JD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force
RankAirman 3rd Class
UnitReserves

Joseph Patrick Teasdale (March 29, 1936 – May 8, 2014) was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as the 48th Governor of Missouri from 1977 to 1981.[1]

Early life and education

Teasdale was born in Kansas City, Missouri to William and Adah Downey Teasdale.[2] Teasdale's father was a prominent Kansas City attorney,[3] His grandfather, William B. Teasdale, was also an attorney, prosecutor, and member of the Missouri State Senate and considered "One of the men who made Kansas City."[4] Joseph Teasdale and his three sisters were raised as devout Catholics.[5] Teasdale was a multi-sport athlete while attending Rockhurst High School and would later be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.[5] Following graduation from high school, he attended St. Benedict's College (now Benedictine College) in Atchison, Kansas where he was a member of the school's 1954 NAIA National Champion basketball team.[6] Teasdale later earned an undergraduate degree from Rockhurst University, and a law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law.[7]

Career

From 1962 to 1966, Teasdale served as Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, where among his duties included leading the organized crime division.[7] In the early-1960s, he enlisted in the United States Air Force Reserve,[5] with his primary duty being at Whiteman Air Force Base where Airman 3rd Class Teasdale performed legal staff duties for the 442nd Military Airlift Wing.[8] Teasdale was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Jackson County, Missouri in 1966, becoming the youngest person to ever hold that office.[3] He ran his first statewide campaign in the 1972 election, seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Although he was defeated in the primary by Edward L. Dowd, his innovative campaign style earned him name recognition around Missouri and a nickname, "Walkin' Joe," inspired by his habit of walking door-to-door to greet potential supporters. It is thought that Teasdale appropriated the tactic from Florida politician "Walkin' Lawton Chiles. Teasdale campaign officials estimated that he had walked over 1,000 miles in the months leading up to the primary.[7] Even though he lost the primary to Ed Dowd it set the stage for Teasdale to run again in 1976.[9]

In 1975, Teasdale launched a bid for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Stuart Symington.[10][11] However, he would soon drop out, and switch to a second gubernatorial bid.[12] In the primary, Teasdale won in an upset over state Senate President Pro Tempore William Cason[12] and then defeated incumbent Governor Kit Bond that November.[13] Teasdale's win in the 1976 Missouri gubernatorial election was considered an upset.[3][13] Running on a platform of working for common Missourians and vowing to fight big utility company rate hikes, Teasdale painted Bond as being too friendly to big business interests.[9] The tactic proved successful with many voters angered at Bond's approval of rate hikes, and in what many considered an upset Teasdale was elected governor by 13,000 votes.[7] The victory prompted CBS News anchorman Dan Rather to quip on the air "..the story in the Midwest is not Jimmy Carter, it's Walkin' Joe Teasdale!"[3]

Governor

Teasdale had been the first Missouri Governor to hail from Kansas City in over 80 years.[14] During his tenure, Teasdale fought against utility companies by appointing new members to the Missouri Public Service Commission, the state agency tasked with approving or denying rates.[3] Teasdale also established the state's first Division of Aging, boosting funding for the Department of Mental Health, and overseeing the rewriting of numerous health laws.[7] Teasdale also advocated strongly for the Nursing Home Reform Act and removal of sales tax on prescription drugs.[7] He proved willing to reach across party lines as well, supporting Republican Mel Hancock's amendment to limit state taxes.[9] Teasdale also came out strongly against the Meramec Dam project which would have greatly affected rivers in areas southwest of St. Louis.[9] He signed legislation reinstating the death penalty in Missouri in 1977, but later regretted the decision. In 1980 Teasdale made state history by becoming the first Missouri governor in 140 years to have a veto overridden by the state legislature.[7] He angered many in his own party by opposing the cost of constructing the Harry S. Truman state office building in Jefferson City. That anger manifested itself again in 1980 as Teasdale faced a tough Democratic primary challenge from then-State Treasurer Jim Spainhower. He was successful in defeating Spainhower but lost in the November 1980 general election against Kit Bond.

Later career

After leaving the governorship in January, 1981, Teasdale returned to the Kansas City area and established a law practice. One of his most notable cases was representing victims and surviving family of the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse.[7] An avid outdoorsman all his life, he often spent time on hunting and fishing trips.[5] Teasdale largely avoided state politics after his defeat, telling one newspaper reporter in 1993 "I wanted to become a normal person again, and I really wasn't normal before. For 20 years I was completely consumed by politics."[7] He was not completely absent, managing the campaign of Judith Moriarty to be Secretary of State of Missouri.[15] Moriarty won, but was later impeached and removed from office.[16] In the late 1990s, his position on capital punishment having changed, he worked to achieve clemency for David Leisure, a man convicted of murder for a 1980 car bombing in St. Louis.[9]

Personal life

In 1973, Teasdale was married to the former Theresa Ferkenhoff. The couple had three sons, Bill, John, and Kevin.[5] His middle son, John, was a multisport standout at Rockhurst High School like his father before him, and later played offensive tackle at the University of Notre Dame.[17]

Teasdale died on May 8, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri, of complications from pneumonia.[18]

Election history

1980 gubernatorial election, Missouri[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kit Bond 1,098,950 52.63 +3.08
Democratic Joseph P. Teasdale (incumbent) 981,884 47.02 -3.21
Socialist Workers Helen Savio 7,193 0.34 +0.34
Majority 117,066 5.61 +4.93
Turnout 2,088,027 42.47 +1.13
Republican gain from Democratic Swing
1976 gubernatorial election, Missouri[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph P. Teasdale 971,184 50.23 +5.59
Republican Kit Bond (incumbent) 958,110 49.55 -5.63
Nonpartisan Leon Striler 4,215 0.22 +0.03
N/A write-ins 46 0.00 ±0.00
Socialist Workers Helen Savio 20 0.00 ±0.00
Majority 13,074 0.68 -9.86
Turnout 1,933,575 41.34 +1.45
Democratic gain from Republican Swing

References

  1. ↑ Joseph P. Teasdale-National Governors Association
  2. ↑ "Joseph Patrick Teasdale obituary". Legacy.com. May 11, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gov. Joe Teasdale: Friend with sincerity, integrity". The Sedalia Democrat. May 23, 2014. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Men who made Kansas City-William B. Teasdale". 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "In Memory of Joseph Teasdale". McGilley State Line Chapel. May 10, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  6. ↑ "National Championship team headlines 2011 Ravens Hall of Fame class". Benedictine College athletic department website. October 26, 2011. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Former Missouri Governor Walkin Joe Teasdale dies". The Kansas City Star. May 8, 2014. Archived from the original on May 11, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Missouri's 'Walkin' Joe' once walked as 442nd Citizen Airman". U.S. Air Force Reserve 442nd Fighter Wing. March 26, 2007. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Joseph P. Teasdale: Walkin' Joe Teasdale, Missouri's 48th Governor". St. Louis Public Radio. May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Teasdale blasts Kissinger". The Southeast Missourian. Associated Press. September 17, 1975. p. 3. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  11. ↑ Ganey, Terry (November 7, 1976). "Teasdale Victory: Last minute blitzes turned the tide". The Southeast Missourian. p. 2. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  12. 1 2 Fick, Bob (August 4, 1976). "Teasdale is governor nominee". St. Joseph News-Press. pp. 2A. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Teasdale Upsets Bond; Proposition No. 1 Passes". The Nevada Daily Mail. Associated Press. November 3, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  14. ↑ Salter, Jim (July 12, 1994). "Rural areas often hold keys to election success in Missouri". The Southeast Missourian. pp. 7A. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Fall contests are set for statewide office". The Southeast Missourian. Associated Press. August 6, 1992. pp. 6A. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Supreme Court impeaches Moriarty - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  17. ↑ "John Teasdale bio". University of Notre Dame athletic department. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Former Missouri Gov. Joseph Teasdale dies at 78". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 8, 2014.
  19. ↑ "MO Governor Race - Nov 04, 1980". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  20. ↑ "MO Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
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