Reubin Askew

Askew was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the youngest of the six children of Leon G. Askew and Alberta (O'Donovan) Askew. His parents divorced when he was just two,[4] primarily because of what Askew said was his father's "serious drinking problem."[4] Two of his brothers later had similar problems.[4] Askew chose to be a lifelong teetotaller and non-smoker after an unpleasant experience with a pipe as a teenager.[5] After a final meeting under unpleasant circumstances when he was ten years old, Askew never saw his father again.[6][7]

In 1937, his mother moved with Reubin to Pensacola, Florida. Askew's middle name, O'Donovan, was his mother's maiden name. His signature used the double initial (O'D.) in her honor.[4]

In 1944, Askew was initiated as a member of Escambia Chapter Order of DeMolay, an organization of young men based on the Knights Templar. He graduated from Pensacola High School in 1946. Later that year, Askew entered the Army as a paratrooper, serving for two years; in 1948 he was discharged in the rank of sergeant.

Askew next attended Florida State University, where he was a brother of Delta Tau Delta and Alpha Phi Omega. At FSU, Askew was elected as student body president, beginning his long career in politics. He graduated from Florida State University in 1951 with a B.S. degree in Public Administration.[8] He later completed law school at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

During the Korean War, Askew served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1953, as a military intelligence officer. He oversaw the program for taking and analyzing airplane reconnaissance photographs of Western Europe. He felt uncomfortable with this task as it violated existing treaties.[5]

In 1955, Askew returned to Pensacola, Florida, where he formed a law firm with David Levin. The firm was called Levin & Askew, and now is named Levin Papantonio Law Firm.[9]

In 1956, Askew was elected Assistant County Solicitor of Escambia County, Florida, as a Democrat. In 1958, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, representing Escambia County. After serving two terms in the House, in 1962 Askew was elected to the Florida Senate from the 2nd district, also representing Escambia. He was reelected to a redistricted seat encompassing both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in 1966, and again in 1967 and 1968.[10]

From 1969 to 1970, he served as president pro tempore of the Senate. In 1971 he received the Legion of Honor from the International Supreme Council of the Order of DeMolay.

Askew emerged as a progressive lawmaker: he supported reapportionment in the state legislature in order to recognize changes in population distribution and increase representation for urban counties, which had a higher population than rural ones. The state houses had been apportioned by geographic county, resulting in inequities that did not represent current state conditions. Urban areas were underrepresented in the legislature. As was typical of many states, rural legislators had resisted reapportionment in order to retain power.[1]

Askew had opposed legal racial segregation and the continuing disenfranchisement of black voters. They had been disenfranchised since the turn of the century, when Florida had passed a new constitution with provisions for voter registration and elections that effectively blocked blacks from the polls. Passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 authorized the federal government to exercise oversight over jurisdictions in which classes of voters were historically underrepresented in voter rolls and voting patterns; African Americans were helped to re-enter the political system.

Askew won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1970. State Secretary of Florida Thomas Burton Adams, Jr., was his running-mate for lieutenant governor. In its endorsement of Askew-Adams, the Miami Herald said that Askew had "captured the imagination of a state that plainly deserves new leadership." During the campaign, the incumbent Republican governor, Claude R. Kirk, Jr., ridiculed his opponent Askew as "a momma's boy who wouldn't have the courage to stand up under the fire of the legislators" and a "nice sweet-looking fellow chosen by liberals ... to front for them."[11] Such rhetoric helped to reinvigorate the Democratic coalition. Mike Thompson, who managed the 1970 Republican gubernatorial primary campaign waged by state representative L. A. "Skip" Bafalis, sat out the general election between Kirk and Askew. Thompson later said that the often acerbic Kirk had demolished "the coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats who elected him in 1966. ... The trail from Tallahassee to Palm Beach is littered with the bodies of former friends, supporters, and citizens -- all of whom made the fatal mistake of believing the words of Claude Kirk."[12]

By the margin of 57-43 percent, Askew and Adams unseated Kirk and his running-mate, Lieutenant Governor Ray C. Osborne. (From 1887 to 1969, the Florida Constitution did not provide for a lieutenant governor. The change allowed the top two positions to be filled by running mates from the same political party)

In 1974, Askew was re-elected, with J. H. Williams as his running mate. He is one of just five Florida governors to have been elected for two terms (the others were LeRoy Collins, Bob Graham, Lawton Chiles, Jeb Bush, and Rick Scott). Askew was the first governor to serve two full four-year terms.

Through his two terms, Askew worked on tax reform. In 1971 he gained passage of the state's first corporate income tax.[1] He also gained an increase in the homestead exemption.

In every political role, Askew argued for transparency in government. He tried three times to get the legislature to pass a bill requiring financial disclosure by public officials. When they did not, he used a provision of the 1968 constitution, collecting sufficient signatures to put the measure on the ballot in 1976.[5] The voters passed the "Sunshine Amendment" by 78%, the first time the constitution was amended due to citizen action. It calls for full financial disclosure by public officials and candidates, a ban on gifts to legislators, and prohibits former officials from lobbying for two years after leaving office.[5]

At a time of government scandals, he established a reputation for personal integrity and was known as "Reubin the Good." Government scandals erupted around him, but he was called "Reubin the Good" because of his personal integrity. According to a political foe, "He has established a kind of morality in office that causes people to have faith" in government.[1]

In addition to dealing with state issues, Askew pursued collaboration with other governors: he chaired the Education Commission of the States (1973-1974), the Southern Governors' Conference (1974-1975), and the Democratic Governors' Conference (1976-1977).[8] Governor Askew was chairman of the National Governors' Conference in 1977.[8]

Askew married Donna Lou Harper in August 1956.[4] He proposed to her two weeks after the first date, and they married five months after. By all accounts, the two enjoyed a very happy marriage, and unlike his father, Askew remained faithful to her.[7] They had two adopted children; a daughter and a son.[19] Throughout his life, Askew refrained from smoking, drinking, swearing, and gambling.[20]

Askew died at the age of 85 on March 13, 2014, from complications of a stroke.[21]

• Widely regarded as an effective governor, Askew was named one of the "Top 50 Floridians of the 20th Century" for his "Tax reform, racial justice and honesty in government."[1]
• The Student Life Center at Florida State University was renamed as the Reubin O'D. Askew Student Life Center in his honor.
• The Florida State University Alumni Association awards notable alumni with the Reubin O'D. Askew Young Alumni Award as part of the Thirty Under Thirty program.
• The library at his high school alma mater, Pensacola High School, was also named after him.[22]
• Interstate 110 in Pensacola is named the Reubin O'Donovan Askew Parkway.

He was designated a Great Floridian by the Florida Department of State in 1998. The program recognizes the achievements of Floridians, living and deceased, who have made major contributions to the progress and welfare of the state.[23]

Democratic primary for governor, 1970[24]

• Earl Faircloth – 227,413 (29.96%)
• Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 206,333 (27.18%)
• John E. Mathews – 186,053 (24.51%)
• Chuck Hall – 139,384 (18.36%)

Democratic primary for Governor runoff

• Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 447,025 (57.68%)
• Earl Faircloth – 328,038 (42.32%)

Florida gubernatorial election, 1970

• Reubin O'Donovan Askew/Thomas Burton Adams, Jr. (D) – 984,305 (56.88%)
• Claude Roy Kirk, Jr./Ray C. Osborne (R, Inc.) – 746,243 (43.12%)

Democratic primary for governor, 1974

• Reubin O'Donovan Askew (Inc.) – 579,137 (68.83%)
• Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. – 137,008 (16.28%)
• Thomas Burton Adams, Jr. – 85,557 (10.17%)
• Norman Bie – 39,758 (4.73%)

Florida gubernatorial election, 1974

• Reubin O'Donovan Askew (Inc.)/J. H. Williams (D) – 1,118,954 (61.20%)
• Jerry Thomas/Mike Thompson – 709,438 (38.80%)

1984 United States presidential election (Democratic primaries)

• Walter Mondale – 6,952,912 (38.34%)
• Gary Hart – 6,504,842 (35.87%)
• Jesse Jackson – 3,282,431 (18.10%)
• John Glenn – 617,909 (3.41%)
• George McGovern - 334,801 (1.85%)
• Unpledged – 146,212 (0.81%)
• Lyndon LaRouche – 123,649 (0.68%)
• Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 52,759 (0.29%)
• Alan Cranston – 51,437 (0.28%)
• Ernest Hollings – 33,684 (0.19%)
• Ronald Reagan (write-in) – 10,096 (0.06%)

• List of University of Florida honorary degree recipients

• David Colburn and Richard Scher, Florida's Gubernatorial Politics in the 20th Century, University Presses of Florida, 1980
• Gordon E. Harvey, "The Politics of Trust: Reubin Askew and Florida in the 1970s,"University of Alabama Press 2015

• Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida
• Florida DeMolay hall of Fame website
• DeMolay hall of Fame website
• Oral History Interview with Reubin Askew from Oral Histories of the American South
• Florida Legislature website: The 2007 Florida Statutes-Title XVIII
• Reubin O'D. Askew Institute on Politics and Society
• Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University
• Reubin Askew at Find a Grave
• Appearances on C-SPAN

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