From the collection of the Old State House Museum |
Frank White was born in Texarkana, Texas on June 4, 1933. He studied at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico, then at Texas A & M and finally at the Naval Academy. He served for five years in the Air Force as a pilot before returning to civilian life with the rank of captain in 1961. That same year he married Mary Blue Hollenberg of Little Rock. The union produced three children. Divorced in 1973, White married Gay Daniels, a devout fundamentalist Christian who reinforced his religious tendencies, two years later.
White, who could talk a rattlesnake out of striking, flourished in the business world, first at the brokerage firm of Merrill-Lynch and later at Commercial National Bank. In 1975, he was appointed as a Democrat to head the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission under Governor David Pryor. After two years in this position, he became president of the Capital Savings and Loan in Little Rock.
In 1980 White entered the Republican gubernatorial primary, becoming one of a growing number of Southern conservatives shifting their party allegiance to the Republican Party. He won by a two-to-one majority of barely more than 8,000 votes cast. Tutored by the Republican National Committee, White made extremely effective use of television. He hammered away at Clinton, who failed to respond adequately until it was too late. Clinton lost to White 435,684 to 403,242, with Reagan's coattails accounting for much of the challenger's success.
Only days after the election, White raised eyebrows when he termed his political triumph a "victory for the Lord." This image of religious overzealousness was further enhanced by his outlawing of alcoholic beverages on state property and his signing of a "creation science" law. This latter measure required that anyone teaching evolution must also present the "creation science" alternative. James L. Holsted, the bill's sponsor, didn't help matters when he admitted that he had consulted neither the Attorney General's Office nor the Department of Education before introducing it. In response to the national ridicule the law engendered, White pleaded ignorance and admitted he had not read the bill before signing it. The measure was soon declared unconstitutional after an expenditure of significant state resources.
One of the most defining issues of White's administration was his relationship with power companies with which he had long been associated. The accusation surfaced that White had arranged a meeting between three potential appointees to the Public Service Commission, charged with regulating the state's utilities, and executives of the Arkansas Power and Light Company. Sandra Cherry, the woman who eventually was appointed, would soon prove the deciding vote in a massive $104,000,000 electric rate increase.
All this while, Bill Clinton was methodically engineering his comeback and would recaptured the governorship in 1982 with 55% of the vote. After White returned to life in business, it became clear that even Democrats continued to regard him with fondness. White was, after all, a character - in the good sense of the term - and that has always been a trait Arkansans have admired in their politicians. The years only tended to enhance this public affection for White, making him one of Arkansas's most beloved political figures.
Frank White died on May 21, 2003, on the eve of the launch of these governors' biographies. Gov. White was always a good friend to the Old State House and generously gave of his time whenever we needed him. The same could probably be said by every charity and worthy cause in Arkansas. He will be missed.
Next: William Jefferson Clinton
|
