American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
politician and businessman.
Early life
An
Alaska Native
Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...
born in
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
In 1982, Ward was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives as a Republican, serving from 1983 until 1985.
In 1990, he won the Alaska Independence Party primary for Lt. Governor. However, he and his running mate, gubernatorial candidate
John Howard Lindauer
John Howard Lindauer II (born November 20, 1937) is an American economist who served as chancellor for the University of Alaska Anchorage from 1976 to 1978 then was Dean of the School of Business and Public Affairs. He was the Republican Party ca ...
, stepped aside in favor of former Governor
Walter Hickel
Walter Joseph Hickel (August 18, 1919 – May 7, 2010) was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1 ...
, and the defecting Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, state Senator Jack Coghill, who won the general election over ex-Anchorage Mayor, Democrat Tony Knowles and state Senator
Willie Hensley
William L. "Willie" Hensley (born June 17, 1941), also known by his Iñupiaq name Iġġiaġruk (), is a semi-retired Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Alaska known for his work regarding Native Alaskan land rights. Hensley played a c ...
, with Republican state Senator
Arliss Sturgulewski
Jane Arliss Sturgulewski (née Wright; September 27, 1927 – April 7, 2022) was an American businesswoman and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. In a political career in which she started appearing in the spotlight in 1975, she ...
finishing third.
In 1996 and 2000 he won elections to the Alaska State Senate.
In 1998, running again for statewide office, he joined now-Republican Lindauer as his lieutenant governor candidate. Thanks in part to a campaign financing scandal, their ticket finished far behind incumbent Governor Knowles and third behind a write-in candidate, state senator
Robin L. Taylor
Robin L. Taylor (born February 5, 1943) is a lawyer from the U.S. state of Alaska. He has also served as a judge, government administrator and Republican Party politician. It is in this latter capacity that he is best known. Taylor served in ...
.
Ward was defeated for reelection in 2002 by prison opponent and City of Kenai mayor
Tom Wagoner
Thomas H. Wagoner (born September 19, 1942) is an American politician and businessman who served in the Alaska Senate from 2003 until 2013.
Biography
Wagoner was born in 1942 in Pylesville, Maryland. He graduated with a BA in technical design f ...
of the Republican Moderate Party.
He lost again in 2004 to Wagoner, by then a Republican.
During his terms in the state senate, Ward was substantially involved in numerous failed attempts to build Alaskan for-profit prisons. Those schemes eventually resulted in federal criminal prosecutions of numerous corporate executives and Republican legislators. Although he wasn't charged, Ward remained under investigation as of 2009. On December 15, 2008, the '' Anchorage Daily News'' reported that Ward was implicated in the probe. He had been accused of a conspiracy involving Bill Weimar to accept an illegal $20,000 campaign contribution.Alaska's political corruption scandal reaped prison, vindication, and uncertainty for the accused '' Anchorage Daily News'', Jill Burke, February 11, 2011 (Updated June 30, 2016). Retrieved July 4, 2022. Weimar had a $5.5 million interest, contingent solely on the approval and building of a Cornell Companies prison in Alaska. On August 23, 2004, Weimar sent a $3,000 check toward the settlement of a $20,000 invoice from a political consultancy. Later that same day he sent by express mail $8,500 in cash drawn from a Polson, Montana bank. A day later he sent another $8,500 in cash drawn from the Polson bank, according to federal court documents. Daily cash transactions of over $10,000 mandate federal reporting per the Bank Secrecy Act. Ward allegedly convinced a witness in the trial against Senator Ted Stevens to lie about an immunity deal in court to ensure that Ward was included in it and would therefore not be prosecuted. According to federal prosecutors, Ward had been under investigation for some time over his relationship with Weimar, ultimately convicted of two felony counts in the matter, receiving a federal prison sentence. While he also was presumed to be under continued investigation, Ward was not charged.
In 2006, Ward ran once more for Lt. Governor in the Republican primary but was defeated by
Sean Parnell
Sean Randall Parnell (born November 19, 1962) is an American attorney and politician. He succeeded Sarah Palin in July 2009 to become the tenth governor of Alaska and served until 2014.Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign in Alaska, was rewarded with a position in the Department of Education, but resigned not long afterward.Trump's loyalist army is getting swallowed up by the swamp '' Vanity Fair'', Abigail Tracy, April 6, 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.