Walter Demaree "Jody" Richards Jr. (born February 20, 1938) is an American politician who served as a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

from 1976 until 2019. He is the longest serving Speaker of the House in the history of the Kentucky legislature, having served from 1994 to 2008, a total of 14 years. Richards represented Kentucky's 20th District.

Biography

Richards graduated from Adair County High School, Kentucky Wesleyan College with an AB in 1960, and a masters in journalism from the

Missouri School of Journalism The Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia is one of the oldest formal journalism schools in the world. The school provides academic education and practical training in all areas of journalism and strategic comm ...

in 1962. He served with the United States Army Reserve and the

Kentucky National Guard The Kentucky National Guard comprises the: *Kentucky Army National Guard *Kentucky Air National Guard See also * Kentucky Active Militia, the state defense force of Kentucky which replaced the Kentucky National Guard during World War I and World ...

from 1962 to 1968. Richards, who began his career as a teacher at Western Kentucky University, first ran for office in 1975, when he won the 20th District seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives. While still in his first term, Speaker Richards was called upon to chair the House's Education Committee. He later played an instrumental part in engineering Kentucky's sweeping education reforms by chairing one of the committees that helped draft the Kentucky Education Reform Act, and he has shown the same commitment in leadership roles in the

Southern Legislative Conference Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

's Education Committee and the Legislative Advisory Council of the Southern Regional Education Board. In 1987, Richards was chosen by his

colleagues in the House to serve as their Majority Caucus Chairman, one of the body's five leadership positions. In 1995, Richards was elected the Speaker of the Kentucky House. On January 6, 2009, Richards, was defeated by Greg Stumbo in the internal election for the position of Speaker of the House. In 2003 Richards ran for Governor of Kentucky on a slate with Tony Miller (Kentucky), losing in the Democratic primary to Ben Chandler and Charlie Owen. Richards again sought the Democratic nomination for Governor of Kentucky in the 2007 election, with

John Y. Brown III John Young Brown III (born June 2, 1963) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Brown served as Secretary of State of Kentucky from 1996 to 2004. In 2007, Brown ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Lieutena ...

, former Kentucky Secretary of State and son of former governor and

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

John Y. Brown Jr. John Young Brown Jr. (December 28, 1933 – November 22, 2022) was an American politician, entrepreneur, and businessman from Kentucky. He served as the 55th governor of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983, and built Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) into a ...

, as his running mate. Richards finished a distant fourth in the primary with just over 45,000 votes (13%), far behind the 142,000 votes (41%) garnered by nominee

Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th atto ...

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Personal life

Richards is the owner of Superior Books, Inc., a wholesale book sales and distribution company in Bowling Green, and is a long-time member of Greenwood Park Church of Christ. He has a son, Roger, a daughter-in-law, Ellen, and a granddaughter, Holly Beth. Richards and his wife, Neva, live in Bowling Green.

References

External links

Kentucky Legislature - Representative Jody Richards
official government website
Project Vote Smart - Jody Richards (KY)
profile
Archived 2007 campaign website
*''Follow the Money'' - Jody Richards
2006200420022000199819961994
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Jody 1938 births Living people 21st-century American politicians Speakers of the Kentucky House of Representatives Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky National Guard personnel Kentucky Wesleyan College alumni American members of the Churches of Christ Politicians from Bowling Green, Kentucky People from Adair County, Kentucky Western Kentucky University faculty Missouri School of Journalism alumni United States Army soldiers United States Army reservists