Joseph Patrick Teasdale (March 29, 1936 – May 8, 2014) was an American politician. A
Democrat
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 ...
, he served as the
48th Governor of Missouri
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
from 1977 to 1981.
Early life and education
Teasdale was born in
Kansas City, Missouri to William and Adah Downey Teasdale.
Teasdale's father was a prominent Kansas City attorney,
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." Joseph Teasdale and his three sisters were raised as devout
Catholics.
Teasdale was a multi-sport athlete while attending
Rockhurst High School
Rockhurst High School is a private, Roman Catholic, Jesuit, all-boys, preparatory school founded in 1910 along with Rockhurst College, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It moved away from the College in 1962 to a campus on State Line Road ...
and would later be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.
[ Following graduation from high school, he attended St. Benedict's College (now ]Benedictine College
Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...
) in Atchison, Kansas
Atchison is a city and county seat of Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator David Rice Atchison from Missouri ...
where he was a member of the school's 1954 NAIA National Champion basketball team. Teasdale later earned an undergraduate degree from Rockhurst University
Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019.
History
In 1909, ...
, and a law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law
Saint Louis University School of Law, also known as SLU LAW, is a private American law school located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of the professional graduate schools of Saint Louis University. The University hosted a law school briefly fr ...
.
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
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
division.[ In the early-1960s, he enlisted in the ]United States Air Force Reserve
The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...
,[ with his primary duty being at ]Whiteman Air Force Base
Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for 2nd Lt George Whiteman, who was killed during the attac ...
where Airman 3rd Class Teasdale performed legal staff duties for the 442nd Military Airlift Wing. Teasdale was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Jackson County, Missouri in 1966, becoming the youngest person to ever hold that office.[ 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
Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United State ...
. Teasdale campaign officials estimated that he had walked over 1,000 miles in the months leading up to the primary.[ Even though he lost the primary to Ed Dowd it set the stage for Teasdale to run again in 1976.]
Teasdale's win in the 1976 Missouri gubernatorial election
The 1976 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976 and resulted in a narrow victory for the Democratic nominee, Joseph P. Teasdale, over the Republican candidate, incumbent Governor Kit Bond, and two other candidates. Teasda ...
was considered an upset.[ Running on a platform of working for common Missourians and vowing to fight big utility company rate hikes, Teasdale painted first-term incumbent ]Kit Bond
Christopher Samuel "Kit" Bond (born March 6, 1939) is an American attorney, politician and former United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, he defeated Democrat Harriett W ...
as being too friendly to big business interests.[ 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.][ The victory prompted CBS News anchorman ]Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. Rather began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hur ...
to quip on the air "..the story in the Midwest is not Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
, it's Walkin' Joe Teasdale!"[
]
Governor
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.[ 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.][ Teasdale also advocated strongly for the ]Nursing Home Reform Act The Nursing Home Reform Act is a part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 which gives guidelines to regulate nursing home care in the United States. The act was intended to advance nursing home residents' rights.
Background
A 1986 stud ...
and removal of sales tax on prescription drugs.[ He proved willing to reach across party lines as well, supporting Republican ]Mel Hancock
Melton D. "Mel" Hancock (September 14, 1929 – November 6, 2011) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri's 7th congressional district.
Early life
Hancock was born in Cape Fair, Stone County, Missouri and ...
's amendment to limit state taxes.[ Teasdale also came out strongly against the Meramec Dam project which would have greatly affected rivers in areas southwest of St. Louis.][ 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.][ He angered many in his own party by opposing the cost of constructing the Harry S. Truman state office building in ]Jefferson City
Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...
. That anger manifested itself again in 1980 as Teasdale faced a tough Democratic primary challenge from then-State Treasurer Jim Spainhower
James Spainhower (August 3, 1928 – December 12, 2018) was an American Democratic politician from Missouri. He served four terms in the Missouri House of Representatives and two terms as the State Treasurer of Missouri.
Early life
Jim Spainho ...
. He was successful in defeating Spainhower but lost in the November 1980 general election against Kit Bond
Christopher Samuel "Kit" Bond (born March 6, 1939) is an American attorney, politician and former United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, he defeated Democrat Harriett W ...
.
Later career
After leaving the governorship in early-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
On July 17, 1981, the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, suffered the structural collapse of two overhead walkways. Loaded with partygoers, the concrete and glass platforms cascaded down, crashing onto a tea dance in the lobby, killi ...
. An avid outdoorsman all his life, he often spent time on hunting and fishing trips. 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." 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.
Personal life
In 1973, Teasdale was married to the former Theresa Ferkenhoff. The couple had three sons, Bill, John, and Kevin.[ 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
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
.
Teasdale died on May 8, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri, of complications from pneumonia.
Election history
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teasdale, Joseph P.
1936 births
2014 deaths
Assistant United States Attorneys
Benedictine College alumni
Democratic Party governors of Missouri
Missouri lawyers
Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri
Rockhurst University alumni
Saint Louis University School of Law alumni
Lawyers from Kansas City, Missouri
United States Air Force airmen
Deaths from pneumonia in Missouri
20th-century American lawyers