Michael Delavan Ward (born January 7, 1951) is an American former politician and radio talk show host who served as a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life and career

Ward was born in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

on January 7, 1951. Ward's mother, Lukey Ward, was a political and civil rights activist, and Ward has often said publicly that he was born into politics. Lukey Ward was, along with her friend Georgia Davis, the day-to-day manager of the Kentucky chapter of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civi ...

. In fact, she was at the Lorraine Motel, waiting to go to dinner with Dr. King, when he was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

as he exited his room. Ward's father, Jasper Ward III, was a well-known award-winning architect in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. His buildings include the Student Center at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

and the Jewish Doctors Office Building at Interstate 65 and Liberty Street. Mike Ward is also the great-great-grandson of Jasper D. Ward, a former 1800s Chicago Congressman and great-grandson of businessman

William Delavan Baldwin William Delavan Baldwin (5 September 1856 – 26 September 1930) was an American businessman. Biography William Delavan Baldwin was born on September 5, 1856, to Lovewell Hurd Baldwin and Sarah Jane Munson in Auburn, New York.< ...

. Ward attended the University of Louisville, from which he earned a marketing degree. Before entering politics, he served as a sales executive.

Political and radio career

From 1989 to 1993, Ward served as a 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 ...

representing the Highlands area of Louisville. In 1994, he was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, winning

Kentucky's Third Congressional District Kentucky's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It encompasses almost all of Louisville Metro, which, since the merger of 2003, is consolidated with Jefferson County, though other incorporated ...

seat that was being vacated by

Romano L. Mazzoli Romano Louis "Ron" Mazzoli (November 2, 1932 – November 1, 2022) was an American politician and lawyer from Kentucky. He represented Louisville, Kentucky, and its suburbs in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 through 1995 as ...

. Ward was one of few Democrats to win an open seat in the Republican congressional landslide that year. Ward narrowly defeated a field of candidates including Charlie Owen in the primary, and defeated Republican nominee Susan Bush Stokes, a fellow member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, in the general election. His Campaign TV advertising was directed by Kevin Geddings of Geddings Communications LLC of Washington, DC. In 1996 Ward lost his seat in the general election to Republican

Anne Northup Anne Meagher Northup (born January 22, 1948) is an American Republican politician and educator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1997 to 2007, she represented the Louisville-centered 3rd congressional district of Kentucky in the United S ...

. Ward did not run again for the seat. Ward was appointed by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

as the Associate Director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

and served through Clinton's second presidential term. From 2001 to 2005, Ward hosted a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

show in Louisville that was a liberal counterweight to conservative talk radio programming. Ward is President of WardCampaigns, Inc.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Mike 1951 births American talk radio hosts Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Living people Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Peace Corps volunteers People from White Plains, New York Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky Radio personalities from Louisville, Kentucky University of Louisville alumni