Thomas Hilliard Moodie (May 26, 1878 – March 3, 1948) was born in Winona, Minnesota. After he was inaugurated Governor of North Dakota in January 1935, it was revealed that he had not officially been a resident of the state for the mandatory five years, and he was removed from office in February 1935 having served less than a month.

Biography

A native of Winona, Minnesota, Thomas H. Moodie left school at the age of sixteen. He moved to Wadena, Minnesota, and began his career as a newspaperman in the printing department of the Wadena Pioneer. He married Julia Edith McMurray. He also worked as a brakeman for the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Career

He moved to North Dakota and was a cub reporter for the

Bismarck Tribune ''The Bismarck Tribune'' is a daily newspaper with a weekly audience of 82,000 unique readers, printed daily in Bismarck, North Dakota. Owned by Lee Enterprises, it is the only daily newspaper for south-central and southwest North Dakota. Histo ...

. He became a journeyman printer, reporter, and editor of newspapers throughout the state, and also served as an editorial writer for the

Minneapolis Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

. In 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him to a committee on

federal grants A grant is a fund given by an end entity grant – often a public body, charitable foundation, or a specialised grant-making institution – to an individual or another entity (usually, a non-profit organisation, sometimes a business or a local ...

to public buildings. In 1934 Moodie received the Democratic nomination for governor, and beat his Republican opponent, Lydia Langer (wife of William Langer). As soon as the election was over, there was talk of

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

, but no charges were filed. After Moodie's inauguration on January 7, 1935, it was revealed that he had voted in a 1932 municipal election in Minnesota. In order to be eligible for governor, an individual has to have lived in the state for five consecutive years before the election. The State Supreme Court determined that Governor Moodie was ineligible to serve, and he was removed from office on February 16, 1935. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Walter Welford. After his five-week stint as governor, Moodie became an administrator for the North Dakota Federal Housing Administration. Moodie was also an administrator for the WPA from 1935 to 1943. He also served as deputy administrator for the State War Finance Committee in Montana. Finally he served as financial editor and confidential agent for the publisher of the

Spokane Chronicle The ''Spokane Daily Chronicle'' is a daily digital newspaper in Spokane, Washington. It was founded as a weekly paper in 1881 and grew into an afternoon daily, competing with ''The Spokesman-Review'', which was formed from the merger of two comp ...

Death

Moodie died in Spokane, Washington, on March 3, 1948, at the age of 69.https://www.state.nd.us/hist/ndgov4.htm#moodie He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Winona, Minnesota.

References

External links

National Governors Association
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moodie, Thomas H. 1878 births 1948 deaths 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party governors of North Dakota People from Winona, Minnesota Politicians from Spokane, Washington