Michael Lair (February 26, 1946 – September 5, 2017) was an American politician and former educator from the state of

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Lair was first elected to the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

on November 4, 2008 and subsequently re-elected in 2010 and 2012. He represents District 7 in the House which consists of all or portions of Caldwell, Carroll, Clinton, and Livingston Counties. Due to redistricting of House seats following the 2010 U.S. Census, the boundaries of the 7th district will change effective January, 2013.

Personal life

Lair was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. He graduated from

Creighton Preparatory School Creighton Preparatory School (simply referred to as Creighton Prep or Prep) is a private, Jesuit high school for boys in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was established in 1878 under the name Creighton College and is located in the Roman Cat ...

in 1964. Following high school Lair attended the

University of Nebraska-Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in History in 1970. Later in life, in 2003, he earned a master's degree in Education from

Central Methodist University Central Methodist University (formerly known as Central Methodist College and also known as Central College or CMU) is a private university in Fayette, Missouri. CMU is accredited to offer masters, bachelors, and associate degrees. The school is ...

. Mike Lair was a high school History teacher and athletics coach in various

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

schools before moving to

Chillicothe, Missouri Chillicothe is a city in the state of Missouri and the county seat of Livingston County, Missouri, United States. The population was 9,107 at the 2020 census. The name "Chillicothe" is Shawnee for "big town", and was named after their ''Chillico ...

in 1987. He spent over 38 years in the classroom before retiring in spring of 2008 to run for the Missouri House of Representatives. Prior to and during his time as an educator, he also worked as a farm hand, construction laborer, gas station attendant, and small business owner. Lair and wife Jeanne, a high school teacher, are the parents of one daughter and one son. They also have one granddaughter. Lair is a member of Saint Columban Catholic Church in Chillicothe. Lair retired from the

Missouri General Assembly The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are ...

in 2016 and moved to Jefferson City, Missouri. He died at his home in Jefferson City from heart problems.

Election history

Lair won his first election in November, 2008 by defeating

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 ...

Harry Wyse by a margin of 51.4% to 48.6%. Mike Lair was re-elected in November, 2010 defeating Democrat Dale R. Toms 74.6 to 25.4 percent. In 2012, Lair faced off again with Harry Wyse, his opponent from 2008. This time the margin of victory was 60 percent to 40 percent in favor of Lair. Under Missouri's term limits Lair is eligible to run for a final two-year term in the House in 2014 if he so chooses.

Legislative work

Representative Lair is a past member of the House Retirement, Health Care Transformation, Correction and Public Institutions, and Education Appropriations committees. He is also a member of the Joint House and Senate Committee on Education.Mike Lair Official House Page - Retrieved February 19, 2009
/ref> Recent legislative assignments include serving as Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and member of the Budget, Education, Retirement, and Rules committees. In the 2012 legislative session Lair voted in favor of the following issues: *Enabling the expansion of Charter schools *Allowing employers to exempt contraception from healthcare coverage *Prohibiting employees from suing co-workers for job injuries *Prohibiting implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka "Obamacare" *Requiring proof of citizenship for U.S. Presidential candidates *Requiring photo ID to vote

Organizations

Mike Lair is a member of the National Rifle Association, National Council for Social Studies,

Ducks Unlimited Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American nonprofit organization 501(c) dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It has had a membership of around 700,000 since January 2013. ...

, and the Missouri Farm Bureau.

References

External links

Mike Lair's Official House Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lair, Mike 1946 births 2017 deaths Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska People from Chillicothe, Missouri People from Jefferson City, Missouri Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Central Methodist University alumni University of Nebraska Omaha alumni Educators from Missouri 21st-century American politicians