Jerry Ward (born July 19, 1948) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician and businessman.

Early life

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...

born in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, Ward served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and was in the Navy

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

s. Ward was in the real estate business.

Political career

In 1982, Ward was elected to the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...

as 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 ...

, serving from 1983 until 1985. In 1990, he won the Alaska Independence Party primary for Lt. Governor. However, he and his running mate, gubernatorial candidate

John Howard Lindauer John Howard Lindauer II (born November 20, 1937) is an American economist who served as chancellor for the University of Alaska Anchorage from 1976 to 1978 then was Dean of the School of Business and Public Affairs. He was the Republican Party ca ...

, stepped aside in favor of former Governor

Walter Hickel Walter Joseph Hickel (August 18, 1919 – May 7, 2010) was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1 ...

, and the defecting Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, state Senator

Jack Coghill John Bruce "Jack" Coghill (September 24, 1925 – February 13, 2019) was an American politician and businessman who was the sixth lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1990 to 1994, serving under Governor Walter Hickel. Both were members of the Al ...

, who won the general election over ex-Anchorage Mayor, Democrat Tony Knowles and state Senator

Willie Hensley William L. "Willie" Hensley (born June 17, 1941), also known by his Iñupiaq name Iġġiaġruk (), is a semi-retired Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Alaska known for his work regarding Native Alaskan land rights. Hensley played a c ...

, with Republican state Senator

Arliss Sturgulewski Jane Arliss Sturgulewski (née Wright; September 27, 1927 – April 7, 2022) was an American businesswoman and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. In a political career in which she started appearing in the spotlight in 1975, she ...

finishing third. In 1996 and 2000 he won elections to the

Alaska State Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gube ...

. In 1998, running again for statewide office, he joined now-Republican Lindauer as his lieutenant governor candidate. Thanks in part to a campaign financing scandal, their ticket finished far behind incumbent Governor Knowles and third behind a write-in candidate, state senator Robin L. Taylor. Ward was defeated for reelection in 2002 by prison opponent and City of Kenai mayor Tom Wagoner of the Republican Moderate Party. He lost again in 2004 to Wagoner, by then a Republican. During his terms in the state senate, Ward was substantially involved in numerous failed attempts to build Alaskan

for-profit prison A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people are imprisoned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit pr ...

s. Those schemes eventually resulted in federal criminal prosecutions of numerous corporate executives and Republican legislators. Although he wasn't charged, Ward remained under investigation as of 2009. On December 15, 2008, the ''

Anchorage Daily News The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska. The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorage, ...

'' reported that Ward was implicated in the probe. He had been accused of a conspiracy involving Bill Weimar to accept an illegal $20,000 campaign contribution.Alaska's political corruption scandal reaped prison, vindication, and uncertainty for the accused
''

'', Jill Burke, February 11, 2011 (Updated June 30, 2016). Retrieved July 4, 2022. Weimar had a $5.5 million interest, contingent solely on the approval and building of a

Cornell Companies Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired by ...

prison in Alaska. On August 23, 2004, Weimar sent a $3,000 check toward the settlement of a $20,000 invoice from a political consultancy. Later that same day he sent by express mail $8,500 in cash drawn from a

Polson, Montana Polson (Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language, Montana Salish: nčmqnétkʷ, Kutenai language, Kutenai: kwataqnuk) is a city in Lake County, Montana, Lake County, Montana, United States, on the southern shore of Flathead Lake. It is also on the Flathe ...

bank. A day later he sent another $8,500 in cash drawn from the Polson bank, according to federal court documents. Daily cash transactions of over $10,000 mandate federal reporting per the

Bank Secrecy Act The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA), also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, is a U.S. law requiring financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies in detecting and preventing money laund ...

. Ward allegedly convinced a witness in the trial against Senator Ted Stevens to lie about an immunity deal in court to ensure that Ward was included in it and would therefore not be prosecuted. According to federal prosecutors, Ward had been under investigation for some time over his relationship with Weimar, ultimately convicted of two felony counts in the matter, receiving a federal prison sentence. While he also was presumed to be under continued investigation, Ward was not charged. In 2006, Ward ran once more for Lt. Governor in the Republican primary but was defeated by

Sean Parnell Sean Randall Parnell (born November 19, 1962) is an American attorney and politician. He succeeded Sarah Palin in July 2009 to become the tenth governor of Alaska and served until 2014.Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's 2016 presidential campaign in Alaska, was rewarded with a position in the Department of Education, but resigned not long afterward.Trump's loyalist army is getting swallowed up by the swamp
'' Vanity Fair'', Abigail Tracy, April 6, 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.

References

External links

Jerry Ward
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Jerry 1948 births Living people Republican Party Alaska state senators Alaskan Athabaskan people Alaskan Independence Party politicians American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Native American state legislators in Alaska Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska Military personnel from Anchorage, Alaska United States Navy sailors