Pete Simpson | |
---|---|
Member of the Wyoming House of Representatives | |
In office 1981–1984 | |
Preceded by | Victor Garber |
Succeeded by | Hardy H. Tate |
Personal details | |
Born | Peter Kooi Simpson July 31,1930 [1] Cody,Wyoming,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Lynne Alice Livingston |
Relations | Milward Simpson Alan Simpson Colin M. Simpson |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | University of Wyoming University of Oregon |
Profession | Historian;college and university administrator |
Peter Kooi Simpson Sr. (born July 31,1930) is an American historian and politician. He is a member of the Simpson political family of Wyoming. From 1981 to 1984,he was a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from Sheridan,where at the time he was employed in administration by the community college,Sheridan College. [2]
In 1986,Simpson was the Wyoming Republican gubernatorial nominee. He polled 46 percent of the vote in his race against the Democrat Michael J. Sullivan [3] of Douglas in Converse County in southeastern Wyoming. [4]
A native of Cody in Park County,Wyoming,Simpson is one of two sons of the late Governor and U.S. Senator Milward L. Simpson and Lorna (née Kooi),a native of Chicago. [5] Pete Simpson's great-grandparents,Maggie and John Simpson,platted and named Jackson,Wyoming. Another great-grandparent,Finn Burnett,knew Sacajawea and was an advisor the Shoshone chief,Washakie. [6]
Simpson graduated in 1953 from the University of Wyoming in Laramie,where he was a member of the student senate,lettered in basketball with the UW Cowboys,and received a Bachelor of Arts,the first of his three degrees in the field of history. After four years in the United States Navy, [7] he moved to Billings,Montana,where he starred in a local television program and became involved in folk music. [8]
Simpson returned to University of Wyoming and in 1962 earned his Master of Arts degree,with his thesis,A History of the First Wyoming Legislature. He would be a member of that body some two decades thereafter. [9]
Simpson thereafter earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in Eugene,Oregon. His dissertation on the cattle industry was later published as a book,"The Community of Cattlemen:A Social History of the Cattle Industry in Southeastern Oregon,1869-1912," (Moscow:University of Idaho Press,1987). He is a member of the fraternity Alpha Tau Omega. In the early 1970s,Simpson returned to Wyoming to accept a position as the assistant to the president at Casper College in Casper,the state's second largest city. He then became dean of instruction at Sheridan College. [7]
After his legislative service ended in 1984,Simpson left Sheridan to become vice president for development at the University of Wyoming and the executive director of the UW Foundation. He resigned from UW to run for governor but returned in 1987 as vice president for development and alumni affairs. Thereafter,he was elevated to his terminal position of UW vice president for institutional advancement. After retirement in 1997,Simpson remained in Laramie and taught history on an adjunct basis at UW and was in 1999 and 2000 the Milward Simpson Distinguished Visiting Professor,named for his father. [7]
The Simpson Fund has financed various speakers of different backgrounds and disciplines to UW,including former United States Secretary of State James A. Baker,III,former United States Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt,U.S. President Gerald R. Ford,Jr.,and ABC journalist Sam Donaldson. [10] Over the years,Simpson has emceed various UW events. In 2009,he was inducted for "Special Achievement" into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame. [7]
While at UW,Simpson and his brother,Alan,were invited to team teach for one semester only by the political science department,but Pete Simpson was still teaching the course twelve years later. [11] After he left the U.S. Senate,Alan Simpson became a lecturer for several years for the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University,but he returned to Cody in 2000 to practice law with his two sons,Colin and William Simpson. [12]
Long involved in civic affairs,Pete Simpson in 2010 joined his former gubernatorial rival,Mike Sullivan,at a fundraising appearance in Rock Springs in southwestern Wyoming for the benefit of the library in Sweetwater County. [13]
Pete Simpson narrated the hour-long documentary Over Wyoming which was produced by WyomingPBS in 2016. [14]
During his four-year stint in the legislature,Simpson was a member of the House Appropriations Committee. [2] Two years after leaving the state House,he waged a hard-fought race for governor but fell short. UW history professor Phil Roberts suggested that the principal reason that Pete Simpson may have lost that race to Mike Sullivan was that Alan Simpson was already serving in his second term in the U.S. Senate:"There are a number of people that speculate because there already was a Simpson in the Senate,they probably wanted just one Simpson at a time." [6]
Roberts said that family names have been less important in Wyoming politics than in other states with prominent political families. [6] That view held true when,in 2014,when Liz Cheney,daughter of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney,challenged Alan Simpson's Senate successor,Mike Enzi in the Republican primary. [15] Enzi won the election.
Simpson and his brother,former state representative and U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson, [16] both carry their mother's maiden name as their middle name. Pete Simpson is an uncle of former State Representative Colin M. Simpson of Cody,who ran unsuccessfully for governor in the Republican primary election held on August 17,2010 . The nomination and the general election on November 2 went to Matt Mead,a member of another Wyoming Republican political family,the Hansens,referring to former Governor and former U.S. Senator Clifford Hansen. Colin Simpson was Wyoming House Speaker in his last term from 2009 to 2010. [17]
Simpson and his wife,the former Lynne Alice Livingston left Laramie around 2011 to return to Cody. [8] Their younger son,Peter K. Simpson,Jr. is an Obie Award- winning actor and long time performer,writer,director and trainer for Blue Man Group. [18] In 2010,he appeared at UW as Prince Hamlet in a theatre production of the Shakespearean play,with Pete Simpson cast as the Ghost of Hamlet's father. The junior Simpson recalls,with "the ghost and son scene,... I could feel an energy shift in the room. It was hard not to get misty eyed." [19]
The older son,Milward Allen Simpson (born 1962),is the director of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources,first under Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal and under current Republican Governor Matt Mead. This Milward Simpson had been mentioned as a potential Democratic candidate for governor at the same time that his cousin,Colin Simpson,sought the Republican nomination against Matt Mead for the office that the Simpsons' paternal grandfather held from 1955 to 1959,before both had been born. [20]
Milward Allen Simpson said that his political values as a Democrat are identical to those that his grandfather "instilled in us -–is that it's important to be who you are and stand up for what you believe in,and be honest and truthful. ... It doesn't really matter what your party stripe is,if you love the state and you want to serve it,that's what you've got to do. ... Blood's much thicker than partisan politics." [6]
The middle child is daughter,Margaret Ann Simpson-Crabaugh who is an actress,singer/songwriter and teaches Enneagram workshops. [21]
In 2011,the UW Alumni Association honored Pete Simpson with its Medallion Service Award,first issued in 1968 but not given annually. It recognizes outstanding dedication and service to the university. [11]
In June 2012,still involved in occasional acting,Simpson played the celebrated frontiersman William F. Cody at the opening of the redesigned Cody museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody. [22]
The Peter K. Simpson papers from 1977 to 2009,the majority from his political career from 1980 to 1987,are located in the UW archives in Laramie. [23]
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie,Wyoming,United States. It was founded in March 1886,four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state,and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming's location is written into the state's constitution. The university also offers outreach education in communities throughout Wyoming and online.
Alan Kooi Simpson is an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party,he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was the Republican whip in the U.S. Senate from 1985 to 1995,as majority whip from 1985 to 1987 and minority whip from 1987 to 1995. He also served as co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with Democratic Party co-chair Erskine Bowles of North Carolina.
Clifford Peter Hansen was an American politician from the state of Wyoming. A Republican,he served as the 26th Governor of Wyoming and subsequently as a United States senator. He served as a member of the board of trustees from 1946–1966 to his alma mater,the University of Wyoming located in Laramie. He was also a county commissioner in Jackson,the seat of Teton County in northwestern Wyoming. Before his death on October 20,2009,he was the oldest living former U.S. Senator as well as the third oldest living former U.S. Governor.
The 2006 Wyoming gubernatorial election took place on November 7,2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal won re-election in a landslide over Republican Ray Hunkins,becoming the first Democrat since 1910 to win every county in the state. To date this was the last time a Democrat was elected to statewide office in Wyoming,the last time a Democrat carried every county in the state,the last gubernatorial election in which a Democrat received more than 30% of the vote,the last statewide election in which a Democrat received more than 45% of the vote,and the last statewide election in which a Democrat won any county besides Teton,Albany,Laramie,or Sweetwater. As of 2024,Ray Hunkins is the last Republican gubernatorial nominee who was never elected Governor of Wyoming. This is the last time that Wyoming voted for and elected a Senate candidate and a gubernatorial candidate of different political parties.
Milward Lee Simpson was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator and as the 23rd Governor of Wyoming,the first born in the state. In 1985,he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy &Western Heritage Museum.
Edwin Keith Thomson,usually known as Keith Thomson,was a United States representative from Wyoming. A highly decorated World War II veteran,Thomson served three terms in Wyoming's only U.S. House seat. On November 8,1960,he was elected to the U.S. Senate,but died a month later of a heart attack before taking office.
Colin Mackenzie Simpson is an American lawyer and Republican politician who served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from District 24 from 1999 to 2011. He was the House Speaker during his last two years in office. He finished fourth in the Republican primary for the 2010 gubernatorial election. After leaving the legislature in early 2011,Simpson resumed his law practice in Cody.
The 2010 Wyoming gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday,November 2,2010,to elect the governor of Wyoming. Party primaries were held on August 17.
The 2002 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held November 5,2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mike Enzi won re-election to a second term.
The 1996 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held November 5,1996. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson decided to retire. Republican nominee Mike Enzi won the open seat.
Philip Nicholas is a Republican member of the Wyoming Senate for the 10th district,encompassing Albany County.
Chris Rothfuss(born October 21,1972) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Wyoming Senate,representing the 9th District,which is based in Albany County,since 2011.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Wyoming took place on November 4,2014,to elect a member of the United States Senate for the State of Wyoming. Incumbent Republican senator Mike Enzi won re-election to a fourth term in office. Enzi held Democratic nominee Charlie Hardy to just 17.4 percent of the vote –the lowest percentage of the vote for any major party nominee in Wyoming U.S. Senate electoral history out of the 39 races conducted during the direct election era.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Wyoming on November 4,2014. All of Wyoming's executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat and Wyoming's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on August 19,2014.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming was held on November 8,2016,to elect the U.S. representative from Wyoming's at-large congressional district,who would represent the state of Wyoming in the 115th United States Congress. The election coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election,as well as other elections to the House of Representatives,elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Cynthia Lummis decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. Liz Cheney was elected to the seat to succeed Lummis.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held on November 3,2020,to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Wyoming,concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Cynthia Lummis defeated Democrat Merav Ben-David by more than 46 percentage points,becoming the first female U.S. Senator from Wyoming and succeeding fellow Republican Mike Enzi,who did not run for reelection. This was the first open Senate seat since 1996,when Enzi was first elected. The Democratic and Republican party primary elections were held on August 18,2020. This was the first time since 1996 that Democrats won any county for this seat. Enzi died aged 77 on July 26,2021,from injuries in a bicycle accident,less than seven months after his retirement from the Senate.
The 1958 Wyoming gubernatorial election took place on November 4,1958. Incumbent Republican Governor Milward Simpson ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged by John J. Hickey,the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming and the Democratic nominee. Following a close campaign,Hickey narrowly defeated Simpson for re-election,winning just a narrow plurality because of a third-party candidate in the race. In an irony,just four years later,in the 1962 special U.S. Senate election,Simpson would defeat Hickey,avenging his loss in the gubernatorial election. To date,this is the last time an incumbent Governor of Wyoming lost re-election.
Kathleen Marie Karpan is an American politician who served as secretary of state of Wyoming from 1987 to 1995,and as the director of the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 1997 to 2000. A member of the Democratic Party,she unsuccessfully ran for Wyoming's governor and United States senator as the Democratic nominee in 1994 and 1996,respectively. She is the most recent Democrat to serve as Wyoming Secretary of State or any other statewide office aside from Dave Freudenthal's service as Governor from 2003 to 2011.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Wyoming on Tuesday,November 4,1958. All of the state's executive officers—the governor,secretary of state,auditor,treasurer,and superintendent of public instruction—were up for election. Democrats had a largely good year,picking up the governorship and the secretary of state's office and holding the state superintendent's office,though Republicans were returned as state auditor and state treasurer.