Bert Combs
Bertram Combs | |
---|---|
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | |
In office April 5, 1967 – June 5, 1970 | |
Appointed by | Lyndon B. Johnson |
Preceded by | Shackelford Miller Jr. |
Succeeded by | W. Wallace Kent |
50th Governor of Kentucky | |
In office December 8, 1959 – December 10, 1963 | |
Lieutenant | Wilson W. Wyatt |
Preceded by | Happy Chandler |
Succeeded by | Ned Breathitt |
Personal details | |
Born | Bertram Thomas Combs August 13, 1911 Manchester, Kentucky, U.S. |
Died | December 4, 1991 Powell County, Kentucky, U.S. | (aged 80)
Resting place | Beech Creek Cemetery Manchester, Kentucky, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouses | |
Children | Military Merit Medal of Philippines |
Bertram Thomas Combs (August 13, 1911 – December 4, 1991) was an American
Combs rose from poverty in his native
Chandler, who went on to reclaim the governorship, had promised that he would not need to raise taxes to meet the state's financial obligations, but ultimately he did so. In 1959, Combs was elected governor, defeating Lieutenant Governor Harry Lee Waterfield, Chandler's choice to succeed him in office, in the primary. Early in his term, Combs secured passage of a three-percent sales tax to pay a bonus to the state's military veterans. Knowing a tax of one percent would have been sufficient, he used the excess revenue to enact a system of reforms, including expansion of the state's highway and state park systems. He also devoted much of the surplus to education.
Following his term in office, Combs was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by President Johnson. He served for three years before resigning and running for governor again in 1971. He
Early life
The Combs family is one of the oldest European families in the United States. Archdale Combs – 1641–1684 born in Soulbury, Buckinghamshire, England, the family patriarch, arrived in Stafford County, British Colonial America circa 1662, and by circa 1778 Archdale's great-grandson John Combs began his trek westward from Frederick County, Virginia into Wilkes County, North Carolina then into Hawkins County, Tennessee before making his way into Clay County, Kentucky via the Cumberland Gap. He came with his 8 sons Mason, Willian, Nicholas, John, Henry Harrison, Biram & George. Bert descends from John, one of the eight Combs brother's son John "Jack" Combs.[1]
Bert Combs was born in the Town Branch section of
Unable to afford college tuition, Combs worked at a local drug store and did small jobs for various residents of his community.
Combs worked for the highway department for three years in order to earn enough money to attend the University of Kentucky College of Law in Lexington.[6] While at the university, he was managing editor of the Kentucky Law Journal.[6] In 1937 he graduated second in his class, earning a Bachelor of Laws degree and qualifying for the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for the top ten percent of graduating law students.[6][9] He was admitted to the bar, and returned to Manchester to begin practicing law.[10] It was also in 1937 that Combs married Mabel Hall, with whom he had two children, Lois Ann Combs and Thomas "Tommy" George Combs.[11]
Early legal career and service in World War II
Of his law practice in Manchester, Combs later noted: "I had too many kinfolks and friends in Manchester, and they all expected me to handle things as a favor ... Then they'd get their feelings hurt if I charged them. I was taking in a lot of cases, but not sending out many bills."
On December 22, 1943, Combs enlisted as a
After the war, Combs returned to Prestonsburg, forming the law firm of Howard and Combs with J. Woodford Howard as his partner.[10][16] He served as president of the Junior Bar Association of Kentucky in 1946 and 1947.[6] Combs often represented coal companies in workers' compensation cases against Carl D. Perkins, later a U.S. Representative, who served as legal counsel for the mine workers.[2]
Political career
Combs began his political career with his election to the office of
1955 gubernatorial race
In Combs' first speech of the
With little but Combs' inexperience to run against, Chandler portrayed Combs as a pawn of former governors Clements and Wetherby, whom he derisively nicknamed "Clementine" and "Wetherbine".
Two weeks before the primary, Combs was endorsed by former
1959 gubernatorial race
Barred by the
In the primary campaign against Waterfield, Combs attacked the Chandler administration.
Governor of Kentucky
One of Combs' first official actions as governor was to call a special session of the legislature on December 19, 1959, to consider revising the state's constitution, which had been in effect since 1891. Calling a constitutional convention required that the General Assembly approve putting the issue of a convention on the ballot in two consecutive legislative sessions. The call then had to be approved by Kentucky voters. Despite near-universal agreement by legal scholars that the constitution was badly in need of updating, Kentucky voters had rejected calls for a constitutional convention in 1931 and 1947, and had only approved 19 amendments since 1891. Combs wanted to address the issue during his four-year term, hence the haste in calling the special legislative session. The General Assembly easily approved the call for a convention during the special legislative session and again during the subsequent regular legislative session in 1960. Combs signed the measure, and the question of a constitutional revision was put on the ballot in November 1960, when Kentucky voters defeated it by a margin of almost 18,000 votes. This was the closest Kentucky has come to replacing the 1891 constitution, which remains in effect today.[33][34]
Kentucky's first billion-dollar budget
During the campaign, Combs had advocated a progressive platform that included increased funding for education, highways, parks, industry, and airports.[35] Soon after his election, he won approval for a three-percent sales tax to pay a bonus to military veterans, although he could have funded the bonuses with a one-percent tax.[11] He had asked for the larger tax in order to fund his other priorities.[11] As a result of the sales tax, Combs presided over the state's first billion-dollar budget.[36] One study showed that Kentucky doubled its per capita expenditures between 1957 and 1962, growing its appropriations faster than any other state.[36] Combs held large public relations events for each tax-funded project that was completed, declaring in dedication speeches that the sales tax had made the project possible.[35]
In 1960, Kentucky had one of the highest dropout rates in the nation, and ranked second only to Arkansas in the number of one-room schools.[37] Fewer than half of the state's high school graduates attended college.[37] Many teachers educated in Kentucky sought higher salaries available in other states.[37] Combs' biennial budget, passed by the General Assembly in 1960, used money from the new sales tax to increase school funds by fifty percent and establish the state community college system (now the Kentucky Community and Technical College System).[36] It also increased funding for free textbooks by more than $3 million and allocated another $2 million to vocational education.[38] It allocated over $5 million to the state universities for new buildings and another $10.5 million to fund completion of the Albert B. Chandler Hospital, a facility at the University of Kentucky named in honor of Combs' political foe.[39]
The state's roads were in poor condition when Combs became governor. The
Combs also won approval of a $10 million bond issue to benefit the state parks, which had poor lodging and few amenities. Combs combined the bond issue with $10 million in revenue bonds and effected major renovations at all 26 of the state's parks. Though his dreams of seeing privately owned tourist facilities spring up around the parks did not come to fruition, out-of-state tourism to Kentucky more than doubled during his administration, accounting for about sixty percent of state park visitors and fifty-three percent of the overnight visitations to the parks. Journalist John Ed Pearce recounts that Kentucky natives began to complain that they could not get reservations in the parks during peak seasons and called for limitations on the number of out-of-state visitors or a reservation system that favored Kentuckians, although nothing was done to address these complaints.[41]
On April 10, 1961, Combs appropriated $50,000 from the governor's contingency fund to construct a
Ethical reforms
Combs created a merit system for state government workers, ensuring that officials could not be hired or fired for political reasons.[2] This provision attracted more well-qualified people to public service careers.[35] Such careers were made even more attractive when, in 1962, the state courts declared that the salaries of state employees, the amounts of which were specified in the state constitution, could be adjusted for inflation.[36] Combs demanded that state employees stick strictly to the rules governing their offices.[43] In one instance, Combs ordered a state audit of Carter County school superintendent Heman McGuire, who was known to use his office for political gain.[44] While Combs did not have the authority to remove McGuire directly, the audit showed McGuire's misappropriation of funds and abuse of power.[45] The state school board investigated these findings and removed the county school board members from office; the replacement board members then ousted McGuire.[45]
In 1961, a group of citizens from Newport asked Combs for help in cracking down on crime in their city. Just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Newport had gained a reputation as a haven for prostitution, gambling, and illegal alcohol. After receiving an affidavit from the citizens, Combs sent agents from the department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to the city. They cited six bars for violating laws governing liquor sales, and instructed Attorney General John B. Breckinridge to prosecute four local officials for failure to enforce the laws. When allegations of civil rights violations in a related trial surfaced, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sent federal Justice Department officials to Newport, prompting the resignation of the sheriff and a circuit judge. Two other local officials were barred from office for four years.[46]
Some of Combs' crackdowns on corruption were politically damaging, including the so-called "truck deal". In 1961, Kyle Vance, a reporter for the Louisville
Combs also formed the state's first Human Rights Commission and ordered the
Among Combs' other accomplishments as governor were requiring
Later political career
Following his term as governor, Combs returned to his legal practice. He was a charter member and chairman of the Eastern Kentucky Historical Society and a trustee at Campbellsville College.[32] In 1963, he was awarded the Joseph P. Kennedy International Award for "outstanding contributions and leadership in the field of mental retardations."[6] He was named Kentucky's outstanding attorney in 1964, and in the spring of that year, he served as a visiting professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Massachusetts.[6] In 1965, he was inducted into the University of Kentucky's Hall of Distinguished Alumni.[6]
In August 1964, Combs declined a nomination to the bench of the
On January 16, 1967, President Lyndon Johnson nominated Combs to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, replacing the deceased Shackelford Miller Jr., and the Senate confirmed the nomination on April 5, 1967, and Combs received his commission the same day.[17] Because of the rules of the federal judiciary, Combs had to liquidate his business and banking assets and severely restrict contact with many of his political acquaintances to avoid potential conflicts of interest with cases he might adjudicate on the Court of Appeals.[55] He expressed frustration that the cases that came before the court were frequently appealed to the Supreme Court, which often gave little weight to the opinions rendered by the Court of Appeals.[55] Consequently, he resigned from the court on June 5, 1970, and joined the Louisville law firm of Tarrant, Combs, and Bullitt (later Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs).[43]
With the end of Governor Nunn's term approaching, a rivalry for leadership of the state Democratic party developed between Lieutenant Governor
Combs and Ford advocated similar platforms, but Combs encouraged the state's teachers to become more politically active, negotiating higher salaries and better benefits for themselves, while Ford was critical of educators becoming involved in politics and only advocated more spending on education if the state could afford it.
Later life
After the 1971 primary, Combs retired from politics and resumed his law practice, maintaining an office in Frankfort. He moved to Louisville, becoming the partner of John Tarrant in Tarrant, Combs and Bullitt, and then in Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs, with Wilson Wyatt. He continued to represent large coal companies, drawing the ire of local environmentalist and author Harry M. Caudill, who asserted that Combs claimed to represent the powerless while actually representing the powerful.[2] He was active in the formation of the Rural Housing and Development Corporation and served on the Council on Higher Education.[11] He also served on President Jimmy Carter's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament.[61]
Combs' second marriage ended in divorce on May 19, 1986.[62] On December 30, 1988, he married his law assistant, Sara M. Walter.[10][63]
Rose v. Council for Better Education
On October 3, 1984, leaders of the Council for Better Education asked Combs to represent them in a legal challenge to Kentucky's school financing system, which it claimed unfairly discriminated against poorer school systems in the state.[64] Combs felt the lawsuit would be difficult to win and could cause retaliation against his other clients by state government officials.[64] He needed this lawsuit "about like a hog needs a side saddle", he would later claim; nevertheless, he agreed to take the case if the council could convince thirty to forty percent of the state's school boards to join it.[64][65] The Council eventually persuaded 66 of the 177 school boards to join.[66] Working pro bono, Combs assembled a legal team that included Kern Alexander, a Kentucky native and education law expert who was named president of Western Kentucky University in November 1985.[66]
Combs first attempted to gain legislative concessions that might preclude the need for a lawsuit.[67] Governor Martha Layne Collins proposed an education reform agenda and called the legislature into special session in mid-1985 to consider it.[67] The legislature enacted a corporate income tax to raise $300 million aimed at reducing class sizes, but the council was seeking more fundamental structural changes to the system and deemed the increased funds insufficient to equalize its members' standing with that of more affluent school districts.[68][69] Dissatisfied with the results of the special session, Combs and the Council filed their suit, Rose v. Council for Better Education, on November 20, 1985.[69] The governor, state superintendent, state treasurer, leaders of both houses of the state legislature, and every member of the state board of education were named as defendants in the case.[69]
The defendants' request for
Opening arguments in the appeal began December 7, 1988.[72] The defense argued that the Council lacked standing to bring the suit; Combs rebutted this argument and cited statistics that ranked Kentucky as the most illiterate state in the nation to show how inequitable financing had adversely affected the state's students.[72] On June 8, 1989, the court handed down a 3–2 ruling declaring Kentucky's entire public school system unconstitutional and giving the General Assembly until the end of their next legislative session, which would convene in January 1990, to create a replacement.[73][74][75] Commenting on the ruling, Combs said "My clients asked for a thimble-full, and [instead] they got a bucket-full".[73]
The court set out nine minimum standards. In response to the court's ruling, the General Assembly passed the 1990
Death and legacy
On December 3, 1991, Combs left his law office during a
In addition to the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway, Bert T. Combs Lake, an
The Bert Combs Building at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, has also been named in his honor.
Combs' daughter,
References
- ^ "John Combs, Sr. & the "Eight Brothers"".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Combs Rose to Pinnacle From Plain Beginnings"
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 9
- ^ a b c Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 10
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 11
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Bert T. Combs". Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 12
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 8
- ^ a b c d e "Kentucky Governor Bert Thomas Combs". National Governors Association.
- ^ a b c d "Bertram Thomas Combs (1911–1991)". History of the Sixth Circuit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Harrison, p. 217
- ^ Pearce, p. 58
- ^ a b c Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 16
- ^ a b "Bert Combs Missing, Feared Dead". The Kentucky Post
- ^ a b c d Harmon, p. 27
- ^ Robinson in Kentucky's Governors, p. 196
- ^ a b c "Combs, Bertram Thomas". History of the Sixth Circuit
- ^ a b Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 20
- ^ a b c Pearce, p. 59
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 22
- ^ a b c d e f g Harrison and Klotter, p. 403
- ^ Pearce, p. 64
- ^ a b Pearce, pp. 61–62
- ^ a b Pearce, p. 65
- ^ Pearce, p. 66
- ^ a b Robinson in Kentucky's Governors, p. 197
- ^ Harrison and Klotter, p. 406
- ^ a b c Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 72
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 73
- ^ a b c d e f Harrison and Klotter, p. 407
- ^ Pearce, p. 97
- ^ a b c Powell, p. 104
- ^ Pearce, pp. 102–103, 117, 157, 159
- ^ "History of the Kentucky Unified Court System". Kentucky Court of Justice
- ^ a b c Robinson in Kentucky's Governors, p. 198
- ^ a b c d e f Harrison and Klotter, p. 408
- ^ a b c d e f Pearce, p. 106
- ^ Pearce, p. 121
- ^ Pearce, p. 120
- ^ Pearce, p. 111
- ^ Pearce, pp. 117–118
- ^ a b c Pearce, p. 135
- ^ a b Robinson in Kentucky's Governors, p. 199
- ^ Pearce, p. 131
- ^ a b Pearce, p. 132
- ^ Pearce, pp. 165, 167, 171
- ^ a b Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 121
- ^ a b c Harrison and Klotter, p. 409
- ^ Pearce, pp. 138, 150
- ^ Pearce, p. 193
- ^ a b c Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 172
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 173
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 177
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, pp. 173, 181
- ^ a b Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 181
- ^ a b c d Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 182
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 187
- ^ a b Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 188
- ^ Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, pp. 188–189
- ^ a b Robinson in Bert Combs The Politician, p. 189
- ^ a b c Saxon, "Bert T. Combs, 80, Dies in Flood"
- ^ Kentucky Divorce Index 1973–1993 Search Result
- ^ Kentucky Marriage Index 1973–1993 Search Result
- ^ a b c Dove, p. 12
- ^ Bosworth, p. 116
- ^ a b Dove, p. 13
- ^ a b Dove, p. 15
- ^ Bosworth, p. 118
- ^ a b c Dove, p. 16
- ^ Dove, p. 21
- ^ Dove, pp. 18, 20–22
- ^ a b Dove, p. 24
- ^ a b Dove, p. 25
- ^ Bosworth, p. 127
- ^ 790 S.W.2d 186 (Kentucky, 1989)
- ^ Dove, pp. 25, 30–31
- ^ "Bert T. Combs Lake". Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
- ^ "Governor Bert T. Combs Statue Project". Appalachian Heritage Alliance
- ^ "Judge Sara Walter Combs". Kentucky Court of Justice
- ^ Report of "Official" Election Night Tally Results. Kentucky Board of Elections
Bibliography
- "Bert Combs Missing, Feared Dead". The Kentucky Post. December 4, 1991. p. 1K.
- "Bert T. Combs". Hall of Distinguished Alumni. University of Kentucky Alumni Association. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- "Bert T. Combs Lake" (PDF). Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
- "Bertram Thomas Combs (1911–1991)". History of the Sixth Circuit. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- Bosworth, Matthew H. (2001). Courts as Catalysts: State Supreme Courts and Public School Finance Equity. ISBN 978-0-7914-5013-0.
- Bertram Thomas Combs at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- "Combs Rose to Pinnacle from Plain Beginnings". Lexington Herald-Leader. Knight-Ridder News Service. December 5, 1991. p. A1.
- Dove, Ronald G. Jr. (1991). "Acorns in a Mountain Pool: The Role of Litigation, Law, and Lawyers in Kentucky Education Reform". Journal of Education Finance. 17. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
- "Governor Bert T. Combs Statue Project". Appalachian Heritage Alliance. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
- Day, Richard E., "Bert Combs and the Council for Better Education: Catalysts for School Reform," Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 109 (Winter 2011), 27–62
- Harmon, David G. (2001). A Tribute to Clay County Veterans. ISBN 1-56311-773-8. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- ISBN 0-8131-1772-0.
- ISBN 0-8131-2008-X. Retrieved June 26, 2009.
- "History of the Kentucky Unified Court System". Kentucky Court of Justice. August 17, 2006. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- "Judge Sara Walter Combs". Kentucky Court of Justice. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- "Kentucky Divorce Index 1973–1993 Search Result". Kentucky Vital Records Index. University of Kentucky. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- "Kentucky Governor Bert Thomas Combs". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
- "Kentucky Marriage Index 1973–1993 Search Result". Kentucky Vital Records Index. University of Kentucky. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- Pearce, John Ed (1987). Divide and Dissent: Kentucky Politics 1930–1963. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1613-9.
- Powell, Robert A. (1976). Kentucky Governors. Danville, Kentucky: Bluegrass Printing Company. OCLC 2690774.
- "Report of "Official" Election Night Tally Results". Kentucky Board of Elections. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- Robinson, George William (1991). Bert Combs the Politician: An Oral History. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1740-2. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- Robinson, George William (2004). "Bert T. Combs". In Lowell Hayes Harrison (ed.). Kentucky's Governors. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 196–199. ISBN 0-8131-2326-7.
- Saxon, Wolfgang (December 5, 1991). "Bert T. Combs, 80, Dies in Flood; Was Kentucky Governor in 60's". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
Further reading
- Combs, Bert (1991). "Creative constitutional law: the Kentucky School Reform Law". Harvard Journal on Legislation. 28 (2): 367–378.
- Robinson, George William (1979). The Public Papers of Governor Bert T. Combs, 1959–1963. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-0604-4.