Buddy MacKay
Buddy MacKay | |
---|---|
Governor of Florida | |
In office December 12, 1998 – January 5, 1999 | |
Lieutenant | Vacant |
Preceded by | Lawton Chiles |
Succeeded by | Jeb Bush |
14th Lieutenant Governor of Florida | |
In office January 8, 1991 – December 12, 1998 | |
Governor | Lawton Chiles |
Preceded by | Bobby Brantley |
Succeeded by | Frank Brogan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 6th district | |
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1989 | |
Preceded by | Bill Young |
Succeeded by | Cliff Stearns |
Member of the Florida Senate from the 6th district | |
In office November 5, 1974 – November 4, 1980 | |
Preceded by | Jim Williams |
Succeeded by | George G. Kirkpatrick Jr. |
Member of the Florida House of Representatives | |
In office November 5, 1968 – November 5, 1974 | |
Preceded by | Bill Chappell |
Succeeded by | Wayne C. McCall |
Constituency | 30th district (1968–1972) 32nd district (1972–1974) |
Personal details | |
Born | Kenneth Hood MacKay Jr. March 22, 1933 Ocala, Florida, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Anne Selph (m. 1960) |
Children | 4 |
Education | University of Florida (BS, BA, LLB) |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Air Force |
Years of service | 1955–1958 |
Rank | Captain |
Kenneth Hood "Buddy" MacKay Jr. (born March 22, 1933) is an American politician and
Early life
MacKay was born to a citrus-farming family in Ocala, Florida, the son of Julia Elizabeth (Farnum) and Kenneth Hood MacKay.[1] He served in the United States Air Force during the 1950s, and then attended the University of Florida, where he was tapped into Florida Blue Key and eventually received a law degree. MacKay was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame (the most prestigious honor a student can receive from UF) and was a member of The Board. He married Anne Selph[2] in 1960; the couple has four sons.
Political career
MacKay was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1968, and to the Florida Senate in 1974.
From 1983 to 1989 he served for three terms in the United States House of Representatives.
In 1988 he received the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate, but lost in a very close race for that office to Connie Mack III.
Lieutenant governorship
MacKay won the 1990 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor on the ticket headed by former U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles, who had held the Senate seat MacKay had unsuccessfully sought two years earlier. They won the election and were re-elected in 1994, the latter campaign being a close contest against the Republican ticket headed by Jeb Bush.
As lieutenant governor, MacKay was co-chair of the Florida Commission on Education, Reform and Accountability.[3] He was regarded as the most significant and powerful lieutenant governor in Florida's history.[4]
MacKay was a strong supporter of the use of capital punishment, as was Chiles. When he was asked during the 1998 gubernatorial election campaign about his positions on use of the death penalty and electric chair in Florida, he replied: "I support the death penalty and support the use of the electric chair so long as it operates in a reliable fashion."[5] However he suggested that Florida should change its mode of execution after Pedro Medina's botched execution, saying: "The last thing we want to do is generate sympathy for these killers."[6]
Gubernatorial campaign
In 1998, MacKay sought to succeed the term-limited Chiles as governor, easily winning the Democratic nomination with his full support.[citation needed] However, MacKay secured only 44.7% of the vote, losing to Republican nominee Jeb Bush, who had narrowly lost the 1994 contest but secured 55.3% of the vote in 1998.[7][8]
Governorship
Despite his defeat, MacKay became Chiles' successor when Chiles died unexpectedly on December 12, 1998. MacKay was at this time in
"There's no great pleasure in this," said MacKay about taking a job he had sought, but got for a short time after his political partner's death. He also stated how sorry he was that he would be unable because of the short time and lack of mandate to take care of such issues as education and health care.[4]
Despite keeping a low public profile during his time as governor, MacKay made at least 56 appointments to various boards and to various offices, including two judgeships. He granted six pardons to female prisoners and was involved in such issues as the negotiation plan for the
MacKay was succeeded by Bush on January 5, 1999.
Diplomacy and later life
After his governorship ended, MacKay retired from active politics. He, however, remains publicly active.
He was appointed by President Clinton as a special envoy for the Americas, being the second person to hold this position. During his tenure he traveled to 26 countries in the Americas, working on issues such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), hemispheric security, strengthening the rule of law, labor standards, environmental policies and human rights.[10]
He attended a “Day with Florida Governors” symposium, organized by the
MacKay's memoir about his political career, How Florida Happened, was published by the University Press of Florida in March 2010.
Electoral history
Florida Senate, 6th district (1974)
- Buddy MacKay (D) – 26,418 (75.32%)
- Charles E. Curtis (R) – 8,655 (24.68%)
Florida Senate, 6th district (1978)
- Buddy MacKay (D, Inc.) – elected unopposed
- Richard Stone (Inc.) – 355,287 (32.08%)
- Bill Gunter – 335,859 (30.33%)
- Buddy MacKay – 272,538 (24.61%)
- Richard A. Pettigrew – 108,154 (9.77%)
- James L. Miller – 18,118 (1.64%)
- John B. Coffey – 17,410 (1.57%)
Florida's 6th congressional district, 1982
- Buddy MacKay (D) – 85,825 (61.35%)
- Ed Havill (R) – 54,059 (38.65%)
Florida's 6th congressional district, 1984
- Buddy MacKay (D, Inc.) – 167,409 (99.30%)
- Eric Tarnley (write-in) – 1,174 (0.70%)
Florida's 6th congressional district, 1986
- Buddy MacKay (D, Inc.) – 143,598 (70.16%)
- Larry Gallagher (R) – 61,069 (29.84%)
- Bill Gunter – 383,721 (38.00%)
- Buddy MacKay – 263,946 (26.14%)
- Dan Mica – 179,524 (17.78%)
- Pat Frank – 119,277 (11.81%)
- Claude Roy Kirk Jr.– 51,387 (5.09%)
- Fred Rader – 11,820 (1.17%)
Florida United States Senate election, 1988 (Democratic runoff)
- Buddy MacKay – 369,266 (52.00%)
- Bill Gunter – 340,918 (48.00%)
Florida United States Senate election, 1988
- Connie Mack III (R) – 2,051,071 (50.42%)
- Buddy MacKay (D) – 2,016,553 (49.57%)
- Adam Straus (write-in) – 585 (0.01%)
Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, 1990
- Buddy MacKay – 746,325 (69.49%)
- Tom Gustafson – 327,731 (30.51%)
- Lawton Chiles/Buddy MacKay (D) – 1,995,206 (56.51%)
- Bob Martinez/J. Allison DeFoor (R) – 1,535,068 (43.48%)
Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, 1994
- Buddy MacKay (Inc.) – 603,657 (72.17%)
- James H. King – 232,757 (27.83%)
- Lawton Chiles/Buddy MacKay (D, Inc.) – 2,135,008 (50.75%)
- Jeb Bush/Tom Feeney (R) – 2,071,068 (49.23%)
- Jeb Bush/Frank Brogan (R) – 2,191,105 (55.27%)
- Buddy MacKay/Rick Dantzler (D) – 1,773,054 (44.72%)
Source: Our Campaigns – Candidate – Kenneth "Buddy" MacKay Jr.
References
- ^ "Julia Farnum MacKay — Ocala, Fla".
- ^ "Lieutenant Governor Kenneth Hood (Buddy) MacKay and his wife Anne Selph MacKay". Florida Memory. State Library and Archives of Florida.
- ^ "Contents: This Time the People Won". Archived from the original on July 2, 2007.
- ^ a b "State: MacKay steps into awkward 23 days".
- ^ "**Election '98: The road to November**".
- ^ "WORLD Magazine - Today's News, Christian Views".
- ^ "November 3, 1998 General Election". Florida Department of State. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ Verhovek, Sam Howe (November 9, 1994). "THE 1994 ELECTIONS: THE NATION THE BUSHES; Texas Elects George W. While Florida Rejects Jeb". The New York Times.
- ^ Dunkelberger, Lloyd (1 January 1999). "MacKay Term Short But Active". The Gainesville Sun. pp. 1B, 5B.
- ^ "The Americas Group".
- YouTube