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Jerry Ward
Jerry Ward
Jerry Ward
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Jerry Ward (born July 19, 1948) is an American politician and businessman.

Key Information

Early life

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An Alaska Native born in Anchorage, Alaska, Ward served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War and was in the Navy Seabees. Ward was in the real estate business.

Political career

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In 1982, Ward was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives as a Republican, 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, stepped aside in favor of former Governor Walter Hickel, and the defecting Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, state Senator Jack Coghill, who won the general election over ex-Anchorage Mayor, Democrat Tony Knowles and state Senator Willie Hensley, with Republican state Senator Arliss Sturgulewski finishing third.

In 1996 and 2000 he won elections to the Alaska State Senate.[1][2]

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.[3]

During his terms in the state senate, Ward was substantially involved in numerous failed attempts to build Alaskan for-profit prisons.[4][5] Those schemes eventually resulted in federal criminal prosecutions of numerous corporate executives and Republican legislators.[6] Although he wasn't charged, Ward remained under investigation as of 2009.[7] On December 15, 2008, the Anchorage Daily News 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.[8] Weimar had a $5.5 million interest, contingent solely on the approval and building of a Cornell Companies 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 bank. A day later he sent another $8,500 in cash drawn from the Polson bank, according to federal court documents.[9] Daily cash transactions of over $10,000 mandate federal reporting per the Bank Secrecy Act.[10] 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.[11]

In 2006, Ward ran once more for Lt. Governor in the Republican primary but was defeated by Sean Parnell.[12]

Ward ran Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign in Alaska, was rewarded with a position in the Department of Education, but resigned not long afterward.[13]

References

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Jerry Ward

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Jerry Ward (full name Jerry Washington Ward, Jr.) was an American literary critic, poet, essayist, professor, and leading scholar of African American literature, best known for his authoritative work on Richard Wright and his contributions to the study of the Black Arts Movement and Southern literary traditions. Born in Washington, D.C., on July 31, 1943, and raised in Moss Point, Mississippi, Ward's scholarship and creative writing frequently engaged with themes of race, cultural memory, Southern history, and the African American experience. He earned a B.S. in mathematics from Tougaloo College in 1964, an M.S. from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1966, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia in 1978, after serving in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1970, including a tour in Vietnam. Ward taught English at Tougaloo College from 1970 until 2002, where he also chaired the department and held the Lawrence Durgin Professorship of Literature, before joining Dillard University as Distinguished Professor of English and Africana Studies, retiring in 2012. His editorial work included influential anthologies such as Trouble the Water: 250 Years of African American Poetry (1997) and Black Southern Voices (1992), while his poetry and essays, often reprinted and celebrated, addressed racism, identity, and social change. Ward received numerous honors, including the Public Humanities Scholar Award from the Mississippi Humanities Council and the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award, reflecting his impact as a mentor, critic, and advocate for African American literary studies. He passed away in early 2025.

Early life

Birth and background

Jerry Washington Ward, Jr. was born on July 31, 1943, in Washington, D.C., to Jerry Washington Ward, Sr., and Mary Theriot Ward. His family moved to Moss Point, Mississippi, when he was six years old in 1949. He attended Our Mother of Sorrows High School in Biloxi for ninth grade and Magnolia High School in Moss Point for tenth and eleventh grades. He did not complete high school but was admitted directly to Tougaloo College after eleventh grade.

Career

Academic career

Ward began his teaching career at Tougaloo College in 1970, where he served as Professor of English, department chair, and held the Lawrence Durgin Professorship of Literature until 2002. He then joined Dillard University in 2002 as Distinguished Professor of English and Africana Studies, retiring in 2012. His scholarship focused on Richard Wright, African American literature, the Black Arts Movement, and Southern literary traditions. He served on editorial boards including Mississippi Quarterly, African American Review, and others, and was active in organizations such as the Modern Language Association and Mississippi Humanities Council.

Death

Ward passed away in early 2025. Dillard University announced his death on February 12, 2025.
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