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Olene Walker
Olene Walker (née Smith; November 15, 1930 – November 28, 2015) was an American politician who served as the 15th governor of Utah from 2003 to 2005, succeeding the governorship after Mike Leavitt's resignation.
A member of the Republican Party, Walker was Utah's first female lieutenant governor of Utah as well the first and currently only female governor.
She is also the shortest serving Governor of Utah, serving for only a year and two months.
Walker was born Olene Smith in Ogden, Utah, in 1930 to Thomas Ole Smith and Nina (née Hadley) Smith, the second of their five children. She graduated from Weber High School. Walker received her bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1953, her master's from Stanford University, and her doctorate in education administration from the University of Utah.
Walker's began her career in the Utah House of Representatives, including a term as Majority Whip, during which she helped create Utah’s Rainy Day Fund. She served in the Utah House from 1981 to 1989. She served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Utah for the 10 years prior to becoming governor. She founded the Salt Lake Education Foundation and served as its director. She served as director of the Utah Division of Community Development. She has chaired the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Utah State Housing Coordinating Committee, the Governor's Commission on Child Care, and the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors. She also became the first woman governor of Utah. Senator Orrin Hatch said Walker "truly paved the way for women in government in Utah." Also, throughout her political career "her passion across the board" was education.
Walker assumed the office of Governor of the State of Utah after previous governor Mike Leavitt was nominated by President George W. Bush to lead the Environmental Protection Agency in 2003. Walker served as governor until the end of the term on January 3, 2005.
During her short term as governor, Walker focused on supporting education in Utah. She created the Read With a Child Early Literacy Initiative, visited classrooms often to read to children, and vetoed a proposal for vouchers for private schools with the reasoning that the proposal would take funding away from public schools. She also signed legislation ending the use of firing squads for execution in Utah and worked to preserve Utah wilderness and to create affordable housing.
In a move that caused a degree of controversy within the state, the Utah Republican Party at its convention on May 8, 2004, elected not to place Walker on the ballot for the party primary (held on June 22, 2004), selecting instead Jon Huntsman, Jr. and Nolan Karras as the two potential Republican party candidates for the office of Governor of the State of Utah, the first time in 48 years that an incumbent Utah governor failed to win a party nomination. Huntsman went on to win the primary election with more than 66% of the vote. These events effectively ruled out any possibility of Walker being on the ballot in the 2004 general election. Convention delegates defended their choice by claiming that many of the delegates were already pledged to other candidates, because Walker had served only six months as Governor before the party convention.[citation needed] She had also waited until two months before the nominating convention to choose to run for re-election, giving her rivals a head start to build their campaigns. She left office with an 87% approval rating.
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Olene Walker
Olene Walker (née Smith; November 15, 1930 – November 28, 2015) was an American politician who served as the 15th governor of Utah from 2003 to 2005, succeeding the governorship after Mike Leavitt's resignation.
A member of the Republican Party, Walker was Utah's first female lieutenant governor of Utah as well the first and currently only female governor.
She is also the shortest serving Governor of Utah, serving for only a year and two months.
Walker was born Olene Smith in Ogden, Utah, in 1930 to Thomas Ole Smith and Nina (née Hadley) Smith, the second of their five children. She graduated from Weber High School. Walker received her bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1953, her master's from Stanford University, and her doctorate in education administration from the University of Utah.
Walker's began her career in the Utah House of Representatives, including a term as Majority Whip, during which she helped create Utah’s Rainy Day Fund. She served in the Utah House from 1981 to 1989. She served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Utah for the 10 years prior to becoming governor. She founded the Salt Lake Education Foundation and served as its director. She served as director of the Utah Division of Community Development. She has chaired the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Utah State Housing Coordinating Committee, the Governor's Commission on Child Care, and the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors. She also became the first woman governor of Utah. Senator Orrin Hatch said Walker "truly paved the way for women in government in Utah." Also, throughout her political career "her passion across the board" was education.
Walker assumed the office of Governor of the State of Utah after previous governor Mike Leavitt was nominated by President George W. Bush to lead the Environmental Protection Agency in 2003. Walker served as governor until the end of the term on January 3, 2005.
During her short term as governor, Walker focused on supporting education in Utah. She created the Read With a Child Early Literacy Initiative, visited classrooms often to read to children, and vetoed a proposal for vouchers for private schools with the reasoning that the proposal would take funding away from public schools. She also signed legislation ending the use of firing squads for execution in Utah and worked to preserve Utah wilderness and to create affordable housing.
In a move that caused a degree of controversy within the state, the Utah Republican Party at its convention on May 8, 2004, elected not to place Walker on the ballot for the party primary (held on June 22, 2004), selecting instead Jon Huntsman, Jr. and Nolan Karras as the two potential Republican party candidates for the office of Governor of the State of Utah, the first time in 48 years that an incumbent Utah governor failed to win a party nomination. Huntsman went on to win the primary election with more than 66% of the vote. These events effectively ruled out any possibility of Walker being on the ballot in the 2004 general election. Convention delegates defended their choice by claiming that many of the delegates were already pledged to other candidates, because Walker had served only six months as Governor before the party convention.[citation needed] She had also waited until two months before the nominating convention to choose to run for re-election, giving her rivals a head start to build their campaigns. She left office with an 87% approval rating.