Douglas Wilder
Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American politician who was the first African-American to be elected governor of a U.S. state1</sup>, serving as governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994.
Wilder was born in Richmond, Virginia. A Democrat, he was elected governor on November 7, 1989 and was sworn in on January 13, 1990. He briefly considered running for President in 1991.
Despite being a Democrat and the first African-American governor of Virginia, many see Wilder's politics as catering to white conservatives. Since the 1970s he has supported the death penalty and has generally run on an "anti-crime" platform. In response to a waning budget during his period as governor, Wilder gave Virginia some of the highest budget cuts on higher education in the United States. Wilder came under scrutiny in the mid-1990s for his attacks against fellow Democrat Chuck Robb and his support of Republican Mark Earley. Recently, Douglas Wilder declared himself Independent.
On May 30, 2004, Wilder announced his intentions to run for Mayor of Richmond. Until recently, the City Council chose the Mayor from among its 9 members. The attempt to change this policy began in November 2003 when voters approved a mayor-at-large proposal (~80% voting in favor of the measure). Wilder was a leading proponent of the mayor-at-large proposal.
On November 2, 2004, Wilder received 79% of the vote (55,319 votes), making him Mayor-elect of Richmond. R.C. "Rudy" McCollum Jr. received 11% (8,079 votes), and Charles H. Nance and Lawrence E. Williams Sr. receiving 8% (5,912) and 2% (1,138) respectively. He is the first directly-elected Mayor of Richmond in 60 years.
Note
The first African-American governor of a U.S. state was P. B. S. Pinchback, who became governor of Louisiana in December 9, 1872 upon the removal from office of his predecessor.
Categories: 1931 births | Governors of Virginia | African Americans | Virginians