Ruby Laffoon

Ruby Laffoon ( born January 15, 1869 in Madisonville, Kentucky, † March 1, 1941 ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and from 1931 to 1935 Governor of Kentucky.

Early years and career

Ruby Laffoon, whose uncle Polk Laffoon was sitting 1885-1889 for Kentucky House of Representatives of the United States, attended the local schools of his home. Later he studied at Columbia Law School Law. He graduated in 1890 at Washington and Lee University. He then settled down as a lawyer in Madisonville. In the years 1907 and 1912 he applied unsuccessfully for the post of Finance Minister of Kentucky. Between 1921 and 1931 he worked as a judge at the district court in Hopkins County. In 1931 he was nominated by the Democrats as a candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election. He won the election with 54.3 % of the vote to Republican William B. Harrison, who came to 45.4 %.

Governor of Kentucky

Laffoons term of office began on December 8, 1931 and ended on 10 December 1935., The problem of those years was the Great Depression. Laffoon they wanted to fight with a tax increase, but encountered some strong opposition. In March 1933, he let the banks close for several days. This was then decided by Congress and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and practiced successfully in most states. During this time the banks were reorganized and were able to reopen strengthened. This was an essential factor to the rescue of many banks. There is a remarkable reorganization of the administration, especially the circumcision of the powers of the Lieutenant Governor. The then Deputy Governor Happy Chandler was one of the sharpest critics of the governor. Overall Laffoon had pardoned 560 prisoners to relieve the prisons. This practice was not without controversy and has been controversial. It is also noteworthy that he appointed several celebrities from all over the United States to " colonel of Kentucky ", which corresponds to an honorary citizen. These included variables from all cultural areas, which are then usually also advertise Kentucky made ​​. In addition, the Governor promoted the development of education, as far as in the context of poor budgetary situation was possible.

Further CV

After the end of his term in December 1935 Laffoon took his lawyer in Madisonville again. But he remained in politics and his party joined. He was in 1936 a member of the Democratic National Committee, 1940 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, was nominated on the Franklin D. Roosevelt for the third time as a presidential candidate. Ruby Laffoon died in March 1941 in Madisonville. He was married to Mary Nisbet, with whom he had three children.