Donald Kenneth Sundquist (born March 15, 1936) was Governor of Tennessee from 1995 to 2003. March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Notes 1East was Secretary of State for Tennessee from 1862-1865, appointed by Andrew Johnson, the military governor of the state under Union occupation during the American Civil War. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Don Sundquist was born in Illinois and attended Augustana College. In his early career, he sold class rings for the Jostens Corp. Moving to Memphis, Tennessee, he became very active in the Republican Party. State nickname: Land of Lincoln, The Prairie State Other U.S. States Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich Official languages English Area 149,998 km² (25th)  - Land 143,968 km²  - Water 6,030 km² (4. ... Augustana College Augustana College is a small liberal arts college with a current enrollment of approximately 2200 students. ... City nickname: The River City or The Bluff City Location in the state of Tennessee County Shelby County, Tennessee Area  - Total  - Water 763. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ...

He first attracted political attention when he became chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party. When 6th District Congressman Robin Beard ran for the Senate against incumbent Jim Sasser in 1982, Sundquist ran for the Republican nomination to succeed Beard in the district, which had been renumbered the 7th in redistricting. He succeeded in winning the nomination in August, 1982, and then defeated Democrat Bob Clement, son of a former Tennessee governor, in the November, 1982 general election by seven points. It was the first (and as of 2005, only) time a Democrat had come within 10 points in the 7th District since it fell into Republican hands in 1972. (Clement later won election to the Nashville-based 5th District in a 1988 special election and served there until 2003). He was reelected five times, all by overwhelming margins (even running unopposed in 1984) in what had become a solidly Republican district. The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Liberal democracy History of democracy Referenda Representative democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Elections Elections by country Elections by calender Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by ideology... Shelby County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... Robin Leo Beard, Jr. ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two houses of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... James Ralph Sasser James Ralph Jim Sasser (born September 30, 1936) is a former member of the United States Senate, a Democrat who represented Tennessee from 1977 to 1995. ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Note: as an adjective (stressed on the second syllable instead of the first), august means honorable. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Robert Bob Clement (born 1944) is a Tennessee politician and a member of the Democratic Party. ... A governor is also a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ... November is the eleventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with the length of 30 days. ... A general election is an election in which all members of a given political body are up for election. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... For other cities named Nashville, see Nashville (disambiguation). ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sundquist established a very conservative voting record as a Congressman, and was a darling of conservative-oriented groups such as the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the American Conservative Union. He was regarded as a rising star by the Tennessee Republican Party. When popular Democratic governor Ned McWherter was prevented from seeking a third term in 1994 by term limits, Sundquist seemed like the logical choice for the GOP nomination, which he won with ease in August, 1994. Sundquist then won the general election in November, 1994 over Nashville mayor Phil Bredesen by a margin that surprised many pundits. It was a big night for Tennessee Republicans, who also captured both Senate seats. They also won a majority of the state's congressional delegation for only the second time since Reconstruction. He was inaugurated the 47th governor of Tennessee in January, 1995. Conservatism is any of several historically-related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... The American Conservative Union (ACU) is a large conservative political lobbying group in the United States. ... Ned Ray McWherter (born October 15, 1930) is an American politician who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1987 to 1995. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... A term limit is a provision of a constitution, statute, or bylaw which limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. ... A mayor (from the Latin maīor, meaning larger,greater) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... Governor Phil Bredesen Philip Norman Bredesen (born November 21, 1943) is the 48th Governor of Tennessee. ... In the history of the United States, Reconstruction was the period after the American Civil War when the southern states of the breakaway Confederacy were reintegrated into the United States of America. ... January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sundquist's first term was rather unremarkable, although state government grew quite rapidly in comparison to the growth of the state's economy as a whole, and he attracted no serious opposition within his party for renomination in 1998. His Democratic opponent, Nashville attorney and entrepreneur John Jay Hooker, was regarded at this stage in his career as a perennial candidate and gadfly rather than a serious contender, and Sundquist won reelection with approximately 70% of the vote. 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... An attorney is someone who represents someone else in the transaction of business: For attorney-at-law, see lawyer, solicitor, barrister or civil law notary. ... Entrepreneur is an import from the same French word. ... John Jay Hooker, Jr. ... A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is either infrequent or non-existent. ... Gadfly is a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by proving an irritant. ...

Immediately upon his reinauguration, Sundquist set out to raise more revenue for the state. which had traditionally been one of the lowest-tax jurisdictions in the country. His tax reform plan included a state income tax, previously regarded as political suicide in Tennessee. He quickly offended most of his grassroots base, and his popularity plummeted. Only certain elements in the business community supported him from the Republican Party, and many Tennessee Democrats, especially conservative rural ones, had no interest in either alienating their constituents or helping a Republican. The income tax issue dominated Sundquist's second term, but was never passed. Sundquist became very isolated politically, with many of his Democratic supporters doing so only because they wished to see the income tax implemented in a way in which the Republicans could be blamed for it, and his original conservative supporters mostly became avowed opponents, some participating in street demonstrations against him. Many leading figures in his own party publicly disavowed him. Income tax is a direct tax which is levied on the income of private individuals. ... Grassroots democracy is the political processes which are driven by groups of ordinary citizens, as opposed to larger organisations or wealthy individuals with concentrated vested interests in particular policies. ... Rural areas are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities and towns. ...

Sundquist, like McWherter before him, was prevented by term limits in the Tennessee state constitution from seeking reelection in 2002, but unlike McWherter it is highly unlikely that he could have even received the nomination of his own party, let alone have been reelected, had it been legally possible for him to have attempted to have done so. In retirement, rumor and innuendo have continued to swirl about him, which became more intense with the conviction of a fomer mid-level member of his administration in May, 2004 for illegally routing a "no-bid" contract for job training for the unemployed to a close personal friend of his. On November 4, 2004, another friend of his was indicted, charged with false statements allegedly made in conjunction with another no-bid contract, this one to connect Tennessee schools to the Internet amounting to nearly $200,000,000, and with destroying e-mails and other records pertinent to the case. In the spring of 2005, the friend mentioned in the matter above was sentenced to prison for having fraudlently received a state contract by utilizing his close relationship with Sundquist. In July 2005 a federal judge said Sundquist was the "impetus" for the investigation, although he was not yet charged with any crime. 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the month of May. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ...

In August, 2004, Sundquist "crashed" the Republican National Convention in New York City, appearing uninvited. (Rumors that an effort was going to be made to include him in the official state delegation had apparently been unfounded.) However, due to his former importance in the state and the considerable embarrassment that it would have entailed to have him removed, he was made welcome by certain members of the Tennessee delegation, many of whom had been close friends in the past. Note: as an adjective (stressed on the second syllable instead of the first), august means honorable. ... The Republican National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the United States Republican Party, is held every four years to determine the partys candidate for the coming Presidential election and the partys platform. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York and abbreviated NYC) is the most populous city in the United States, and is at the center of international finance, politics, communications, music, fashion, and culture. ...

In July 2005 Sundquist was named head of a national panel on improving Medicaid. Medicaid in the United States is a program managed by the states and funded jointly by the states and federal government to provide health insurance for the indigent (that is, it pays for medical assistance for certain individuals and families with low incomes and resources). ...