Bert Combs The Politician

Bert Combs The Politician

Author: George W. Robinson

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2021-12-14

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 0813188962

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Bert T. Combs was governor of Kentucky from 1959 to 1963, but his impact on the Commonwealth continues to be felt. The state sales tax, toll road expansion, and extensive aid to public education are only a few examples of the enduring significance of his administration. This is the story of Combs's political life as remembered by him and by some sixty others who shared with him parts of that experience. Based on a two-year oral history project, this study shows how Combs emerged from an Eastern Kentucky background to become an outstanding jurist and a progressive political force in Kentucky. Not merely a recitation of Combs's achievements, this book reveals dramatically the processes by which many of them were accomplished. Describing political maneuvering, patterns of compromise, and inside stories behind important decisions, the interviewees add an otherwise missing flavor to the Combs story. This book will be attractive to political practitioners as well as to students of Kentucky history and appreciators of oral history.


Kentucky's Governors

Kentucky's Governors

Author: Lowell H. Harrison

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2014-10-17

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0813159741

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Compiled and edited by Lowell H. Harrison, the essays in Kentucky's Governors profile every chief executive of the Bluegrass State from eighteenth-century governor Isaac Shelby to Ernie Fletcher. First published in 1985, this edition of Kentucky's Governors is expanded and revised to include governors Wilkinson, Jones, Patton, and Fletcher, as well as new information on respected figures such as Louie B. Nunn. An introduction by Kentucky's historian laureate, Thomas D. Clark, provides key insights into successive governors' evolving constitutional powers and their changing roles in political debates and policy formation. Following Clark's overview, each chapter presents significant biographical information while detailing the campaign, election, achievements, strengths, and weaknesses of each governor. To aid in further research, each contributor lists several suggested sources, both primary and secondary, for additional investigation into the lives and careers of Kentucky's leaders. A thorough index is also included to facilitate reference within this updated and revised edition. The profiles in Kentucky's Governors give insights into each leader's engagements with economic development, education, agriculture, and taxes, issues that have helped define two hundred years of history in the Bluegrass State.