Wyoming Governor
Dave Freudenthal




Photo from http://governor.wy.gov/

      Governor Dave Freudenthal (D)
    31st Governor of the State of Wyoming

Biography:

Dave Freudenthal was born in Thermopolis, Wyo. He graduated from Hot Springs County High School in 1969 and attended Amherst College in Massachusetts where he earned a degree in economics. He then attended law school at the University of Wyoming, graduating in 1980.

He worked as a staff economist with the state Department of Economic Planning and Development in 1974. In 1975, he became state planning coordinator for Gov. Ed Herschler. In 1978 he was named Herschler's administrative aide, serving until August 1980.

He practiced law from 1980 to 1993 at a firm specializing in defense work, administrative law, natural resource law, environmental law and general business law.

In 1994, President Clinton appointed him U.S. Attorney for Wyoming, a position he served until 2001.

He was elected governor in 2002.

He and his wife, Nancy, have four children.

Profile:

Dave Freudenthal was elected governor of Wyoming in 2002, winning as a Democrat in an overwhelmingly Republican state thanks to a conservative stance on many issues. For instance, Freudenthal is an avid hunter and supports the death penalty.

During his first two years in office, Freudenthal has continued to foster a conservative image. In 2004, he approved a hard-line stance on the issue of endangered wolves, advocating a position that would allow nearly unregulated hunting of wolves in most of Wyoming. When the federal government pressed Wyoming to loosen its stance, Freudenthal chose to sue instead. In 2008, the lawsuit was substantially resolved with a federal decision to remove wolves from federal endangered species protection.

Freudenthal has enjoyed an economic boom in a state's boom-and-bust energy economy. The main problem facing state government during his tenure has been which new programs to fund, not which existing programs to cut.

For example, in early 2006, Freudenthal signed into law legislation to begin a scholarship program that offers scholarship money to qualified Wyoming high school graduates who attend UW or one of the state's community colleges. The program has been funded with a $400 million endowment. He's also pushed for a smaller endowment program to fund wildlife habitat restoration projects around the state.

As befits a Democrat in a heavily Republican state, Freudenthal has emphasized partisan cooperation and often said he's not concerned with who gets the credit for accomplishments.

Ahead of the 2006 election, the Wyoming Republican Party launched a massive search of state government records focusing on trying to find wasteful spending by Freudenthal on such things as use of the state's jet airplanes and repairs and purchases at the governor's mansion. The request yielded little, if anything, of substance and Freudenthal went on to beat Wheatland attorney Ray Hunkins with 70 percent of the vote.

Freudenthal can claim several successes among his second-term priorities. The state budget has remained balanced. A Montana judge has at least temporarily restored wolves to the federal endangered species list, but Wyoming has succeeded in getting another species - the Preble's meadow jumping mouse - removed from federal protection in the state. Also, Freudenthal has been successful so far in limiting drilling for oil and gas in the Wyoming Range, a popular hunting and fishing area on the western side of the state.

In 2007, Freudenthal named state Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican, to the U.S. Senate following the death of Sen. Craig Thomas to leukemia. Freudenthal chose Barrasso from three people nominated by the state Republican Party.

In April 2008, after months of saying that he didn't like any of the presidential candidates, Republican or Democratic, Freudenthal endorsed Barack Obama for the presidency.

A private practice lawyer in Cheyenne, Freudenthal was appointed by President Clinton as U.S. Attorney for Wyoming, serving from 1994 to 2001.

He has been active in politics, serving as chairman of the state Democratic Central Committee and as a local precinct party chairman. He was also administrative aide to former Democratic Gov. Ed Herschler.

Campaigns:

Dave Freudenthal defeated Republican Ray Hunkins, garnering an overwhelming 70 percent of the vote in his 2006 re-election bid.In his first campaign for governor and first for elected office in 2002, Freudenthal defeated Republican Eli Bebout by a much narrow margin 50 to 48 percent.

 Above info from; http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/candidate/dave-freudenthal/


Birth Date: 10/12/1950
Birthplace: Thermopolis, WY
Home City: Cheyenne, WY