George Wallace, Jr.
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George Corley Wallace, III (often called George Wallace, Jr.), born October 17, 1951, in Eufaula, Alabama, is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner (Position 2) and was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Alabama lieutenant governor in the 2006 party primary.
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[edit] Personal life
Wallace, a former Democrat, is the only son of George Corley Wallace, Jr., and Lurleen Burns Wallace, each of whom were Democratic governors. His sisters are Bobbi Jo Parsons, Peggy Sue Kennedy, and Janie Lee Dye.
He was clipped playing football in the seventh grade, an injury for which he was hospitalized.
In 1970, Wallace graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama. He completed a bachelor's degree in history at Huntingdon College in Montgomery in 1976, and graduate work in political science and public administration at Auburn University in Auburn.
Wallace had two son from an early relationship: George C. Wallace, IV, and Robert Kelly Wallace. George C. Wallace IV died on May 12th, 2009 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
He married the former Elizabeth Grimes Maynor in 2000, and has two stepdaughters from this marriage.
[edit] Professional life
Wallace worked at Troy State University from 1978 to 1987, serving as director of financial aid and alumni affairs from 1978 to 1982 and as vice president of development and alumni affairs from 1983 to 1987.
In 1986, Wallace was elected as Alabama state treasurer and was reelected in 1990. Early in his second term, he won the Democratic nomination for Alabama's 2nd congressional district, his family's home district. He was an early favorite, especially after his expected Republican opponent, State Senator Larry Dixon, lost in the primary to newspaper publisher Terry Everett. However, Wallace lost to Everett by only 3,500 votes, largely because most of the district's black residents had been shifted to the 7th District. After his second term as state treasurer, he worked at the Center for Government and Public Affairs at Auburn University Montgomery.
Wallace joined the Republican Party sometime in the mid-1990s, and was elected to the Alabama Public Service Commission in 1998. He served two terms and stepped down in 2006.
[edit] Controversy
In June 2005 he opened up the first day of the annual national convention of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC), a conservative group that some critics describe as "white supremacist". This was not Wallace's first interaction with the CofCC; he gave speeches to the CofCC once in 1998 and twice in 1999. He has also appeared as a guest on The Political Cesspool, what some claim to be a white nationalist radio talk show that is affiliated with the Tennessee chapter of the CofCC.
[edit] Lieutenant Governor Campaign
In the June 6, 2006, Republican primary election, Wallace qualified for the runoff election, which was held on July 18, 2006. He lost to attorney and Washington lobbyist Luther Strange by a 55 percent to 45 percent margin. Luther Strange, in turn, lost the Lt. Governor's bid to another son of a former Alabama Governor; Jim Folsom. Senator John McCain of Arizona had made appearances on Wallace's behalf. Wallace was said to believe that his latest defeat could mean the end of his long career in state politics.
[edit] Return to Politics
On August 26, 2009 a prominent Alabama Political Blog reported that Wallace was considering running as a Republican in 2010 for Alabama State Treasurer, an office which he held previously for two terms. [1]
