Gayle McKeachnie
Gayle McKeachnie (born 1943) is a Utah Republican politician and former Lieutenant Governor of Utah.
Education
Gayle McKeachnie received his B.A. from the College of Southern Utah and his J.D. from the University of Utah. For a time, Governor McKeachnie was an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School.[1]
Public office
Gayle McKeachnie was elected to four terms in the Utah State House of Representatives. From 1985-86 he served as the majority whip for the Republican party. After his service in the state legislature, McKeachnie served as the chairman of the Board of trustees for Utah State University.[2]
It was while serving as a university trustee that McKeachnie became Utah's fifth Lieutenant Governor. In October, 2003, Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt resigned his office, having been appointed to a position in the Bush Administration. Governor Leavitt was succeeded by his lieutenant governor, Olene S. Walker, and to fill the vacancy that she had left in the office of Lieutenant Governor, Governor Walker appointed Gayle McKeachnie.
The Walker-McKeachnie administration was short lived, however. In May of 2004, at the Utah State Republican Convention, Governor Walker failed to win her party's nomination to seek a full term, and in January of 2005, both she and her lieutenant governor, Gayle McKeachnie, left office.
Today
Today the former lieutenant governor continues to be deeply involved in Utah politics and policies. He is renowned in Utah as an expert on rural issues, including gas and oil-field discoveries. His expertise in both rural and energy issues makes him a highly sought-after advisor. McKeachnie serves the Huntsman administration as the leader of Rural Affairs. Governor McKeachnie is also a close confidante of current Lieutenant Governor Gary R. Herbert.
McKeachnie also currently serves as a member of the Board overseeing the School and Institutional Trust Lands Association.