Legacy of a Governor: The Life of Indiana's Frank O'Bannon

Legacy of a Governor: The Life of Indiana’s Frank O’Bannon Book Description Legacy of a Governor carries Frank O’Bannon’s story from a far corner of Indiana, in tiny Corydon, to the governor’s mansion in Indianapolis. Years before securing his own legacy, O’Bannon was challenged to fulfill his family legacy. O’Bannon’s grandfather, Lewis M. O’Bannon, an active Indiana Democrat, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 1924. O’Bannon’s father, Robert P. O’Bannon, perpetuated the family legacy, serving in the Indiana State Senate from 1950 to 1970. Growing up in Corydon, O’Bannon developed qualities of the quintessential Hoosier— honest, hardworking, amicable. The skill of listening, of “taking everything in,” would serve him well in politics.When Robert O’Bannon retired from politics in 1970, Frank O’Bannon would not deny his heritage or his love for public service and won his father’s vacant seat in the Indiana Senate. In 1979, he rose to minority leader, a position he held through the rest of his tenure as a state senator. Legacy takes us inside the governor’s race of 1988, when O’Bannon put aside personal ambition to join 32-year-old Evan Bayh’s ticket as lieutenant governor, which cemented the first gubernatorial Democratic victory in 20 years. Fighting an uphill battle during the 1996 election, the 66-year-old O’Bannon overcame an early deficit in the polls and the perception of being too old by skillfully delivering political ads where he spoke one on one with voters, a “devastatingly good” performance that won him the state’s highest office. A fierce Democrat, but interested in progress, he skillfully guided a divided Indiana legislature to achieving a $2 billion surplus while cutting taxes, enacted several reforms in the state’s education system, and pushed through important security measures after 9/11. Legacy offers an analysis of the failure of O’Bannon to win legislation of the full-day kindergarten program and his administration’s handling of the massing 1999-2000 fish kill in the White River in central Indiana. Finally, Legacy provides an inside view of September 8, 2003, the day O’Bannon suffered a massive stroke, as stunned officials in Indianapolis made arrangements to transfer power to Lt. Governor Joe Kernan while mourning a friend. Through his years of leadership and ability to work with others, O’Bannon embodied the adage that nice guys do finish first.