View source for Jay Hammond

{{Short description|Governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Jay Hammond
| image               = Jay Hammond 1975.jpg
| order               = 4th [[List of governors of Alaska|Governor of Alaska]]
| lieutenant          = [[Lowell Thomas Jr.]]<br>[[Terry Miller (politician)|Terry Miller]]
| term_start          = December 2, 1974
| term_end            = December 6, 1982
| predecessor         = [[William A. Egan|Bill Egan]]
| successor           = [[Bill Sheffield]]
| office1             = President of the [[Alaska Senate]]
| term_start1         = January 11, 1971
| term_end1           = January 8, 1973
| predecessor1        = Brad Phillips
| successor1          = [[Terry Miller (politician)|Terry Miller]]
| state_senate2       = Alaska
| district2           = H
| term_start2         = January 23, 1967
| term_end2           = January 8, 1973
| predecessor2        = [[Yule F. Kilcher]]
| successor2          = [[George Hohman]]
| state_house3        = Alaska
| district3           = 13th
| term_start3         = January 28, 1963
| term_end3           = January 25, 1965
| predecessor3        = Gilbert A. Jarvela<br>Peter M. Deveau
| successor3          = Joseph E. McGill
| state_house4        = Alaska
| district4           = 15th
| term_start4         = January 26, 1959
| term_end4           = January 28, 1963
| predecessor4        = District created
| successor4          = Grant H. Pearson
| birth_name          = Jay Sterner Hammond
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1922|7|21}}
| birth_place         = [[Troy, New York]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2005|8|2|1922|7|21}}
| death_place         = [[Port Alsworth, Alaska]], U.S.
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| otherparty          = [[Independent politician|Independent]] (1958–1960)
| spouse              = {{Marriage|[[Bella Hammond|Bella Gardiner]]|1952}}
| children            = 3
| education           = [[Pennsylvania State University]]<br>[[University of Alaska Fairbanks|University of Alaska, Fairbanks]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| signature           = Jay Hammond signature 82prm.JPG
| allegiance          = United States
| branch              = [[United States Marine Corps]]
| serviceyears        = 1942–1946
| battles             = [[World War II]]
| unit                = [[VMA-214|Black Sheep Squadron]]
| caption             = Hammond in 1975
}}
'''Jay Sterner Hammond''' (July 21, 1922 – August 2, 2005) was an American politician of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], who served as the fourth [[governor of Alaska]] from 1974 to 1982. Hammond was born in Troy, New York and served as a [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] fighter pilot in World War II with the [[VMA-214|Black Sheep Squadron]]. In 1946, he moved to Alaska where he worked as a bush pilot. Hammond served as a state representative from 1959 to 1965 and as a state senator from 1967 to 1973. From 1972 until 1974 he was the mayor of the [[Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska|Bristol Bay Borough]]. Then, in 1974, he was elected [[governor]] of Alaska.

He oversaw the creation of the [[Alaska Permanent Fund]] in 1976, which, since the early 1980s, has paid annual dividends to Alaska residents. He advocated for [[balanced budget|fiscal responsibility]]. When his tenure as governor was over, he continued to be active in public life. He advocated for environmentally and fiscally responsible government and individual civic responsibility. From 1985 to 1992 he hosted a television series called Jay Hammond's Alaska. He wrote three autobiographies.

==Early life==
Jay Sterner Hammond was born in [[Troy, New York]] in 1922.  Hammond studied [[petroleum engineering]] at [[Penn State University]], where he was a member of [[Triangle Fraternity]]. He later served as a [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] [[fighter pilot]] in [[World War II]] with the [[VMA-214|Black Sheep Squadron]], and in China, until 1946. That year, Hammond moved to Alaska where he worked as a [[bush pilot]] and earned a degree in [[biology|biological sciences]] at the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks|University of Alaska]].

Hammond had one daughter, Wendy, with his first wife, but that marriage ended in divorce. In 1952, Hammond married his second wife, [[Bella Hammond|Bella Gardiner]], with whom he had two daughters, Heidi and Dana.

==Political career==
===Alaska Legislature===
{{Expand section|date=June 2011}}
Hammond served as a [[Alaska House of Representatives|state representative]] from 1959 to 1965 and as a [[Alaska Senate|state senator]] from 1967 to 1973.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=20250 | title=Our Campaigns - Candidate - Jay S. Hammond }}</ref> Hammond served in the [[1st Alaska State Legislature]] as an [[Independent (politician)|independent]], joining thirty-four [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] and five Republicans in the forty-member House.  At the time, Hammond believed that a Republican could not be elected in that particular time and place, but that he could not envision running as a Democrat on account of his upbringing and background.  He did serve as a Republican in subsequent legislatures, however.  He was Senate President in his final two years in the legislature.

===Bristol Bay Borough===
{{Expand section|date=June 2011}}
Hammond was the [[mayor]] of the [[Bristol Bay Borough]] from 1972 to 1974.  He also served as the borough's manager during his time away from the legislature in the 1960s.

===Governor of Alaska===
{{Expand section|His primary election contests versus [[Wally Hickel]], in particular his win by 98 votes over Hickel in 1978|date=November 2011}}
Hammond was elected governor in 1974 in a close result over incumbent [[William A. Egan]].  The race was complicated by two major factors, amongst others.  One was a reversal of roles of sorts, where Hammond and his running mate [[Lowell Thomas Jr.]] were identified as conservationists, confusing and splitting the traditional party base.  The other was the appearance, for the first time, of a substantial third-party candidate, Fairbanks miner and real estate developer [[Joe Vogler]].  Vogler's open contempt for the environmental movement created a further voter rift which no doubt helped Hammond.

As governor during the biggest economic boom in Alaska's history, the [[construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System]], Hammond oversaw the creation of the [[Alaska Permanent Fund]].  The concept of the Permanent Fund, originally championed in 1969 by then-governor [[Keith Harvey Miller|Keith Miller]] and ''[[Anchorage Times]]'' publisher and editor [[Robert Atwood]] on the eve of the [[Prudhoe Bay]] oil lease sale, lay dormant for years as a result of the legislature spending the proceeds of the lease sale and construction delays associated with the pipeline.  During his first term as governor, Hammond, along with a young state representative from [[Kenai, Alaska|Kenai]] named Hugh Malone, conceived a program to invest [[petroleum|oil]] [[royalties]] to cover future state [[budget]] shortfalls as well as create a long-term savings account.  Alaska voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing the Permanent Fund in 1976, one of the rare exceptions to the constitutional intent of not dedicating funds for a specific purpose.

{{Multiple image|total_width=480|image1=Bob Palmer.jpg|width1=328|height1=369|image2=Andy Warwick.jpg|width2=327|height2=380|image3=Ed Orbeck.jpg|width3=836|height3=1056|image4=Helen Beirne 1975.jpg|width4=541|height4=618|image5=Keith Specking 1977.jpg|width5=617|height5=858|footer=When Hammond defeated Egan for the governorship in 1974, he recruited a number of legislators to serve in his cabinet and in the governor's office.  From left: senator W. I. "Bob" Palmer ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Ninilchik, Alaska|Ninilchik]];  chief of staff and later policy advisor), representative Andy Warwick (R-[[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]];  commissioner of administration) and representative-elect Ed Orbeck ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-Fairbanks; [[Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development|commissioner of labor]]) joined the Hammond administration at the onset.  Representatives Helen Dittman Beirne (R-[[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]]; [[Alaska Department of Health and Social Services|commissioner of health and social services]]) and Keith Specking (R-[[Hope, Alaska|Hope]];  policy advisor) both left the legislature to join the administration two years later.}}
Since the early 1980s, the Permanent Fund has paid annual [[dividends]] to Alaska residents, under a program in which credit has been variously given to, or taken by, Hammond, Malone, [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] state representative [[Dick Randolph]] and numerous other Alaskan politicians of the day.  At around the same time, Alaska eliminated its state income tax.  Hammond is often erroneously credited for this;  in fact, he was actually staunchly opposed to the idea.<ref name="newbook">{{cite news|title=New Hammond book published in Homer|first=Naomi|last=Klouda|url=http://homertribune.com/2011/06/new-hammond-book-published|newspaper=[[Homer Tribune]]|location=[[Homer, Alaska|Homer]]|date=June 22, 2011|access-date=November 6, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905024531/http://homertribune.com/2011/06/new-hammond-book-published/|archive-date=September 5, 2011}}</ref>  The elimination of the income tax was actually championed by Randolph, who persuaded his fellow legislators to pass the bill after mounting an [[Popular initiative|initiative]] to force a public vote should the legislature not act.  A 1980 episode of the [[public television]] program ''Alaska Review'' (currently held in the collections of the [[Alaska Film Archives]]) prominently featured an edited "debate" between Hammond and Randolph on the subject, centered on the fact that Alaska faced a one-billion-dollar budget surplus that year.

As governor, Hammond advocated for fiscal responsibility, and introduced an [[constitutional amendment|amendment]] to the [[Alaska Constitution]] limiting state spending.  This was mocked by one legislator as "Spendy Limitation," with an accompanying elegant and obfuscatory statement mimicking Hammond's unique way with the English language.  He advocated for another constitutional amendment providing for governors to serve a single 6-year term without possibility of further service.  He felt it would allow governors a free hand in accomplishing their goals.  He also championed a program which opened large amounts of state-owned lands near [[Delta Junction]] for agricultural use.  While greater aspects of the program have been variously condemned as a "[[Boondoggle (project)|boondoggle]]" over the years, Delta Junction has managed to emerge as one of the larger agricultural producing communities in Alaska.  He also vigorously fought with the legislature over power struggles between the two branches of government, culminating with four proposed constitutional amendments on the 1980 ballot, all of which failed by large margins.

==Later life==
[[File:Jay Hammond.jpg|thumb|175px|Hammond during the last year of his life]]
After his tenure as governor, Hammond continued to be active in public life. He advocated for environmentally and fiscally responsible government, and individual civic responsibility. Hammond wrote articles for newspapers in Alaska, and appeared in public service announcements on [[television]].  He hosted a television series called ''Jay Hammond's Alaska'' from 1985 to 1992.  Hammond survived a rafting accident on August 6, 1988, while shooting an episode of the series on the Tana River in [[Wrangell-St. Elias National Park]].  Killed in the accident were Larry Holmstrom, the show's executive producer, Holmstrom's daughter Maria, and cameraman Ronald Eagle.  Three others on the raft besides Hammond also survived, including one who also fell into the water of the [[International Scale of River Difficulty|Class IV river]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Film crew's raft trip ends in death; former governor escapes injury in Wrangell St. Elias accident which claims 3|first=David|last=Hulen|newspaper=[[Anchorage Daily News]]|publisher=[[The McClatchy Company]]|location=[[Anchorage]]|date=August 8, 1988|page=A1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://alaskawhitewater.8m.com/whitewaterdeaths.htm|title=Recent Alaska Whitewater Accidents|first=Ted|last=Coats|date=June 9, 1999|work=TC's Alaska Whitewater Rafting Page|access-date=November 5, 2011|archive-date=September 25, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000925051606/http://alaskawhitewater.8m.com/whitewaterdeaths.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Hammond wrote three [[autobiographies]], ''Tales of Alaska's Bush Rat Governor: The Extraordinary Autobiography of Jay Hammond, Wilderness Guide and Reluctant Politician'', ''Chips from the Chopping Block: More Tales from Alaska's Bush Rat Governor'' and ''Diapering The Devil: How Alaska Helped Staunch Befouling by Mismanaged Oil Wealth; a Lesson for Other Rich Nations''.  The latter book, published in 2011, was co-edited by Hammond's granddaughter Lauren Stanford.<ref name="newbook"/>  Hammond also wrote the preface to ''Brother Asaiah, As Remembered by Martha Ellen Anderson and Friends'', a memoir of the life of [[Homer, Alaska|Homer]] businessman and peace activist Brother Asaiah Bates, which was published in 2006 following the deaths of both Bates and Hammond.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Brother Asaiah|first=Carey|last=James|url=http://homertribune.com/2007/01/brother-asaiah|newspaper=Homer Tribune|location=Homer|date=January 17, 2007|access-date=November 5, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516104419/http://homertribune.com/2007/01/brother-asaiah/|archive-date=May 16, 2012}}</ref>

Hammond's last major public appearances were in early 2004, centered around the Conference of Alaskans convened by governor [[Frank Murkowski]].  Murkowski, recalling the spirit of the constitutional convention, assembled fifty-five delegates from across Alaska to meet at the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]] to tackle specific questions regarding Alaska's fiscal future.  Apart from launching the political career of [[Mark Neuman]], who proclaimed himself to be one of the few ordinary people amongst the delegates<ref>{{cite news|title=Future of fund is now|first=Tom|last=Kizzia|newspaper=Anchorage Daily News|publisher=The McClatchy Company|location=Anchorage|date=February 8, 2004|page=A1}}</ref> and who was elected to the state house later that year, little was accomplished by the conference in the end.  Hammond spent much of the conference holding court outside of the [[William Ransom Wood#Wood Center|Wood Center]] ballroom where sessions were held,<ref>{{cite news|title=Conference begins with plea for a tax|first=Richard|last=Mauer| newspaper=Anchorage Daily News|publisher=The McClatchy Company|location=Anchorage|date=February 11, 2004|page=A1}}</ref> espousing his own solutions, which included doubling the amount of the Permanent Fund dividend and restoring the state income tax, the latter of which was strongly opposed by Murkowski.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hammond plan goes on the table|first=Steve|last=Lindbeck|newspaper=Anchorage Daily News|publisher=The McClatchy Company|location=Anchorage|date=February 11, 2004|page=B6}}</ref>  The delegates responded to Hammond by endorsing an income tax proposal, which delegate [[Clark Gruening]] described as a "declaration of independence" from Murkowski.<ref>{{cite news|title=Delegates favor an income tax|first1=Sean|last1=Cockerham|first2=Richard|last2=Mauer|newspaper=Anchorage Daily News|publisher=The McClatchy Company|location=Anchorage|date=February 12, 2004|page=A1}}</ref>  Several weeks after the conference, Hammond spoke before [[Commonwealth North]], proclaiming that he would spend $50,000 of his own money if necessary to campaign for his dividend and income tax plan.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hammond to put mouth where his money lately is|first=Peter|last=Porco|newspaper=Anchorage Daily News|publisher=The McClatchy Company|location=Anchorage|date=March 5, 2004|page=B1}}</ref>

==Death==
Hammond lived at his homestead on [[Lake Clark]], until his death at age 83 on August 2, 2005. According to his wife, Bella, he died peacefully in his sleep.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Alaska|Biography|Politics}}
;Biographical
* [http://100years.akleg.gov/bio.php?id=1139 Jay Hammond] at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature''
;Photos from [[Elmer E. Rasmuson Library|Alaska's Digital Archives]]
{{Div col|small=yes}}
* [http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg21&CISOPTR=12563&REC=12 Hammond, pre-politics] – Hammond standing by his airplane.
* [http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg21&CISOPTR=10085&REC=2 House of Representatives of the 1st Legislature] – Hammond is third from left in the third row back.
* [http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg21&CISOPTR=11287&REC=17 Inauguration] – Hammond speaking at his inauguration, 1974.  Bella Hammond is to his left; [[Jay Rabinowitz (jurist)|Jay Rabinowitz]] is at right.
* [http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg21&CISOPTR=10446&REC=16 with Gerald Ford] – Governor Hammond with U.S. President [[Gerald Ford]], U.S. Senator [[Ted Stevens]] and U.S. Representative [[Don Young]] at [[Eielson Air Force Base]], November 29, 1975.
* [http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg21&CISOPTR=11295&REC=22 ''Good Morning America''] – Hammond being interviewed by [[David Hartman (TV personality)|David Hartman]] on ''[[Good Morning America]]''.
* [http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg21&CISOPTR=11299&REC=26 with Chris Pearson] – Hammond with [[Yukon]] premier [[Chris Pearson (politician)|Christopher Pearson]] at the Alaska-Yukon border in May 1981.
* [http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg21&CISOPTR=2416&REC=6 with George Parks] – Hammond helps to celebrate the 99th birthday of [[George Alexander Parks]] on May 29, 1982
* [http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cdmg21&CISOPTR=11301&REC=29 Capital move press conference] – Alaska's surviving governors (excepting [[Waino Hendrickson]]) gather for a press conference on the capital move ballot issue, July 1982.
{{Div col end}}
;Latter-period works by Hammond on fiscal issues
* [http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/062203/opi_myturn.shtml ''Juneau Empire''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040810171620/http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/062203/opi_myturn.shtml |date=2004-08-10 }} – Editorial written by Hammond in 2003 on state spending
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040920113212/http://www.conferenceofalaskans.com/pdf/Hammond_letter.pdf Open letter on the Alaska Permanent Fund and state budget deficit]
*{{C-SPAN|53166}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-ak-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=District created}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[Alaska House of Representatives]]<br>from the 15th district|years=1959–1963}}
{{s-aft|after=Grant H. Pearson}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Gilbert A. Jarvela<br>Peter M. Deveau}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[Alaska House of Representatives]]<br>from the 13th district|years=1963–1965}}
{{s-aft|after=Joseph E. McGill}}
|-
{{s-par|us-ak-sen}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Yule F. Kilcher]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[Alaska Senate]]<br>from the H district|years=1967–1973}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Hohman]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Brad Phillips}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[Alaska Senate]]|years=1971–1973}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Terry Miller (politician)|Terry Miller]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[William A. Egan|Bill Egan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of governors of Alaska|Governor of Alaska]]|years=1974–1982}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bill Sheffield]]}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Keith Harvey Miller]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[List of governors of Alaska|Governor of Alaska]]|years=[[1974 Alaska gubernatorial election|1974]], [[1978 Alaska gubernatorial election|1978]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Tom Fink]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Alaska}}
{{Presidents of the Alaska Senate}}
{{AK Republican gubernatorial nominees}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Jay}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in Alaska]]
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[[Category:United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II]]
[[Category:American expatriates in China]]
[[Category:American United Methodists]]
[[Category:Aviators from Alaska]]
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[[Category:Governors of Alaska]]
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[[Category:Military personnel from Troy, New York]]
[[Category:Penn State College of Engineering alumni]]
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[[Category:Republican Party governors of Alaska]]
[[Category:United States Marines]]
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[[Category:University of Alaska Fairbanks alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Alaska]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Alaska Legislature]]