WARREN HEARNES HAS SERVED MISSOURIANS WELL

Warren E. Hearnes, whose remarkable career made him the first Missourian to serve two terms as governor, has retired at age 73 from his job directing legal services for poor people, a position he has held since 1981. In a lifetime of public service, Hearnes went far from his native Mississippi County and made Southeast Missourians proud that one of our own could achieve such renown on the state and national stages.

Educated at West Point, Hearnes returned to Missouri and, in 1950, won the Mississippi County seat in the House of Representatives while a student at the University of Missouri School of Law. He served five terms in the House, during which he mastered parliamentary procedure and rose to majority floor leader. In 1960, he took the chance of running for Secretary of State and was elected. In 1964, he took perhaps his boldest chance: Challenging the entrenched Democratic establishment for his party's nomination for governor. With incredibly hard work in a primary campaign, the 41-year-old Hearnes defeated the favored establishment candidate, Lt. Gov. Hilary Bush. Easy victory followed in the general election that November.

Hearnes' tenure as governor during the turbulent 1960s was marked by a number of firsts. Convincing the legislature and the people to adopt a constitutional amendment repealing the one-term limit on governors' service allowed him to run again in 1968, when voters gave him a landslide re-election. His eight years in office coincided with the baby boom consort and saw huge expansions in education, and especially in higher education. The same is true of mental health. It can fairly be said that the Hearnes' years saw Missouri move out of the dark ages where delivery of mental health services is concerned.

Hearnes faced enormous challenges, as when he called out the National Guard to quell the Kansas City riots of 1968. Upon rounding out his two terms, Hearnes was widely mentioned as a possible vice presidential nominee in 1972. After leaving office, Hearnes became the object of a federal grand jury investigation that dragged on for years and effectively ended further political hopes. This investigation was enormously unfair, and at its conclusion, the Hearnes were actually owed a small refund from the government on their taxes. Later service included a stint as circuit judge and the legal services job. In the latter, especially, Hearnes the effective manager took a troubled outfit and made it work for its poor clients throughout 12 Southeast Missouri counties.

We join Missourians in saluting the governor and thanking him for his years of effective service to our state.