During the period from 1931 to 1967 -- thirty-six years -- Kentuckians
elected only one Republican as governor of the Commonwealth. Yet that
man, a former justice of the state's highest court, seldom appears as
other than a footnote in the standard histories. That is unfortunate,
for Simeon Willis of Ashland made a fine record as governor, assuming
the office during World War II and leaving it strengthened in a postwar
world.
In this new volume in the Public Papers of the Governors of Kentucky
series, editor James C. Klotter has assembled 173 documents and public
statements, so that the Willis administration may be examined in depth
for the first time.
Such an examination is long overdue, for Willis sought to accomplish
much under difficult circumstances. Hindered by the opposition party's
control of the legislature and operating under wartime restrictions, the
Willis administration nevertheless made path-breaking moves in
education, health care, transportation, and civil rights.
Many of the same difficulties Kentucky has faced in more recent years
also existed during Willis's term. How he dealt with those puzzles can
be instructive for today's citizens and leaders. Willis faced budget
problems, sought to increase aid to education, confronted a conflict
over the presidency of what is now Morehead State University, and
attempted to increase tourism in the state. His calls for change would
be echoed by later governors.
