Berkeley Lloyd Bunker (August 12, 1906 – January 21, 1999) was an American businessman and politician who served as both an appointed

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and one-term member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

in the mid-20th century.

Early life

Born in what was then St. Thomas,

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada with 2,265,461 residents as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county is the location of the state's three largest cities, Las Vegas (t ...

(now a northern arm of

Lake Mead Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. L ...

), he attended public schools, graduating from Clark County High School in 1926. Bunker married Lucile Whitehead, then entered the tire and oil business in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

in 1934.

Political career

State legislature

The

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Bunker was a member of the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member distri ...

from 1936 to 1941, serving as speaker in 1939.

U.S. Senate

When

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Key Pittman Key Denson Pittman (September 19, 1872 – November 10, 1940) was a United States senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party, serving eventually as president pro tempore as well as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. ...

died just after reelection in 1940, many candidates sought to be appointed as replacement. On November 26,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Edward P. Carville surprised the state and appointed Bunker as Pittman's replacement for the term ending January 3, 1941, and also for the term ending January 3, 1947, serving until December 6, 1942, when a duly elected successor qualified. The young new senator, whom Carville likely chose as a compromise candidate because (as an observer later said) "Nobody was mad at Berkeley Bunker", later claimed to be the "most surprised man in the state" as he had not asked for the job. Bunker was the first

southern Nevada Southern Nevada (SNV) is a region and the southern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada which includes the Las Vegas Valley. It also includes the areas in and around Pahrump and Pioche. Tonopah and Hawthorne are sometimes also referred to as pa ...

n, and first Nevadan Mormon, to serve in federal office. As a senator he made headlines by accusing Basic Magnesium of having negotiated a contract with the government to get exorbitant profits. Bunker lost to former governor James Scrugham in the Democratic primary for the 1942 special election.

U.S. House

He was elected in 1944 as a

to Nevada's only House seat after he had defeated incumbent Maurice Sullivan in the primary and Republican former actor

Rex Bell Rex Bell (born George Francis Beldam; October 16, 1903 – July 4, 1962) was an American actor and politician. Bell primarily appeared in Western Film, Western films during his career. He also appeared in the 1930 movie ''True to the Navy'', star ...

in the general election. In 1946 he introduced a bill to incorporate

Boulder City, Nevada Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ...

, removing it from federal control, but the bill never made it out of committee.

Run for U.S. Senate

When Scrugham died in 1945 Carville resigned so that

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Vail Pittman would succeed him and appoint him to the vacancy. In what he later called "the biggest mistake of my political career", instead of running for reelection to the House, Bunker challenged Carville in the Democratic primary for the 1946 election. Bunker won, but according to fellow Democrats, he had committed what the ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' later described as the "heinous crime of political ingratitude, becoming a party pariah." Observers expected Bunker to easily defeat Republican

George Malone George Wilson Malone (August 7, 1890 – May 19, 1961) was an American civil engineer and United States Republican Party, Republican politician. He served as a U.S. Senator from Nevada from 1947 to 1959. Early life Malone was born in Fredonia, ...

, but the Democratic vote was divided and Malone won.

Later career

Bunker became a hotel manager and then joined his brother in founding the Bunker Brothers mortuary. Bunker ran for lieutenant governor in 1962 but lost to Republican

Paul Laxalt Paul Dominique Laxalt ( ; August 2, 1922 – August 6, 2018) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 22nd governor of Nevada from 1967 to 1971 and a United States senator representing Nevada from 1974 until 1987. A member ...

, in part because former Carville supporters still resented his defeat of their candidate in 1946.

Death

His wife Lucile Bunker died in 1988. He soon married Della Lee in 1989. Bunker died in 1999 and was interred in Bunker's Eden Vale Cemetery. He was the last living senator who was serving at the time of the United States' declaration of war on Japan, which precipitated the United States' participation in World War II, and was the last living person who had served as a senator during the time FDR was president. Berkeley L. Bunker Elementary School in Las Vegas is named after him.Berkeley L

Personal life

Bunker was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. He served a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

for the church in the southern United States after high school and before his marriage. After his time in the Senate, Bunker served as bishop of a LDS ward in Las Vegas, and was involved with the building of the

Las Vegas Nevada Temple The Las Vegas Nevada Temple is the 43rd operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The temple was announced in April 1984. The temple has six spires, one of which is topped by an angel Moroni statue. This t ...

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunker, Berkeley Lloyd 1906 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in the United States Democratic Party members of the Nevada Assembly Democratic Party United States senators from Nevada People from Clark County, Nevada American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nevada Latter Day Saints from Nevada 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Nevada Legislature