Clarence Joseph Morley (February 9, 1869 – November 15, 1948) was the 24th Governor of Colorado from 1925 to 1927, serving one two-year term. He was a Republican. Before becoming governor he was a judge in Denver, Colorado. He was a member of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

which was an important force in Colorado politics during the 1920s and largely responsible for the division of the Republican and Democratic votes that enabled him to take office.

Tenure as governor

Morely took office on January 16, 1925, in a ceremony at the Municipal Auditorium in Denver. Virulently anti-Catholic, Morley was one of the most extreme governors in Colorado history.Lynn Bartels
Bob Beauprez bypasses KKK member, attacks Hickenlooper as most "extreme" governor
, ''Denver Post'' (March 4, 2014). The Center for Colorado & the West at the Auraria Library wrote: Morely's administration was marked by "scandals and ineptitude."

Mail fraud conviction

After leaving office, Morley established C.J. Morley & Company, a stock brokerage firm in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana. In 1935, Morley was arrested on charges from mail fraud; he was convicted for 21 counts of mail fraud and using political influences to defraud customers. Sentenced to five years in Leavenworth Prison, he died three years after being released. He is buried in Denver at Fairmount Cemetery.Governor Clarence Morley
National Governors Association.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Clarence 1869 births 1948 deaths People from Dyersville, Iowa American prisoners and detainees Republican Party governors of Colorado Ku Klux Klan members American politicians convicted of fraud Politicians from Oklahoma City Critics of the Catholic Church Colorado politicians convicted of crimes