Edgar Jacob Herschler (October 27, 1918 – February 5, 1990) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 28th governor of Wyoming from 1975 to 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the longest-serving governor of Wyoming, with three full terms; since a two-term limit for governors was approved by a ballot initiative in 1992, he has remained as such.

Early life

Edgar Jacob Herschler was born in

Kemmerer, Wyoming Kemmerer is the largest city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. Its population was 2,415 at the 2020 census. History Explorer John C. Frémont discovered coal in the area during his second expedition in 1843. Th ...

, on October 27, 1918, to Edgar Fuller Herschler and Charlotte Jenkins. During his childhood, he was initially taught at his family's ranch before later attended high school in Kemmerer. In 1941, he graduated from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Law. In 1949, he earned his LL.B from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

. Herschler served in the

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during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He served as Kemmerer's city attorney and then as Lincoln County attorney from 1951 to 1958 and from 1961 to 1963.

Career

Legislature

On June 15, 1960, he filed to run for the Democratic nomination for one of Lincoln County's three seats in the

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming Legislature, Wyoming State Legislature. There are 62 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the Wyoming, st ...

and won in the general election. Upon taking office he introduced a bill that would repeal Wyoming's

inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...

. However, after the initial forty day session of the house he resigned on March 10, 1961, to become Lincoln County's attorney again, but filed to run for the house again in 1962 and won a seat in the general election placing second. In the 1964 elections the Democrats took control of the state house and in the 1965 legislative session Herschler was selected as House Majority Whip and made chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. In 1967, he cosponsored the first air pollution control bill in Wyoming and on September 13, 1968, he was elected as president of the Wyoming State Bar Association. He was considered a possible candidate for governor in the 1970 election, but stated on December 10, 1969, that he was not interested in running for governor. On April 27, 1970, he announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination for

Wyoming's at-large congressional district Wyoming's at-large congressional district is the sole congressional district for the US state of Wyoming. It is the third largest congressional district in the United States in terms of land size. The district is currently represented by Harriet ...

, but was defeated by former Representative Teno Roncalio who went on to win in the general election. On October 27, he endorsed Roncalio following his defeat in the August primary. In 1971 he stated that he was contacted by Governor

Stanley K. Hathaway Stanley Knapp Hathaway (July 19, 1924 – October 4, 2005) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Wyoming, 27th governor of Wyoming from 1967 to 1975 and as the 40th United States secretary of the interior under Pre ...

as being a possible appointment to the

Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees submitted by the ...

, but was not selected.

Governor

On May 23, 1974, he announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for governor and defeated former state senator Dick Jones in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. He was critical of President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

for his agricultural stances and water projects and when Carter visited Grand Teton National Park from August 24 to September 1, 1978, he had Herschler notified that he was not invited. In

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, he narrowly won reelection by 2,377 votes, but easily won reelection to a third term in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

becoming Wyoming's only governor to serve more than two terms. In 1986 he announced that he would not seek reelection to a fourth term. In September 1981

Cody, Wyoming Cody is a city in and the county seat of Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after Buffalo Bill Cody for his part in the founding of Cody in 1896. The population was 10,028 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, making Cod ...

hosted the

Western Governors Association The Western Governors' Association (WGA) is a non-partisan organization of all 22 United States governors (representing 19 U.S. states and 3 U.S. territories) that are considered to be part of the Western region of the nation. The WGA also invit ...

's annual conference of that year and Herschler was selected as president of the Western Conference to serve a one-year term from 1981 to 1982. In 1985, he commuted the sentences and ordered the releases of Deborah and Richard Janhke Jr., who were both convicted in 1983 of manslaughter in the 1982 death of their abusive father, Richard Jahnke Sr., in Cheyenne and who were the subjects of the television film Right to Kill? In September 1985 he had to file for bankruptcy due to the failure of his 18,500 acre Yellowstone Ranch with almost $6 million in debt. During his tenure he vetoed more bills than any other governor in Wyoming's history, but none of his vetoes were ever overridden despite the Republicans holding supermajorities in both chambers during most of his tenure. Some of his vetoes were unpopular such as when in 1984 he vetoed a homeowners tax credit program stating that it would subsidize homeowners who did not need it which resulted in the Democrats losing seven seats in the House of Representatives.

Later life

After leaving office, he returned to practicing law in Cheyenne, and in 1988, multiple people attempted to convince him to run in the Senate election against

Malcolm Wallop Malcolm Wallop (February 27, 1933 – September 14, 2011) was an American rancher and politician. He served as a United States Senator from Wyoming from 1977 to 1995. He was a member of the Republican Party. Early years Wallop was born at Doct ...

, but he chose not to. In February 1988, he endorsed and campaigned for Senator

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

for the Democratic presidential nomination and on March 5 Wyoming became the first of seven contests that Gore won in the

presidential primaries Each of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five territories of the United States holds either primary elections or caucuses to help nominate individual candidates for president of the United States. This process is designed t ...

. His successor as governor, Mike Sullivan, supported cigarette tax hikes and smoking bans and was added to Phillip Morris' list of smokers' enemies and in May 1988 Herschler criticized him for it and suggested that municipalities that ban smoking should not be given money from cigarette tax revenues. In early December 1989, he was hospitalized for cancer treatment and released on December 15, but was re-hospitalized in January 1990. On February 5, 1990, he died in Cheyenne after suffering from cancer at age 71.

Electoral history

Legacy

Herschler is considered to be Wyoming's most popular governor, being the only governor to serve more than two terms. Herschler Triangle Park in Kemmerer, WY is named after him.

References

External links

National Governors Association info page for Edward Herschler
*Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978'', Vol. 4. Westport, Connecticut: Meckler Books, 1978, 4 vols. *The Council of State Governments: ''The Governors of the American States, Commonwealths, and Territories 1900–1980'' (1980) {{DEFAULTSORT:Herschler, Edgar Jacob 1918 births 1990 deaths Democratic Party governors of Wyoming Democratic Party members of the Wyoming House of Representatives Wyoming lawyers United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II University of Wyoming alumni Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming People from Kemmerer, Wyoming Military personnel from Wyoming 20th-century American lawyers Deaths from cancer in Wyoming 20th-century American Episcopalians Recipients of the Silver Star 20th-century members of the Wyoming Legislature