Jerry Ward (born July 19, 1948) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

politician and businessman.

Early life

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

born in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

, Ward served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and was in the Navy

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Forces (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Dependi ...

s. Ward was in the real estate business.

Political career

In 1982, Ward was elected to the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people pe ...

as a Republican, serving from 1983 until 1985. In 1990, he won the Alaska Independence Party primary for Lt. Governor. However, he and his running mate, gubernatorial candidate

John Howard Lindauer John Howard Lindauer II (born November 20, 1937) is an American economist who served as chancellor for the University of Alaska Anchorage from 1976 to 1978 then was Dean of the School of Business and Public Affairs. He was the Republican Party (Un ...

, stepped aside in favor of former Governor

Walter Hickel Walter Joseph Hickel (August 18, 1919 – May 7, 2010) was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994, as well as U.S. Secretary of the Interior f ...

, and the defecting Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, state Senator

Jack Coghill John Bruce "Jack" Coghill (September 24, 1925 – February 13, 2019) was an American politician and businessman who was the sixth lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1990 to 1994, serving under Governor Walter Hickel. Both were members of the A ...

, who won the general election over ex-Anchorage Mayor, Democrat Tony Knowles and state Senator Willie Hensley, with Republican state Senator Arliss Sturgulewski finishing third. In 1996 and 2000 he won elections to the

Alaska State Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejectin ...

. In 1998, running again for statewide office, he joined now-Republican Lindauer as his lieutenant governor candidate. Thanks in part to a campaign financing scandal, their ticket finished far behind incumbent Governor Knowles and third behind a write-in candidate, state senator Robin L. Taylor. Ward was defeated for reelection in 2002 by prison opponent and City of Kenai mayor

Tom Wagoner Thomas H. Wagoner (born September 19, 1942) is an American politician and businessman who served in the Alaska Senate from 2003 until 2013. Biography Wagoner was born in 1942 in Pylesville, Maryland. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, BA in t ...

of the Republican Moderate Party. He lost again in 2004 to Wagoner, by then a Republican. During his terms in the state senate, Ward was substantially involved in numerous failed attempts to build Alaskan

for-profit prison A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people are imprisoned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit priso ...

s. Those schemes eventually resulted in federal criminal prosecutions of numerous corporate executives and Republican legislators. Although he wasn't charged, Ward remained under investigation as of 2009. On December 15, 2008, the ''

Anchorage Daily News The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska. The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorage, ...

'' reported that Ward was implicated in the probe. He had been accused of a conspiracy involving Bill Weimar to accept an illegal $20,000 campaign contribution.Alaska's political corruption scandal reaped prison, vindication, and uncertainty for the accused
''

'', Jill Burke, February 11, 2011 (Updated June 30, 2016). Retrieved July 4, 2022. Weimar had a $5.5 million interest, contingent solely on the approval and building of a

Cornell Companies Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired b ...

prison in Alaska. On August 23, 2004, Weimar sent a $3,000 check toward the settlement of a $20,000 invoice from a political consultancy. Later that same day he sent by express mail $8,500 in cash drawn from a

Polson, Montana Polson (Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language, Montana Salish: nčmqnétkʷ, Kutenai language, Kutenai: kwataqnuk) (, ) is a city in Lake County, Montana, United States, on the southern shore of Flathead Lake and within the Flathead Indian Reservatio ...

bank. A day later he sent another $8,500 in cash drawn from the Polson bank, according to federal court documents. Daily cash transactions of over $10,000 mandate federal reporting per the

Bank Secrecy Act The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA), also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, is a U.S. law requiring financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies in detecting and preventing money laun ...

. Ward allegedly convinced a witness in the trial against Senator Ted Stevens to lie about an immunity deal in court to ensure that Ward was included in it and would therefore not be prosecuted. According to federal prosecutors, Ward had been under investigation for some time over his relationship with Weimar, ultimately convicted of two felony counts in the matter, receiving a federal prison sentence. While he also was presumed to be under continued investigation, Ward was not charged. In 2006, Ward ran once more for Lt. Governor in the Republican primary but was defeated by

Sean Parnell Sean Randall Parnell (born November 19, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who was the tenth governor of Alaska from 2009 to 2014.

. Ward ran

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's 2016 presidential campaign in Alaska, was rewarded with a position in the Department of Education, but resigned not long afterward.Trump's loyalist army is getting swallowed up by the swamp
'' Vanity Fair'', Abigail Tracy, April 6, 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.

References

External links

Jerry Ward
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Jerry 1948 births Living people 20th-century Alaska Native people 21st-century Alaska Native people Republican Party Alaska state senators Alaskan Athabaskan people Alaskan Independence Party politicians American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Native American state legislators in Alaska Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska Military personnel from Anchorage, Alaska United States Navy sailors 20th-century members of the Alaska Legislature