Michael Delavan Ward (born January 7, 1951) is an American former politician and radio talk show host who served as a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is a volunteer senior advisor to Louisville Mayor

Craig Greenberg Craig Greenberg (born August 22, 1973) is an American businessman, lawyer, and politicianWhite Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

on January 7, 1951. Ward's mother, Lukey Ward, was a political and civil rights activist, and Ward has often said publicly that he was born into politics. Lukey Ward was, along with her friend Georgia Davis, the day-to-day manager of the Kentucky chapter of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African Americans, African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., ...

. She and Georgia were at the Lorraine Motel, waiting to go to dinner with Dr. King, when he was

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

as he exited his room. Ward's father, Jasper Ward III, was a well-known award-winning architect in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. His buildings include the Student Center at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

and the Jewish Doctors Office Building at Interstate 65 and Liberty Street. Ward is also the great-great-grandson of Jasper D. Ward, a former 1800s Chicago Congressman and great-grandson of businessman William Delavan Baldwin. Ward attended the University of Louisville, from which he earned a business degree. Before his election to congress, he served as a sales executive. Ward has been married to Tina Heavrin since 1975.

Political and radio career

From 1989 to 1993, Ward served as a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

representing the Highlands area of Louisville. He was first elected to the state house in 1988, defeating incumbent Republican Jack Will. He had previously lost a special election to Will in August 1987. He resigned from the house in November 1993 in order to run for congress. In 1994, he was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

, winning Kentucky's Third Congressional District seat that was being vacated by Romano L. Mazzoli. Ward was one of few Democrats to win an open seat in the Republican congressional landslide that year. Ward narrowly defeated a field of candidates including Charlie Owen in the primary, and defeated Republican nominee Susan Bush Stokes, a fellow member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, in the general election. His Campaign TV advertising was directed by Kevin Geddings of Geddings Communications LLC of Washington, DC. In 1996 Ward lost his seat in the general election to Republican

Anne Northup Anne Meagher Northup (born January 22, 1948) is an American Republican politician and educator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1997 to 2007, she represented the Louisville-centered 3rd congressional district of Kentucky in the Unite ...

. Ward did not run again for the seat. Ward was appointed by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

as the Associate Director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

and served through Clinton's second presidential term. From 2002 to 2005, Ward hosted a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

show in Louisville that was a liberal counterweight to conservative talk radio programming. Ward was a political consultant with the Saint Communications Group until 2010 when he established WardCampaigns, Inc. Ward has spent the years since 2005 working for a wide variety of candidates and causes in over 20 states including races at every level of elected office. In 2021 Ward created Blue Wave America,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Mike 1951 births American talk radio hosts Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Living people Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Politicians from White Plains, New York Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky Radio personalities from Louisville, Kentucky University of Louisville alumni 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly