Thomas Burton Adams Jr. (March 11, 1917 – May 22, 2006) was an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from the U.S. state of Florida. A

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 ...

, he served in the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

(1956–1960), as

Secretary of State of Florida The secretary of state of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 Constitution of Florida, state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, th ...

(1961–1971), and as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Florida (1971–1975).

Early life and career

Adams was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

to Thomas Burton Adams Sr. and the former Carolyn Hamilton. He attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Adams married Helen Brown on July 30, 1939, and had a career as a real estate developer and an insurance businessman. Adams married Frances Sue Brewer in September 1973.

Political career

Adams began his political career when he was elected to the Florida State Senate in 1956 from the 29th district, encompassing

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and Baker Counties. He served one term before being elected secretary of state in 1960, a position to which he was reelected in 1964 and 1966.

Lieutenant governor

In 1970, Democratic gubernatorial nominee

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. trade representative from 1979 ...

selected Adams as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

. Askew and Adams defeated incumbent

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor Claude Roy Kirk and Lieutenant Governor Ray C. Osborne. Adams was the second lieutenant governor following the position's reinstatement after over 80 years. He was the first Democrat to hold the position under the 1968 Constitution. Though Adams was relied upon in the 1970 gubernatorial race as a seasoned Florida political veteran, he quickly became a liability over the course of his term. Askew, acting on the recommendation of political adviser Michael G. Kimber, appointed him state Secretary of Commerce, but Adams ran into ethical problems in 1973 when it was discovered that, in debt, he was leasing a farm in

Quincy, Florida Quincy is a city in and the county seat of Gadsden County, Florida, United States. Quincy is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area, Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,970 as of the 2020 census, almost eve ...

, and was using a department employee to manage it on government time. He was forced to repay $1,736 to the state and was

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a sp ...

d by a legislative committee in lieu of impeachment. The scandal was the primary reason he was dropped from the 1974 ticket in favor of Jim Williams, who succeeded Adams as lieutenant governor after the Askew-Williams ticket's successful election.

Later life

Adams became the NASCAR National Commissioner in 1971. Adams briefly tried to make a political comeback in 1984 when he ran in a special election for a state senate seat, but he was trounced by Republican Tim Deratany by a margin of more than 2–1. Adams, a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, was a member of

Newcomen Society The Newcomen Society is an international learned society that promotes and celebrates the history of engineering and technology. It was founded in London in 1920,The Newcomen Society. '' Journal of the Royal Society of Arts'' 72 (3709): 84 (19 ...

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Kappa Psi (, often stylized as AKPsi) is the oldest and largest business Professional fraternities and sororities, fraternity. The fraternity was founded in 1904 at New York University. It is headquartered in Noblesville, Indiana. Histor ...

and

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

Death

Adams was killed in a crash on

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

at the

Suwannee County Suwannee County is a county located in the north central portion of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,474, up from 41,551 in 2010. Its county seat is Live Oak. Suwannee County was a dry county until August 201 ...

- Columbia County border at about 2:50 pm on May 22, 2006. His 18-year-old son Thomas Burton Adams III was also in the 2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac that Adams was driving at the time of the crash and was seriously injured. The accident occurred about northeast of Live Oak, the Suwannee

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. Adams did not have on his

seat belt A seat belt, also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt, is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduce ...

when the crash occurred. Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

ordered that all government buildings be flown at

half-staff Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a sal ...

in Adams' honor.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Thomas Burton 1917 births 2006 deaths Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida Democratic Party Florida state senators Lieutenant governors of Florida Secretaries of state of Florida Baptists from Florida Road incident deaths in Florida University of Michigan alumni American businesspeople in real estate American businesspeople in insurance Businesspeople from Florida 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Baptists 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature