Former TN Lt. Governor John Wilder suffers stroke-served in post for 36 years

Former Tennessee Lieutenant Governor John Wilder has suffered a stroke and is reportedly in "serious" condition at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis:
 

 

“At this point there are a lot of unanswered questions,’’ said Shelton Wilder, who discovered his father Monday afternoon at his home. “But we’ve got a lot of hope and a lot of faith. We appreciate all the concern of people.’’

Wilder was Senate speaker for 36 years, making him the longest-serving presiding officer of a legislative chamber in modern U.S. history. As lieutenant governor from 1971 to 2007 he was also the second-ranking official in the state. He retired from the Legislature in 2008.

Shelton Wilder said his family appreciates all the concern. “They’ve been most gracious to us,’’ he said.

Wilder was Senate speaker for 36 years, making him the longest-serving presiding officer of a legislative chamber in modern U.S. history. As lieutenant governor from 1971 to 2007 he was also the second-ranking official in the state. He retired from the Legislature in 2008.

While it is commonly accepted these days even by his traditional allies that John Wilder probably served around a decade longer than his prime, those of us on the other side of the aisle must acknowledge in the name of decency and respect that not only did Wilder serve Tennessee as Lieutenant Governor for 36 years, but for most of them Wilder served with great distinction, and with a class and grace rarely seen in the politics of today.

Yes, a lot of us favor an elected State judiciary, something Wilder vehemently opposed and which put him at odds with the two-time gubernatorial nominee of his own Democratic Party, John Jay Hooker, but he was also a man who saw to it that Tennessee was kept in great financial condition, and Tennessee has one of the best road systems in this part of the country due in large part to the efforts of John Wilder. One Republican legislator told me after Ron Ramsey defeated John Wilder for Lieutenant Governor and Senate Speaker in 2007 that "you don't stay in power as long as Wilder did and things be bad all the time, and we need to remember that."

How deep was John Wilder's legacy? I happened to be at the Capitol the day before Wilder officially announced his retirement (and was also there on the day itself), and passed by Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey's office as Wilder was leaving, and bumped right into Governor Wilder. As rumors were already swirling at the Plaza, I knew why Wilder had been in Ramsey's office-formerly his own-and why he was leaving it. Yet all I could think about as Governor Wilder said hello and said how nice it was to "see us up here" was "I am having a conversation with John Wilder-I wish I had a camera." I talk to legislators all the time about serious business, yet this little encounter left me nearly dumbstruck, and all I could manage to say was "Governor Wilder, it is a great honor sir...," and it certainly was.

Let us all pray, regardless of our political affiliation, for Governor Wilder and his family.