Jay Sterner Hammond
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Jay Sterner Hammond (born July 21 1922) is an American Republican politician who was the Governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982. He was born in Troy, New York in 1921. He studied petroleum engineering at Penn State University, and later served as a Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II, and in China, until 1946.
In 1946 Jay Hammond moved to Alaska where he worked as a bush pilot and got a degree in biological sciences at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He became politically active, serving as a state representative from 1959 to 1965, state senator from 1967 to 1972, mayor of the Bristol Bay Borough from 1972-1974, and governor of Alaska from 1974-1982.
As governor during the biggest economic boom in Alaska's history, the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, Jay Hammond oversaw the creation of the state government's most popular, and famous program, the Alaska Permanent Fund. The Permanent Fund as envisioned by Mr. Hammond is a program to invest oil royalties to cover future state budgets, but has since the early 1980s also paid out annual dividends to residents of the state of Alaska.
As governor, Jay Hammond advocated (and continues to advocate as a private citizen) fiscal responsibility, and in addition to setting up the Permanent Fund, also passed a constitutional amendment limiting state spending.
After his term as governor, Jay Hammond continued to be active in public life. As Alaska's most respected politician, he has continued to advocate environmentally and fiscally responsible government, and individual civic responsibility. He has continued to write articles for newspapers in Alaska, and occasionally appears in public service announcements on television.
Jay Hammond hosted a television series, "Jay Hammond's Alaska," from 1985 to 1992. He has also written two autobiographies, "Tales of Alaska's Bush Rat Governor: The Extraordinary Autobiography of Jay Hammond Wilderness Guide and Reluctant Politician," and "Chips from the Chopping Block: More Tales from Alaska's Bush Rat Governor."
Jay Hammond lives in Port Alsworth, Alaska.
External links
- Newspaper editorial on state spending by Jay Hammond (http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/062203/opi_myturn.shtml)
- Open letter on the Alaska Permanent Fund and state budget deficit (http://conferenceofalaskans.com/pdf/Hammond_letter.pdf)
| Preceded by: William A. Egan | Governor of Alaska 1974–1982 | Succeeded by: William J. Sheffield |