Meldrim Thomson, Jr.

Meldrim Thomson, Jr.
82nd Governor of New Hampshire
In office 1973 – 1979
Preceded by	Walter R. Peterson, Jr.
Succeeded by	Hugh J. Gallen
Born	March 8, 1912 Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania
Died	April 19, 2001 Orford, New Hampshire
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Anne Gale Kelly
Profession	publisher

Meldrim Thomson, Jr. (March 8, 1912 – April 19, 2001) was a Republican who served three terms as Governor of the U.S. state of New Hampshire from 1973 to 1979, during which time he became known as a strong supporter of conservative political values.

Early life

Thomson was born in 1912, in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, the son of the son of Meldrim and Marion (Booth) Thomson. He was raised in Georgia and Florida^[1] and was an Eagle Scout. In 1938, he married his secretary, Anne Gale Kelly, and together they had six children. Thomson made his fortune publishing law books. In 1952, he founded Equity Publishing Corp., which published the laws of New Hampshire, Vermont and Puerto Rico in English and Spanish. In 1955, he moved his family to New Hampshire, where he became involved in local and state educational and tax issues.

Political career

In 1966, as chairman of the Orford School Board, Thomson refused to accept federal education aid because he said there were too many strings attached. He lost races for governor in Republican primaries in 1968 and 1970, that last time running again in the fall on the third-party American Independent ticket of Alabama's George Wallace.^[2] He won the governorship in 1972 after a campaign in which he pledged to veto any sales or income tax that was put on his desk and further promised not to raise taxes. ^[3] Thomson ran briefly for the presidency in 1980. He ran again for the governorship of New Hampshire in 1980 as a Republican and in 1982 as an Independent, but lost both races.

Low Taxes and Low Spending

Adopted the slogan "Low taxes are the result of low spending" to represent his administration's economic philosophy. He eventually became recognized as one of the most conservative governors in the nation. During his governorship, and after, Tomson was well known for actions that brought contempt from his detractors and praise from his supporters, which included:

• having an aide examine his political opponents' tax records, a move later invalidated by the New Hampshire Supreme Court
• traveled to South Africa, where he praised the treatment of blacks under apartheid.
• suggesting nuclear weapons for the state National Guard.^[4]
• calling Martin Luther King Jr. "a man of immoral character, whose frequent association with leading agents of communism is well established."
• putting state flags at half-staff to mourn the U.S. recognition of China, the signing of the Panama Canal Treaty, the ousting of Taiwan from the Olympic Games and on Good Friday to honor the "death" of Jesus Christ.^[5]
• ensuring that a Massachusetts driver who gave the finger to Thomson's gubernatorial car lost his privilege to drive in New Hampshire.
• pulling a $750 state grant from a literary magazine because he objected to a poem titled "Castrating the Cat."
• during the anti-nuclear demonstrators in Seabrook in 1977, dressing in military fatigues and being carried in by helicopter to personally order the arrest of 1,400 protesters.^[6]
• personally arrested speeders from his official car.^[7]
• calling out the state National Guard when two 1960s radicals Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman spoke at the University of New Hampshire, and having the student leader who invited them arrested.

It was during Thomson's tenure that "Live Free or Die" was placed on New Hampshire's license plates; it is one of best-known state mottoes in the country. Also during his tenure, the state reinstituted the death penalty, which gave Thomson great satisfaction.^{[neutrality disputed]} Thomson also abolished a majority of New Hampshire's taxes (income, capital gains, sales, etc.). He was also a strong proponent of state sovereignty. When Thomson learned Massachusetts tax agents were at New Hampshire liquor stores taking down the numbers on cars with Massachusetts license plates, he had them arrested.^[8] When he learned that Maine had arrested a Portsmouth (New Hampshire) lobsterman, in Maine waters, he began what was known as the "Lobster war." The conflict ended in the U.S. Supreme Court with the drawing of an ocean boundary between the two states at the mouth of the Piscataqua River. Thomson was also responsible for the rise of David Souter. In 1978, Thomson appointed Souter to the Superior Court bench. Twelve years later, Souter became a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Thomson was a close ally of William Loeb, the extremely conservative publisher of the New Hampshire Union Leader, New Hamsphire's only statewide newspaper. He died in 2001 aged 89 from Parkinson's Disease and heart problems in Orford, New Hampshire. In 2002, the state named a both a state building and state road in honor of the late governor. The state office complex on Hazen Drive in Concord was named "Meldrim Thomson, Jr. State Office Complex." A 16-mile stretch of Route 25A, where his Mt. Cube Farm lined both sides of the road, was named the "Governor Meldrim Thomson Scenic Highway."

Presidential Bid

Thomson was one of Ronald Reagan's staunchest supporters in 1976, as the former California governor challenged President Gerald Ford for the Republican presidential nomination. Thomson was dismayed by Reagan's announcement that he would select Pennsylvania Senator Richard Schweiker as his running mate should he win the nomination. ^[9] After his defeat for reelection in 1978, Thomson left the Republican party to form his own Constitution Party. However, that party did not get on the ballot in any state in 1980, and Thomson lost interest in that project. ^[10]

References

External links

• Thomson at New Hampshire's Division of Historic Resources
• NH.gov bio
• Hart, Jeffrey. "Meldrim Thomson, R.I.P - former New Hampshire governor - Brief Article - Obituary", 2001-05-14. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. (English) 
• Bernotas, Adolphe V.. "Former Gov. Thomson dead at 89", Portsmouth Herald, 2001-04-20. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.