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Bill Phelps | |
|---|---|
 Phelps in 1975 | |
| 40th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri | |
| In office January 8, 1973 – January 12, 1981 | |
| Governor | Kit Bond Joseph P. Teasdale |
| Preceded by | William S. Morris |
| Succeeded by | Ken Rothman |
| 20thChair of the National Lieutenant Governors Association | |
| In office 1979–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas P. O'Neill III |
| Succeeded by | Chuck Robb |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Cunningham Phelps (1934-04-05)April 5, 1934 |
| Died | March 19, 2019(2019-03-19) (aged 84) |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Joanne |
William Cunningham Phelps (April 5, 1934 – March 19, 2019) was an AmericanRepublicanpolitician andlawyer fromMissouri. Phelps was born and raised inNevada, Missouri.[1]
Phelps attended theUniversity of Missouri and graduated with a degree in economics in 1956 and a law degree in 1959. Following graduation he began practicing law with aKansas City firm.
Phelps was elected to theMissouri House of Representatives from the Kansas City area in 1960 and was re-elected five times. In 1972, he was elected the 40thLieutenant Governor of Missouri and was re-elected in 1976. Phelps campaigned on a pledge to be Missouri's first "full time" Lieutenant Governor and upon his election to that office, he gave up the practice of law. In 1980 Phelps was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination forGovernor of Missouri. He lost the Republicanprimary election to former GovernorKit Bond.
After a sixteen-year absence from public life, in 1996 Phelps ran for Congress inMissouri's 4th congressional district. Phelps won the primary, but was defeated in November by the incumbent,Ike Skelton. Phelps worked as the national spokesman for Americans for Fair Tax, a group that advocates replacing the income tax with a national sales tax.[2]
Phelps died inHouston,Texas following a short illness. He was 84.[3]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forLieutenant Governor of Missouri 1972,1976 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Missouri 1973–1981 | Succeeded by |
