Governor Jesse Ventura example essay topic

The person of my choice just so happens to be the 38th person to govern the state of Minnesota: Jesse Ventura. Governor Jesse Ventura to was elected to take office January 4th, 1999 and his term just ended January 6th of this year. He was elected as a Reform Party candidate, but later switched to the Independence Party. Since becoming governor, he had not curbed his flamboyant side that was evident since his days as a professional wrestler. Ventura has on more that one occasion upset a large portion of Minnesota's citizens by his words or actions. There were a lot of questions concerning the type of leader he represents and his ethical framework while he was governor of Minnesota.

Jesse Ventura was born in Minneapolis in 1951. He graduated high school in South Minneapolis before attending a community college in North Hennepin for one year. His college career ended when he entered the Navy and was trained as a SEAL. He served for six years in the Navy, four on active duty and two in the reserves. His Naval career took him to active fighting in Vietnam.

Ventura then earned an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1973, which at the time he was 22. He enjoyed an eleven-year career in professional wrestling. Jesse "the body" Ventura started his wrestling career in the Minnesota-based American Wrestling Association. After his time in the AWA he moved up to the more popular World Wrestling Federation.

He developed a medical condition in 1986 that sustained his active wrestling competition. Faced with retiring from pro wrestling, Ventura quickly became one of the most flamboyant announcers in wrestling history. During his time announcing he became a successful actor. He starred in many movie, most notably The Running Man, Predator, and Batman & Robin. After his acting career declined, he was a commentator for NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers before coming a talk show host for KST P-AM in the Twin City area. He resigned from radio broadcasting to pursue a successful bid for the mayoralty of Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis.

He served one as mayor of Brooklyn Park from 1991 to 1995. His role as mayor was not as influential as a persona like Ventura could have attained, due to the weak-mayoral system. The weak-mayoral system yields little actual power, as the mayor's vote has the same power as the other board members. He served more as a spokesperson for the board. He kept busy in his personal life and was frequently criticized for failing to appear at a consistent level of meetings. While his decision was influenced by the criticism he faced, it turned out to be the deciding factor not to run again.

Jesse Ventura retired from the political arena after his one term as mayor of Brooklyn Park. He appeared destined to pursue a non-political lifestyle. He returned to radio as a talk show host for KF AN-1130 AM. He was seen mostly as a Minnesota celebrity during his life after serving as mayor. On January 26th, 1998, however, Jesse Ventura announced his intent to run for governor to a widely uncaring media.

Ventura's was readily dismissed as a publicity stunt by most branches of the media and quickly forgotten. Jesse Ventura's gubernatorial campaign began gaining momentum during the televised debates with the top three candidates. Republican Norm Coleman, current mayor of St. Paul, attorney general of Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey, and Jesse Ventura engaged in a series of television debates during the 1998 gubernatorial election. What would have been normally a two-candidate race became a three party race at the insistence of DFL candidate Hubert Humphrey. Ventura was not seen as a threat to the other candidates and his poll numbers after the televised debate were below ten percent. Near the end of the 1998 campaign, Jesse Ventura was closing the gap between his other two opponents.

It was only on election day that the people of Minnesota realized that Jesse Ventura had a fair shot at winning the race. Millions of young people voted for the first time in the 1998 gubernatorial election and they voted for Ventura. Many elderly people were discontented with the current state of politics also voted for him. It became clear later that night of election day that Jesse Ventura would be Minnesota's 38th governor.

Jesse Ventura is not a career politician. He is not a Democrat or a Republican. He is a working man with commonsense ideas and goals. He describes himself politically as fiscally conservative and socially moderate-to-liberal. He is an advocate of minimal government interference and minimal public reliance on government, which means lower taxes.

He feels neither of the two parties represent the people anymore and they are at opposite extremes with 70 percent of us in the middle. This is why he is a member of the Reform Party. Ventura is a Minneapolis native with working-class roots. He has a indelibly blue collar. He belongs to the private sector, which he says he will be returning to once his term as governor is over. I think this is one reason Minnesota elected him was because they know where he is coming from because he came from the same place.

Ventura is not easy to ignore. He is big, he is loud, and he si not afraid to say what he thinks. Honesty, is one of the moral values he lives and dies by. He tells the truth, stands tall and speaks freely, even when it is not politically expedient to do so.

This is where I think Ventura was well respected but it sometimes was not ethical to do so. Throughout all that he has done as Governor in his first two years, Ventura retained extremely high levels of approval. Along with the controversial, he continues top ask intriguing political questions that churn thought-provoking debates. Among his personal goals as governor, he wants the State legislature system to take a vote on whether Minnesota should have a unicameral legislative system. Having one house instead of both the Senate and House of Representatives. Although the unicameral system was an unpopular idea when Ventura first broached the topic in 1999, the idea gained supporters through Ventura's support of the plan.

Governor Jesse Ventura took a stand on a lot of issues. Government Reform, Term Limits, Campaign Reform, Legal Reform, Taxes, Consumption Tax vs. Income Tax, Refunds for Budget Surplus, Education, The Military, and Social Issues are many of the issues he had voiced an opinion about. He probably voiced his opinion the most on Social Issues such as crime, death penalty, drunk driving, marijuana, prostitution and drug possession, drug dealing, gun control, abortion, welfare, and health care. He did not tackle these issues all in four years time.

There is no way anyone could make a difference with tha many topics and that little time. He did pick a handful of issues that he did focus on while as governor. There were three that he felt had the greatest effect on all the other problems and challenges we face day to day. Reforming the tax system, the government takes too much of our money and spends too much inappropriately. Reforming the public-school system and help families reinvest in neighborhood schools, with better education and more parental and community support, kids will be far less vulnerable to most the social problems we face today. Encouraging people to get involved with their government, so they can do there part to make it what they think it should be.

In respect to the Principles of Ethical Leadership I believe he sometimes did not show justice or respect others. I do believe he manifests honesty, serves others, and built community. I guess I would argue that he is a mix of a transformational leader and a transactional leader. Transformation ally he is a motivator and takes consideration and is individualized.

Transaction ally he has a contingent reward, he is active and passive.

Bibliography

Minnesota Legislative Manual. Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, 1999-2000.
Minnesota Legislative Manual. Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, 2001-2002.
Ventura, Jesse. "I ain't got time to bleed". Villard Books. 1999.