John C Vivian
30th Governor
Governors: Bill Ritter | Bill Owens | Roy R Romer | Richard D Lamm | John D Vanderhoof | John A Love | Stephen LR McNichols | Edwin C Johnson | Daniel IJ Thornton | Walter W Johnson | William L Knous | John C Vivian | Ralph L Carr | Teller Ammons | Ray H Talbot | Edwin C Johnson | Williams H Adams | Clarence J Morley | William Sweet | Oliver H Shoup | Julius Gunter | George Carlson | Elias M Ammons | John Shafroth | Henry Buchtel | Jesse F McDonald | James H Peabody | Alva Adams | James H Peabody | James B Orman | Charles S Thomas | Alva Adams | Albert W McIntire | Davis H Waite | John L Routt | Job A Cooper | Alva Adams | Benjamin H Eaton | James B Grant | Frederick W Pitkin | John L Routt | Territorial governors: John L Routt | Edward McCook | Samuel E Elbert | Edward McCook | Alexander C Hunter | Alexander Cummings | John Evans | William Gilpin |
28th Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governors: Jane E Norton | Joe Rogers | Gail Schoettler | Sam Cassidy | Mike Callihan | Nancy E Dick | George L Brown | Ted Strickland | John D Vanderhoof | Mark Anthony Hogan | Robert Lee Knous | Frank L Hays | Stephen LR McNichols | Gordon Llewellyn Allott | Charles Murphy | Walter Walford Johnson | Homer L Pearson | William Eugene Higby | John C Vivian | Frank J Hayes | Raymond Herbert Talbot | Edwin C Johnson | George Milton Corlett | Sterling Byrd Lacy | Robert Fay Rockwell | Earl Cooley | George Stephan | James A Pulliam | Moses E Lewis | Stephen R Fitzgarrald | Erastus R Harper | Fred W Parks | Arthur Cornforth | Jesse F McDonald | Warren Armstrong Haggott | David Courtney Coates | Francis Patrick Carney | Jared L Brush | David Hopkinson Nichols | William Story | William Grover Smith | Norman H Meldrum | Peter W Breene | William H Meyer | Horace Austin Warner Tabor | Lafayette Head |
Biography
By George Orlowski
Colorado's governor during the tumultuous period of the Second World War (1943-1947) was John Charles Vivian. At a time when the whole of America was being tested as a nation, the Colorado home front remained relatively peaceful. Both of Vivian's two-year terms brought about no single great event, which could stand testimony to the solid approach he took towards public service. Quiet as things were, Vivian accomplished transforming Colorado from a strongly rural, mining dependent collection of counties into a progressive industrial-scientific state.
John C. Vivian's grandparents settled near Arvada, Colorado, in 1860. Vivian's father, John F. Vivian, was very politically active throughout his entire life. When John Charles was born on June 30, 1889, in Golden, Colorado, his father had already become a powerful member of the local Republican Party. John F. Vivian had started out as a Precinct Committeeman and Chairman for Jefferson County. He would serve as a Republican National Committeeman, and three time State Chairman of the party. The eldest of his two sons, John Charles, would follow the road his father prepared for him and would become Colorado's thirty-eighth governor.
Our "spend nothing governor," as he was referred to by his opponents, graduated from Golden High School in 1905. At the University of Colorado at Boulder, he played bass drum in the marching band, and was band leader his senior year. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1909. Vivian would complete his formal education at the Denver University Law School where he attained a Bachelor of Laws degree the summer of 1913.
Governor Vivian enjoyed two hobbies, the first of which was writing. While at Boulder he worked as state editor of the Boulder branch of the old Denver Times. He also wrote for the Rocky Mountain News as a city editor in metro Denver. He quit writing for newspapers in 1911 to follow a career as a lawyer, but would keep on writing prose and verse. In 1937, his poems and epigrams started to see publication in many nationally circulated newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune and New York Times. He was criticized in some social circles as being snobbish for not publishing his work in the local papers, while his reputation for simple verse seemed too "yocal local" for the publishing elite. He transcended this problem by the use of a pen name: Vivian Varian. John Charles Vivian always referred to himself as a newspaperman at heart. Teller Ammons and Ralph Carr were the only other governors to share the occupation as newspapermen.
Vivian's second hobby was music. As mentioned previously he was a drummer in college. He also played the piano. Vivian was known to sit down and entertain guests with his piano playing whether at home or in front of an audience. His interest in music was shared by his wife, Maude Charlotte Kleyn, a professor from the University of Michigan's School of Music. Born in Holland, Michigan, she migrated to Colorado after their marriage and was very active with her husband promoting the performing arts in Denver.
The political influence of the Vivian family grew with John's appointment as City Attorney for Golden, Colorado, from 1914-1917. After serving in the Marines during World War I, he became the Jefferson County Attorney in 1922 and held that position for 10 years. It was during this time that John Charles Vivian, his father, and their families, held so much political power, that people would refer to the City of Golden and Jefferson County as, "the county of Vivian."
Under Ralph Carr's administration (1939-1943) John Vivian became Lieutenant Governor. Unknown circumstances surrounded the closed door nomination of Vivian as the Republican Gubernatorial Candidate in 1942. It has been speculated that the two other candidates could not compete with the elder Vivian's political influence. Whatever the reasons, John Charles Vivian won the Republican nomination and then the general election, becoming Governor of Colorado in 1943.
All Colorado governors up until 1943 were salaried at five thousand dollars per year. Vivian became the first ten thousand dollar per year governor. Vivian was known to be very penurious, hence the designation as the "spend nothing governor." In the interest of the war-time economy, he turned down a post election celebration after his gubernatorial victory and did not use the service of a police squad car to chauffeur him around. He lived at his own home, and drove himself around in an older high mileage state-owned vehicle.
Vivian was also fiscally conservative in the way he governed. He reduced the number of state employees; abolished the service tax; created no new taxes; accepted no monies from the federal government; and left office having amassed a thirteen million dollar surplus in the state's general fund. Vivian's administration concerned itself with highway safety, conservation, uniform state laws, veteran's benefits, and the creation and passage of the Colorado Labor Peace Act. He believed that citizens should have the opportunity to voice their opinions directly to the governor, so he instituted an open door policy for his office. Monday through Friday, from three to three-fifteen in the afternoon, preceding his daily press conference, Vivian's office was open to anyone who wanted to see him for any reason.
Very little conflict occurred during Vivian's administration except in 1944, when, in one fell swoop the federal government drafted thirty young men from Delta county into the Armed Forces. Many county citizens were convinced that the Selective Service Program was inadvertently sabotaging the war effort at home by drafting so many young men that were needed on the farms. Outraged citizens descended upon Vivian's open door demanding that something be done. Vivian countermanded the draft order, and made it stick. This was the first time that a governor had ever challenged the power of the Selective Service Program and won.
Despite his political experience and his family influence, Vivian ran for the U.S. Senate on the Republican ticket in 1948, but lost. After retiring from public office, Vivian became associated with the law firm of Vivian, Sherman and Kinney in Denver. He also became the Colorado Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Hoover Report. The Hoover Commission, established by Congress in 1947, strove to reorganize the federal government for greater economy and efficiency. Vivian was also a member of Masonic Lodge #1 in Golden, Colorado, and attended the Episcopal Church. He died of cancer at the age of seventy-six, on February 10, 1964, in Golden, Colorado.