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PARKERSBURG – Former Gov. Arch A. Moore Jr., whose charisma and leadership led him to become the dominant Republican force in West Virginia for more than 30 years, died Wednesday. He was 91.
Moore’s family – Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Arch A. Moore III and Lucy Moore Durbin – confirmed his passing late Wednesday evening. No further details were available.
“Dad loved the state of West Virginia as if it were a member of our family,” a statement from the family said. “Serving West Virginians was at the core of his very being and he cherished every moment of it.
“To call our father a source of inspiration would be an understatement. He was, and will continue to be, the force that drives us and our families each and every day.”
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, who started his political career during Moore’s second term as governor, called Moore “a towering figure in West Virginia” who worked across party lines to get things done.
“I enjoyed working with him during my legislative career and appreciated his ability to negotiate and find common ground,” Tomblin said. “Joanne and I extend our sympathies to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and the entire Moore family.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., called Moore a “true political force” in West Virginia.
“Gayle and I are truly saddened to learn of the passing of Governor Moore. We send our deepest condolences to our friends Shelley, Lucy and Arch III as well as their families as they go through this difficult time. … Gayle and I join all West Virginians in keeping the Moore family in our thoughts and prayers during these painful days of mourning and memory.”
Moore twice served as West Virginia’s governor, first from 1969-77 and again from 1985-89. Prior to that he served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, from 1957-69.
He grew up in Moundsville in a strong Republican family, the grandson of the city’s mayor, F.T. Moore. He attended public schools in Moundsville before entering the Army during World War II. He rose to the rank of sergeant, and was awarded the Bronze Star as well as a Purple Heart after being shot and severely wounded in Europe.
Upon leaving the Army, Moore attended West Virginia University, where he became involved with student government and founded Mountaineer Week, which still takes place each fall. He graduated from WVU’s law school in 1951 and soon thereafter began his public service career, serving one term in the state House of Delegates, from 1953-54.
He lost a 1954 U.S. House bid but won the seat in November 1956 and remained there until he became governor in 1969.
Moore never let the Democrat Party’s numerical advantage in West Virginia keep him from his goals.
“In my party, nothing is a cake walk,” Moore was quoted as saying in John Morgan’s 1980 biographical study of West Virginia governors. “The problem is always one of numbers. I always swim upstream. It’s the only position I’ve known in my political life.”
Moore had an uncanny ability to recall names, and he used that to his advantage. In 1968, he defeated once and future Gov. Cecil Underwood for the GOP gubernatorial nomination after a bitter primary battle. Following a similarly combative race, he bested Democrat Jim Sprouse by fewer than 13,000 votes.
Moore’s first term as governor coincided with two developments that greatly changed the office’s role in West Virginia: the Modern Budget Amendment, which authorized the governor to estimate revenues and propose spending, and a constitutional change allowing an incumbent to seek a consecutive term.
The latter helped Moore become the state’s first governor since 1872 to succeed himself, winning re-election over now retired Sen. Jay Rockefeller. Capito, who served seven terms in the U.S. House, was elected to Rockefeller’s seat in November.
Although barred by a Supreme Court ruling from seeking another consecutive term in 1976, Moore was elected to a third term in 1984 after an unsuccessful run against then-Gov. Rockefeller in 1980. He also had a losing run for the U.S. Senate in 1978.
As the only West Virginia governor to serve three full, four-year terms, Moore encountered a national coal strike; a massive road-building effort; frequent disputes with public workers; multiple teacher pay raises; a 1986 prison riot at the former state penitentiary in Moundsville; and repeated clashes with the Legislature over state finances.
His tenure also was marked by the 1972 Buffalo Creek disaster. The collapse of a coal waste dam triggered a flood that killed 125 people, injured 1,100 and wiped out entire communities in Logan County.
Corruption allegations had dogged Moore since his first term. In 1975 he became the state’s first sitting governor to be charged with a crime when a federal grand jury indicted him and his campaign manager on extortion charges. They were found not guilty after a trial the following year.
Moore was indicted again on federal corruption-related charges in 1990, two years after losing his bid for a fourth term as governor. He pleaded guilty to five felonies: extortion, obstruction of justice, mail fraud, and two counts of filing false income-tax returns. Moore spent 33 months in federal confinement.
After his conviction, Moore petitioned to take back his guilty pleas, arguing he was innocent.
In his later years, Moore advised his daughter, Shelley Moore Capito, during her political career, and Republicans in the state often sought his advice before running for office, making the trip to his Glen Dale home. He had attempted to regain his law license, which he lost upon his criminal convictions, but was turned down in a unanimous 2003 state Supreme Court ruling.
Moore’s wife, Shelley Riley Moore, died in September at the age of 88.