Voting Station

Lester Maddox

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U.S. Governor

The Resume

    (September 30, 1915-June 25, 2003)
    Born in Atlanta, Georgia
    Governor (1967-71) and Lieutenant Governor (1971-75) of Georgia
    Ran for president as nominee of the American Independent Party (1976)

Why he might be annoying:

    When blacks tried to get served at the restaurant he owned, he would chase them off, wielding a handgun or ax handles.
    He eventually sold the restaurant to his employees rather than serve blacks.
    He refused to let Martin Luther King, Jr., lie in state in the capitol building.
    As Lieutenant Governor, he constantly feuded with Governor Jimmy Carter.
    After his political career ended, he formed a nightclub act with Bobby Lee Spears, a former busboy at his restaurant, performing as 'The Governor and the Dishwasher.'
    He tried to pay off his campaign debts by selling off his memorabilia, including a number of signed ax handles.
    He was a founding member of the white separatist Council of Conservative Citizens (1988).

Why he might not be annoying:

    Despite having campaigned on a 'states rights' platform, he was often progressive on racial matters as Governor.
    He appointed more blacks to state office than any previous Governor, including the first African American to head a state department (the Board of Corrections).
    He ordered state troopers to stop using the word 'nigger' and to address blacks using 'Mr.' rather than by their first name.
    Asked what could be done to improve conditions in Georgia's jails, he quipped that they needed a better class of prisoner.
    Urged to declare bankruptcy to wipe out his campaign debts, he replied, 'I'd rather die.'
    He was married to his wife Virginia for 61 years until her death.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 71 Votes: 66.20% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 17 Votes: 76.47% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 220 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 71 Votes: 39.44% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 22 Votes: 81.82% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 25 Votes: 56.00% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 37 Votes: 45.95% Annoying