David Pryor was a Democratic politician who served as governor of Arkansas in the 1970s, as well as representing the state in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
- Died: April 20, 2024 (Who else died on April 20?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Little Rock, Arkansas at the age of 89.
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David Pryor’s legacy
Pryor served the people of Arkansas in politics for most of his career, and he was a popular governor and senator, but first, he had a brief career in journalism. He founded the Ouachita Citizen newspaper in 1957 and was its publisher for four years before his 1960 election to the state House of Representatives. While he served there, he also attended law school at the University of Arkansas, a time in his life that he later said was hectic. In 1966, Pryor was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the first of three terms.
As a representative, Pryor focused on the welfare of the elderly, among other issues. He became concerned with the quality of nursing home care after visiting several facilities incognito and finding them understaffed and poorly run. In the U.S. House, he founded an unofficial committee on aging, the precursor to and inspiration for the House Select Committee on Aging that launched not long after he left the House.
In 1975, Pryor was elected governor of Arkansas, and he went on to serve two two-year terms in the governor’s mansion. He went straight from that position to the U.S. Senate in 1979. There, he served three terms, again working for America’s seniors as a member, then chairman, of the Special Committee on Aging. Among other concerns, he worked to keep prescription drug prices manageable. In 1998, Pryor was a sponsor of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, offering rights to those facing audits by the IRS.
During his third term in the Senate, Pryor suffered heart issues, and he didn’t seek a fourth term. After his time in the Senate, he served on the board of directors of the Clinton Foundation, spent a year as interim chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party, and was the first dean of the newly-established Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas from 2004 to 2006.
Notable quote
“I served in the House, I served in the Senate. You walk into the House chamber, and it is almost like a raucous basketball gymnasium to an extent. The Senate, you are walking into your den, the living room. Before C-SPAN covered the Senate, it was very dimly lit …It was a cozy place to become very comfortable.” — from a 2009 interview for C-SPAN
Tributes to David Pryor
Full obituary: Arkansas Democrat Gazette
