Dave Leroy
United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator
In office
1990–1993
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byRichard H. Stallings
36th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 5, 1987
GovernorJohn Evans
Preceded byPhil Batt
Succeeded byButch Otter
28th Attorney General of Idaho
In office
January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983
GovernorJohn Evans
Preceded byWayne Kidwell
Succeeded byJim Jones
Prosecuting Attorney of Ada County, Idaho
In office
1974–1979
Personal details
Born
David Henry Leroy

(1947-08-16) August 16, 1947 (age 76)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Idaho (BS, JD)
New York University (LLM)
WebsiteOfficial website,
Campaign website

David Henry Leroy (born August 16, 1947)[1] is an American lawyer and politician from Idaho. He is a past lieutenant governor and attorney general of Idaho. He was the state's 36th lieutenant governor between 1983 and 1987, the final four years of the administration of Governor John V. Evans.

Leroy was appointed by President George H. W. Bush as United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator in 1990,[2] and served in that capacity until 1993. He has been a practicing attorney in Boise since 1988, and deals with government and administrative law issues, criminal defense and family law trials, hearings, litigation, and counsel at local, state, and federal local levels.[3]

Leroy is a self-taught Abraham Lincoln expert,[4] and founded the Idaho Lincoln Institute.[5]

Education

Leroy graduated from Lewiston High School in 1965,[6] then attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he was ASUI president (1967–68) and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[4][7][8][9] After receiving a bachelor's degree in business in 1969, he continued at the College of Law and earned a J.D. degree in 1971, then added an LL.M. degree at New York University.[4]

Career

Ada County Prosecuting Attorney

Was elected prosecuting attorney in Ada County, Idaho, in 1974 and served two terms.[4][10][11]

Attorney general

At age 31, Leroy was elected Attorney General of Idaho in 1978, easily defeating Boise attorney Mike Wetherell for the open seat.[12][13] At the time, he was the youngest attorney general in the nation.[14]

Lieutenant governor

He was elected lieutenant governor in 1982 and succeeded Phil Batt, who was the Republican nominee for governor that year.[14]

Gubernatorial

Leroy was Republican nominee for governor in 1986, but narrowly lost in the general election to former Democratic Governor Cecil Andrus.[15]

Nuclear Waste Negotiator

Because of the Indians' great care and regard for Nature's resources, Indians are the logical people to care for the nuclear waste. Radioactive materials have half-lives of thousands of years [and] it is the Native American culture and perspective that is best designed to correctly consider and balance the benefits and burdens.

— David Leroy[16]

Leroy was appointed the first head of the Office of the United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator in 1990, which identified Native American tribes that could host spent nuclear fuel. In a 1991 speech to the National Congress of American Indians, Leroy stated the Native American's tradition of long-term culture made them especially suited for storing nuclear waste, including quotes from Chief Seattle. This led to sharp negative reactions from the audience, calling it Machiavellian and Orwellian.[17][18][16]

Idaho's 1st Congressional District

In 1994, Leroy ran for Congress in the first district and finished second in the Republican primary, behind Helen Chenoweth with 27.8% of the vote.[19]

Leroy announced his candidacy for the open seat in Congress in Idaho's first district on May 12, 2017.[20] He lost the Republican primary in May 2018 to Russ Fulcher, taking second with 15.6% of the vote.[21]

Personal

Leroy is a grandfather with two children, Jordan a lawyer and mom, and Adam, an archaeologist and father. Leroy's wife Nancy is a former Miss Boise and Miss Boise State University, and has a degree in Sociology from BSU.[22]

In 2009, Leroy signed a petition in support of Polish film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after he was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and anally raping a 13-year-old girl.[23]

Notes

  1. ^ Nomination of David H. Leroy To Be Nuclear Waste Negotiator Accessed 25 January 2008
  2. ^ Kenyon, Quayne (July 29, 1990). "Former Idaho 'hot property' eyes a hot seat". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. p. 3B.
  3. ^ "Credentials | David H. Leroy | Attorney at Law | Boise, ID". David H. Leroy | Attorney at Law | Boise, ID. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  4. ^ a b c d "David H. Leroy – IDAHO LINCOLN INSTITUTE". looktolincoln.org. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  5. ^ Release, Press. "Press Release: New Idaho Institute Seeks Wisdom of Lincoln". idahopoliticsweekly.com. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  6. ^ "Leroy elected LHS president". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). April 24, 1964. p. 14.
  7. ^ "Leroy, England elected to top spots". Idaho Argonaut. (Moscow). (University of Idaho). March 8, 1967. p. 1.
  8. ^ "ASUI President". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1968. p. 116.
  9. ^ "Sigma Alpha Epsilon". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1966. p. 354.
  10. ^ "Credentials | David H. Leroy | Attorney at Law | Boise, ID". David H. Leroy | Attorney at Law | Boise, ID. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  11. ^ Campaign Page
  12. ^ "Dave Leroy, Idaho Attorney General". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (advertisement). November 5, 1978. p. 7C.
  13. ^ "Evans will have a GOP sidekick". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 8, 1978. p. 1A.
  14. ^ a b "Leroy appears headed for victory". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 3, 1978. p. 1A.
  15. ^ "Idaho candidates conciliatory; labor leaders lick their wounds". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 6, 1986. p. A1.
  16. ^ a b Nancy B. Collins; Andrea Hall (1994). "Nuclear Waste in Indian Country: A Paradoxical Trade". Law and Inequality. p. 267. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  17. ^ Ron Eagleeye Johnny, Bob Fitrakis (Free Press), Ed Harriman, Harvey Wasserman (Greenpeace), Chuck Johnson (Nuclear Free America), Grace Thorpe (1995). Radioactive Reservations (Columbus, Ohio community access version hosted by Bob Fitrakis). Goldhawk Productions. 30 minutes in. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Radioactive Racism: The History of Targeting Native American Communities with High-Level Atomic Waste Dumps" (PDF). Public Citizen. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  19. ^ Idaho Primary Election Results May 24, 1994 Archived May 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 25 January 2008
  20. ^ "Former Idaho AG David LeRoy to run for open House seat". KBOI. Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  21. ^ Almukhtar, Sarah (2018-05-15). "Idaho Primary Election Results". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  22. ^ "Dave Leroy for Congress | Leroy for Idaho". 2018-05-14. Archived from the original on 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  23. ^ "Signez la pétition pour Roman Polanski !" (in French). La Règle du jeu. 10 November 2009.
Legal offices Preceded byWayne Kidwell Attorney General of Idaho 1979–1983 Succeeded byJim Jones Political offices Preceded byPhil Batt Lieutenant Governor of Idaho 1983–1987 Succeeded byButch Otter New office United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator 1990–1993 Succeeded byRichard H. Stallings Party political offices Preceded byPhil Batt Republican nominee for Governor of Idaho 1986 Succeeded byRoger Fairchild
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