Don_O._Concannon
Don O. Concannon
American politician
Donald Owen Concannon (October 28, 1927 – March 9, 2013) was an American attorney and unsuccessful political candidate for the United States Republican Party in Kansas.
Chairman Donald Owen Concannon | |
|---|---|
| Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party | |
| In office August 1968 – August 1970 | |
| Preceded by | William Falstad |
| Succeeded by | George Nettles |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1927-10-28)October 28, 1927 Garden City, Kansas |
| Died | (2013-03-09)March 9, 2013 (age 85) Beloit, Kansas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Patricia Concannon 1952-2001 Sharon Concannon 2002-2013 |
| Children | 3 Chris, Craig, Debra |
| Residence | Hugoton, Kansas |
| Alma mater | Garden City Junior College Washburn Law School |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1945 |
| Rank | Seaman |
Concannon was born on a farm 20 miles outside Garden City, Kansas. He enlisted in the United States Navy on May 1, 1945, and served in the South Pacific. After World War II, he studied at Garden City Junior College and Washburn University.
Political career
Following his demobilization after World War II, Concannon moved to Hugoton, Kansas, and was elected Stevens County attorney from 1953 to 1957.[1] He was also elected the city attorney for Satanta, Kansas, from 1956 to 1962.[2] He was also elected the President of the Kansas Young Republican Federation in 1959 and served until 1961.[2] He was named the Chairman of the Kansas Presidential Electors for the 1960 United States presidential election.[2] He served on Democratic governor Robert Docking'sHighway Advisory Commission from 1965 to 1966. He would be elected the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party serving between 1968 and 1970.[3] He was the leader of the Nixon campaign in Kansas for the 1972 United States presidential election and the Reagan campaign in Kansas for the 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries.[2] He would have an unsuccessful candidate in the primaries during the 1974 gubernatorial elections, narrowly losing to Robert Frederick Bennett by just 0.26% of the vote, or 530 individual votes out of 207,937 votes cast.[4][5] He supported Sam Hardage in the 1982 Kansas gubernatorial election and worked on his unsuccessful campaign.[2] From 1986 to 1988 he worked as Chairman of Governor Mike Hayden's Task Force on the Future of Rural Communities as well as being a member of the Kansas Commission for the Bicentennial of U.S. Constitution.[2] In 1992 he led the unsuccessful West Kansas secessionist movement which sought to create a separate state for the more rural South-West portion of the state.[6][7]
Banking career
Alongside his lengthy political career, Concannon also worked for a number of banks. From 1965 to 1966 and from 1972 to 1974 he was the President and Chairman of the Fortune Insurance Company. In 1974 he was named to the Board of Directors for Norton Bankshares as well as the First State Bank of Norton, Kansas, the State bank of Satana, Kansas and the First National Bank of Attica, Kansas.[2]
Concannon was a close personal friend to United States Senator Jerry Moran who described him as "a great man, a strong advocate and a dedicated public servant."[3] He was also a member of the American Legion and was a Freemason. He was a lifelong member of the Delta Theta Phi and Kappa Sigma fraternities. He was married to Patricia Née June Davis from November 23rd, 1952 until her death on February 25, 2001. He remarried Sharon Née Collins on September 1, 2002. He had two sons Chris, who predeceased him, and Craig as well as a daughter Debra Traster.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert Frederick Bennett | 67,347 | 32.39 | |
| Republican | Don O. Concannon | 66,817 | 32.13 | |
| Republican | Forrest J. Robinson | 56,440 | 27.14 | |
| Republican | Bob Clack | 17,333 | 8.34 | |
| Total votes | 207,937 | 100.00 | ||
- "Don O. Concannon". KSCB Radio. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- "Don O. Concannon". www.robertsbrothersfuneralhome.com. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- Moran, Jerry. "Sen. Moran Honors Don Concannon". Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- Guide to U.S. elections - CQ Press, Congressional Quarterly, inc. CQ Press. 2005. ISBN 9781568029818. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
- "2010 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients". Washburn University School of Law. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- Overby, Peter (December 1992). "We're outta here!". Common Cause Magazine. 18 (4): 23.
- Kauffman, Bill (March 1995). "Smaller Is Beautifuller". The American Enterprise. p. 37. Archived from the original on 14 February 2007.