Coloradoans on the Edge: John Charles Vivian (1943-1947)

John Charles Vivian was the 30th Governor of Colorado, succeeding Ralph Carr in 1943 after serving under Carr as Lt. Governor since 1939.

Vivian was born on June 30th, 1889 in Golden Colorado to the family of a prominent Jefferson County Republican, John F. Vivian. Vivian the elder served as a Republican National Comitteeman and as State Party Chair. The family originally settled in Arvada in 1860.

The son, John C. Vivian, attended Golden High School and graduated in 1905. He then attended University of Colorado, Boulder, receiving a BA in 1909 and Denver University where he received a law degree in 1913.  Prior to pursuing his law degree he was a newspaper editor for the Denver Times and wrote for the Rocky Mountain News.

In World War I he served in the Marines and then resumed his law career in 1922 when he became Jefferson County Attorney.

He continued to write for newspapers and was published nationally; prompting some criticism that Vivian thought he was too good to publish locally. Consequently, much like Wally Edge, he began to publish under a pseudonym. Hate mail condemning Vivian for the practice of publishing anonymously can be sent here.

After being selected to serve under Ralph Carr as Lt. Governor in 1938, Vivian secured the nomination for Governor in 1942. The nomination was secured behind closed doors, according to Vivian's official biography maintained by the state of Colorado.

It's been speculated that Governor Carr angered many Republicans by his condemnation of forcible detention of Japanese-Americans in concentration camps, one of which was located in Colorado. Whatever the reasons for the nomination of the younger Vivian, it is certain that his father's influence played a great part.

Sworn in as the 30th Governor of Colorado in 1943, Vivian became famous for his parsimony, shunning the Governor's mansion and refusing the use of a police escort. Ironically, however, the salary of the Colorado Governor was doubled from five thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars in 1943.

Known as "the spend nothing" Governor, Vivian "reduced the number of state employees; abolished the service tax; created no new taxes; accepted no monies from the federal government; and left office having amassed a thirteen million dollar surplus in the state's general fund," according to his official biography.

He also was famous for allowing citizens to have access to him from 3:00-3:15 PM Monday-Friday. While that fifteen minutes may not seem like a lot, it's hard to imagine a Governor of any state doing that today.

Vivian left public office in 1947 after serving two terms. He went back to private law practice and died in 1964 in Golden.