George Edward Nowotny

Background

Nowotny was the son of Margaret Voigt and George Edward Nowotny, an insurance agent in New Braunfels, Texas.

Education

Nowotny graduated with a Bachelor of Science in geology from the University of Texas in 1955.

Career

Initially elected in 1966 with Winthrop Rockefeller, the first Republican governor of Arkansas since the Reconstruction era, Nowotny left politics in 1972, when he declined to seek a fourth term as a legislator. He worked in Fort Smith, Arkansas as a partner with Barton and Nowotny Consulting Geologists. In 1967, Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives Sterling R. Cockrill of Little Rock appointed Nowotny the first ever Minority Leader of the state House because Nowotny"s name was the first alphabetically among the three Republican House members.

In addition, Rockefeller chose Nowotny as the "Governor"s Representative" on the Arkansas Legislative Council.

Nowotny described his political agenda as "simply good government." Nowotny led efforts to establish what subsequently became the Booneville Human Development Center, a facility for disabled adults located in Booneville in Logan County. The home had previously been the Arkansas State Tuberculosis Sanatorium, which closed in 1973.

Nowotny and Charles T. Bernard, the Republican who ran against United States. Senator J. William Fulbright in 1968, considered running for governor as conservatives and stressed their differences with Rockefeller on a few issues. In 1970, Nowotny told Rockefeller that he could not support an increase or adjustments in the state sales tax, which Rockefeller had requested along with hikes in the personal state income tax

On March 26, 1970, Nowotny announced his candidacy for governor but soon withdrew when Rockefeller declared his intention to run again.

Nowotny was instead elected to his third term in the state House. Because he had endorsed candidate-imposed term limits, Nowotny did not pursue a fourth term in the legislature in 1972.

Achievements

• Nowotny was a delegate to the 1972 Republican National Convention and then managed the Arkansas campaign for United States. President Richard M. Nixon, the first Republican to win the state’s electoral votes since 1876.

Connections

colleague:

Danny L. Patrick