Background
Flournoy, Houston Irvine was born on October 7, 1929 in New York City. Son of William Raymond and Helen (Horner) Flournoy.
academic administrator State Legislator
Flournoy, Houston Irvine was born on October 7, 1929 in New York City. Son of William Raymond and Helen (Horner) Flournoy.
Born in New York City, he attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he was active in the Cornell University Glee Club and the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He studied under Clinton Rossiter, a Cornell faculty member who was an authority on The Federalist. In 1956, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy in politics at Princeton University.
He later became a professor of public administration at the University of Southern California ( University of Southern California). After graduating from Cornell in 1950, he served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. While in New Jersey, he worked in politics as a researcher for the New Jersey Legislature and an aide to Senator H. Alexander Smith.
In 1960, he successfully ran for California State Assembly as a Republican Party candidate, and served from 1961 to 1967.
In 1966, he was elected California State Controller and served as Controller from 1967 to 1975. In 1974 he ran for Governor of California.
He defeated the more conservative choice, Lieutenant Governor Editor Reinecke, in the Grand Old Party primary but then lost a surprisingly close election to Jerry Brown in a heavily Democratic year. Flournoy, who blamed the September 1974 Gerald Ford pardon of Richard Nixon for his loss, never ran for political office again.
In 1976, he was appointed professor at University of Southern California in Los Los Angeles
He taught at the School of Public Administration (now part of the School of Policy, Planning, and Development) until 1993. He also served the University of Southern California administration as a governmental affairs advisor until 1999. He also served on the boards of several corporations.
After retirement he resided in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and Bodega Bay, California.
Served to First lieutenant United States Air Force, 1952-1954, Korea. Member National Academy Public Administration, Pi Sigma Alpha.
Married Marjorie Elsie Westerkamp, July 11, 1954 (divorced June 1987). Children: David Houston, Jean Douglas, Ann Horner. Married Carol Hinse Gates, October 9, 1987.