Joe Austin

Picture of Austin in 1942

### Former Positions

Michigan Attorney General (1947-1949), U.S. Representative from MI-1 (1933-1947), Mayor of Houghton, MI (1923-1933), U.S. Army Soldier (1917-1918), Dubuque County, IA Clerk (1917)

Joseph Rohwer "Joe" Austin is the current governor of Michigan, and a character played by pirate1146.

### Early Life:

Joseph R. Austin was born on December 4th, 1897 to John Austin and Orleana (Yoder) Austin, German immigrant farmers, in Delaware County, Iowa. His family soon moved to nearby Dubuque County in 1901, where his father operated a feed mill and owned an agricultural parts store. Austin expressed an intense interest in history, law, and politics, reading whenever he could between school and working on his family's farm.

Upon reaching adulthood, Austin became involved in local politics, becoming county clerk in 1916. Throughout his months as clerk, he managed the county's records and performed the paper-pushing tasks of the office.

### World War 1:

When the United States entered the war, Joe Austin resigned his post as county clerk and enlisted in the U.S. Army. His regiment shipped out to France in September 1917, where they fought in the Third Battle of Ypres. Witnessing the horrors of war and the bravery and diverse backgrounds of his comrades greatly influenced Austin's political views. Shortly after the signing of armistice on November 11th, 1918, Austin returned to America.

### University:

After the war, Austin went to college, studying at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He studied political science, and graduated early in 1921. During this time, he became interested in the labor movement, and met with labor leaders Walter and Victor Reuther.

### Years as Mayor:

In 1922, Austin moved to the small town of Houghton, Michigan with the objective of representing the mine workers in labor disputes. However, he became inspired enough by their plight that he decided to run for mayor in totally not carpetbagger fashion, switching his party affiliation from Republican to Farmer-Labor. He was considered an outsider with little chances, but spoke to the issues of his constituency, winning by just 12 votes. During his decade-long time as mayor, he worked to make the zoning laws more equitable, encourage industrial development in Houghton, enforce basic labor standards and develop the town's infrastructure. At this time he met Ivadel Snow, whom he married on May 20, 1924. His first child Charlotte was born on September 14th, 1925, and two years later Theodore was born in April 6th, 1927. During this time, the copper and iron mining industry saw substantial growth in northern Michigan, causing Houghton to grow. Austin ran for Congress in 1928, losing to the incumbent Republican Congressman by 15%. He remained mayor until 1933.

### U.S. Representative:

When the Great Depression hit and attitudes changed in his Congressional district, Joe Austin ran once again for House under the Farmer-Labor Party in 1932, that time solidly winning his seat. In Congress, he worked to pass many New Deal programs and pressure FDR to expand their scope, especially in public works and labor rights. He gained a reputation as a strong voice for labor during that time, and was reelected by comfortable margins throughout the 30s and much of the 40s.

### Attorney General:

In 1946, Joe Austin ran for Michigan Attorney General. Despite it being overall a good election for the Republicans, Austin managed to narrowly edge out the election by a .44% margin. During his two-year term he worked to advance labor conditions and enforce anti-discrimination laws.

### 1948 Election:

In 1948, Joe Austin decided to run for governor of Michigan. Initial predictions had him far behind 7-year Republican incumbent Oliver Obbleton, though he sought to reverse that through heavy campaigning, holding rallies across the state. The race quickly became one of the most contested in the country, and at times turned quite ugly. Obbleton accused Austin of harboring communist goals and being an incompetent attorney general, going as far as to claim that he had never met him in their current positions; Austin attempted to peg Obbleton as a corrupt machine politician, railing against his "political dynasty" in campaign speeches.

As the campaign season advanced, the two began to soften their rhetoric against one another, instead focusing on policy at rallies. Austin began to take a clear lead in campaigning by October, and barnstormed many rural counties in addition to rallying in the big cities. On Election Day Austin won a serious mandate, being elected governor 55.4 - 44.1%

### Governor of Michigan:

As governor, Austin began pressuring the state legislature to enact many of the policy proposals which he had campaigned on. The first major piece of legislation which Austin signed into law was on March 21, the Michigan Affordable Housing Act, creating a commission and providing resources for low-income housing projects. On April 4, 1949, Governor Austin signed the Michigan Minimum Wage Act into law, establishing a state minimum wage.

### Assassination attempt:

On May 16th, 1949, a mysterious man approached Governor Austin as he was walking to a meeting with labor leaders. The man opened fire and shot Austin three times before being tackled and apprehended. He was shot in the arm and in the shoulder, and one bullet embedded itself in his ribcage. Austin was rushed to the hospital, where the bullets were removed and Austin began a slow recovery.