Clarence Joseph Morley (February 9, 1869 – November 15, 1948) was the 24th governor of Colorado from 1925 to 1927, serving one two-year term. He was a Republican. Before becoming governor he was a judge in Denver, Colorado. He was a member of the Ku Klux Klan which was an important force in Colorado politics during the 1920s and largely responsible for the division of the Republican and Democratic votes that enabled him to take office.Colorado State Archives
Tenure as governor Morely took office on January 16, 1925, in a ceremony at the Municipal Auditorium in Denver.Clarence J. Morley is Inaugurated Governor, Kiowa County Press (January 16, 1925).
Virulently anti-Catholic, Morley was one of the most extreme governors in Colorado history.Lynn Bartels, Bob Beauprez bypasses KKK member, attacks Hickenlooper as most "extreme" governor , Denver Post (March 4, 2014). The Center for Colorado & the West at the Auraria Library wrote:
Morely's administration was marked by "scandals and ineptitude."Ed Quillen, Welcome to Kolorado, Klan Kountry at Colorado Springs Independent (May 21, 2003 Updated Oct 15, 2020).
Mail fraud conviction After leaving office, Morley established C.J. Morley & Company, a stock brokerage firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1935, Morley was arrested on charges from mail fraud; he was convicted for 21 counts of mail fraud and using political influences to defraud customers. Sentenced to five years in Leavenworth Prison, he died three years after being released. He is buried in Denver at Fairmount Cemetery.Governor Clarence Morley, National Governors Association.
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