Ken Rothman

Ken Rothman
41st Lieutenant Governor of Missouri
In office January 12, 1981 – January 14, 1985
Governor	Kit Bond
Preceded by	William C. Phelps
Succeeded by	Harriett Woods
65th Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives
In office January 5, 1977 – January 7, 1981
Preceded by	Richard J. Rabbitt
Succeeded by	Bob F. Griffin
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 77th district
In office January 3, 1973 – January 7, 1981
Preceded by	Dorothy E. Meagher
Succeeded by	Sheila Lumpe
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 36th district
In office January 4, 1967 – January 3, 1973
Preceded by	None (new district)
Succeeded by	Leo McKamey
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from St. Louis district 8
In office January 9, 1963 – January 4, 1967
Preceded by	Alfred A. Speer
Succeeded by	None (district eliminated)
Personal details
Born	Kenneth Joel Rothman (1935-10-11)October 11, 1935 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died	April 26, 2019(2019-04-26) (aged 83) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Geraldine Jaffe (divorced)
Children	4
Alma mater	Washington University in St. Louis
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1953-1962

Kenneth Joel Rothman (October 11, 1935 – April 26, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician from Missouri. He served as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 1981 to 1985.

Rothman was born and raised in St. Louis and attended public schools. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science and also received his law degree from Washington University.

Rothman served in the Missouri Air National Guard from 1953 to 1962 and was called to active duty during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. He worked as a prosecutor for St. Louis County before entering private law practice. Rothman's political career began with his election to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1962 representing the Clayton area. He was re-elected eight times. In 1973 he was chosen as Majority Leader and in 1976 he became Speaker of the House.

In 1980 Rothman was elected Lieutenant Governor, defeating Roy Blunt. In 1984, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Missouri but was defeated by Republican John Ashcroft.

From 2001, he served of counsel to the law firm of Capes, Sokol, Goodman and Sarachan PC.

Rothman's ex-wife, Geri Rothman-Serot, was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate against Kit Bond in 1992. Ken Rothman was the first Jew elected to statewide office in the history of Missouri.^[1]

Rothman died on April 26, 2019, in St. Louis, at the age of 83.^[2] His ex-wife politician Geri Rothman-Serot, a three-time survivor of breast cancer, died a few months later in Florida on July 2, 2019, of a rare form of bone cancer.^[3]

• Gubernatorial Transitions: The 1983 and 1984 Elections, p. 72, at Google Books