There are things about Olene Walker that come as no surprise. Like the nickname. Yes, Mrs. Walker has been the governor of Utah for several months now. Yet even here, sitting in the august confines of her office in a regal red suit, the recently promoted lieutenant governor exudes a grits-and-cornbread charm that explains why legislative colleagues called her “Aunt Bea.”
She is, after all, the mother of seven, the grandmother of 25, and – at 73 – the oldest governor in the nation. But for those who imagined that she would simply serve out her predecessor’s term as a “grandmother in chief,” Walker has been full of surprises – from controversial vetoes to defiance of the state’s congressional delegation.
Less than six months after assuming the post vacated by Gov. Michael Leavitt, who departed to head the US Environmental Protection Agency, Walker has become something of a celebrity.
Read more about Governor Walker from The Christian Science Monitor.