Jim McCrery
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| Jim McCrery | |
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| In office April 16, 1988 – January 3, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Buddy Roemer |
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| Succeeded by | John C. Fleming |
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| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Johnette McCrery |
| Children | Scott and Clark McCrery |
| Residence | Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Louisiana Tech, Louisiana State University |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Methodist |
| McCrery decided not to seek an eleventh full term in the United States House of Representatives after his Republican Party reverted to minority status in 2007. | |
James Otis "Jim" McCrery, III (born September 18, 1949), is an American lawyer who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1988-2009; he represented the 4th District of Louisiana, based in the northwestern quadrant of his state.
McCrery was a ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican Main Street Partnership (a group of moderate Republicans). Had the Republicans maintained control of the U.S. House in 2007, he would have been in line to chair the Ways and Means Committee. Instead, the slot went to the veteran Democrat Charles Rangel of Harlem in New York City.
On December 7, 2007 McCrery announced his decision not to seek reelection in 2008.[1] Closed primaries were held by both parties in the fall to begin the process of choosing a successor to McCrery. In a general election scheduled for December 6, Republican physician John C. Fleming of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish, narrowly defeated the outgoing Caddo Parish District Attorney Paul J. Carmouche, a Democrat from Shreveport. McCrery's choice as his successor, Jeff Thompson, was eliminated in the Republican primary. After Fleming won the Republican nomination, McCrery endorsed him in an appearance on Moon Griffon's syndicated radio program.
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[edit] Before Congress
McCrery was born in Shreveport and reared in Leesville, the seat of Vernon Parish. He graduated from Leesville High School in 1967. In 1971, McCrery earned a bachelor of arts degree in both English and history from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston in Lincoln Parish. Thereafter, he obtained a law degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1975. McCrery joined the law firm of Jackson, Smith & Ford in Leesville, where he worked from 1975 to 1978. He then served in Shreveport as an assistant city attorney from 1979-1980.
From 1981 to 1984, McCrery was a district manager and later legislative director for then Democratic U.S. Representative Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer, III, of Bossier City. He returned to Louisiana in 1984 to work for Georgia Pacific Corporation, a paper company. He remained there until his election to Congress four years later.
[edit] Congressional career
After Roemer resigned from Congress to become governor, McCrery ran for his former boss' seat as a Republican.
McCrery emerged from the special election in a runoff with Democratic State Senator Foster L. Campbell, Jr., of Elm Grove in Bossier Parish. A third contender, Shreveport journalist and then public relations representative Stanley R. Tiner, a Democrat, was eliminated in the first round of voting. McCrery became only the sixth Republican to represent Louisiana in the House since the end of Reconstruction. In his bid for a full term in 1988, he handily defeated Adeline McDade Roemer (born 1923), the Democratic mother of his former benefactor Buddy Roemer.
In 1992, Louisiana lost a district as a result of sluggish population growth during the 1980s. Also, the state was ordered to draw a second black-majority district by the Justice Department. The legislature responded by shifting most of Shreveport and Bossier City's black voters into a new 4th District. Most of McCrery's former territory was merged with the 5th District, represented by 16-year incumbent Democrat Jerry Huckaby. On paper, McCrery was in serious danger, since Huckaby retained nearly all of his former territory. However, the old 4th was considerably more urbanized than the old 5th due to the presence of Shreveport, and 60 percent of the new 5th's voters had been represented by McCrery. Also, the new 5th was only 5 percent African American (compared with a 30 percent black population in the old 5th). McCrery was thus such a heavy favorite that national Democratic leaders wrote off the seat as a loss and urged Huckaby to retire. Huckaby chose to stay in the race and was heavily defeated, carrying only one parish in the district. McCrery thus became the first Louisiana Republican to unseat a Democratic incumbent at the federal level.
McCrery was reelected seven more times with no substantive opposition, and was completely unopposed in 1996, 1998 and 2004. His district was renumbered as the 4th again in 1997, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the majority-black, Shreveport-to-Baton Rouge 4th was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
In the mid-term election of 2006, McCrery defeated Democratic challengers Patti Cox and Artis Cash and Republican Chester T. "Catfish" Kelley,[2] a Shreveport businessman who advertises his catfish restaurant on the Rush Limbaugh radio program and who has been interviewed on the statewide Moon Griffon radio talk show.
From 2007–2009, McCrery was the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee.
[edit] Subcommittees and laws
Congressman McCrery sat on the following House Ways and Means subcommittees:
- Health
- Human Resources
- Social Security (chairman)
McCrery sponsored or cosponsored six public bills in the 109th Congress that have been signed into law by the president, all of which involved disaster mitigation and assistance in response to 2005 hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.
[edit] Family and personal life
On August 3, 1991, McCrery married the former Johnette Hawkins (born 1966), a former television newswoman. They have two children, Otis and Clayburn. McCrery is a Methodist.
[edit] Political controversies
McCrery was outed in the 2009 documentary Outrage as a closeted gay man. Also, during the China-U.S trade talks of March 2007, McCrery and New York Democrat Charles Rangel committed a gaffe when they accidentally insulted the Chinese Vice Premier, Wu Yi by referring to her as the Vice Premier of the "Republic of China" in a letter. The Republic of China is a name for the self-ruling government on the island of Taiwan, which the PRC considers a rogue province. [3]
[edit] 2008 Presidential support
In 2007, in the early stages of the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination for 2008, McCrery announced his endorsement of unsuccessful candidate Mitt Romney for president.[4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ [1] International Herald-Tribune, December 8, 2007
- ^ ChesterKelley.com (2006-08-23). "Chester T. Kelley for Congress Will Host a Town Hall Meeting at Semolina Restaurant". Press release. http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=104189. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
- ^ Buckley, Chris (2007-05-26). "China, U.S. face bumpy road after trade talks". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSPEK2434220070526?pageNumber=3. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
- ^ http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/dec/21/your_massive_election_central_guide_to_2008_presidential_campaign_staffs
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
- Election Central Guide to 2008
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Buddy Roemer |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 4th congressional district 1988–1993 |
Succeeded by Cleo Fields |
| Preceded by Jerry Huckaby |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 5th congressional district 1993–1997 |
Succeeded by John Cooksey |
| Preceded by Cleo Fields |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 4th congressional district 1997–2009 |
Succeeded by John C. Fleming |
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