Ohio Rep. Paul Gillmor, a Republican whose political career covered four decades, was found dead Wednesday in his Washington-area townhouse. The body of the 68-year-old congressman was found by staff members who went to his Arlington, Va., townhouse after he failed to show up for work. There was no immediate cause of death, but authorities said there were no signs of foul play. Gov. Ted Strickland said "Ohio has lost a truly decent and devoted public servant" with the death of Mr. Gillmor.Mr. Gillmor represented the 5th Congressional District, which happens to include Perrysburg, where my parents live and where I grew up. Mr. Gillmor has been in state and local politics for about as long as I was aware of local politics, and he succeeded Delbert Latta in Congress. He had a conservative voting record, including against gay rights issues.
* Voted for adoption of H AMDT 890 to HR 2546, an amendment to repeal the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992 which allows unmarried individuals, regardless of gender, to register as domestic partners, allowing them to be eligible for D.C. government health care.My sympathies to his family.
* H J Res 88: Voted to pass a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment providing that marriage in the U.S. consists only of the union of a man and a woman, and federal and state constitutions can not be construed to require marriage or legal incidents of marriage be conferred in other unions.
* H.AMDT.200 to HR 1501: Voted for an amendment that allows States to decide whether or not to display the Ten Commandments on or within publicly owned property.
* Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007: no surprise. He voted against it.
* Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Voted for this in 1996.
* HJRes 54: Proposed an amendment to the Constitution of the United States authorizing the Congress to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.
That said, after a respectful mourning period, the scramble will be on to replace him. There will be a special election, and according to those in the know, there are two Republicans, State Representative Bob Latta and State Senator Randy Gardner, who are considered top candidates. Mr. Latta is the son of the above-mentioned Mr. Latta. (Latta pere gained his fifteen minutes of fame in 1974 when he served on the House Judiciary Committee that voted articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon. He defended Mr. Nixon.) Mr. Gardner is considered to be a moderate and, according to my dad, is strong on environmental issues. For the Democrats there's Robin Weirauch, who ran against Mr. Gillmor in 2004 and 2006. Ms. Weirauch has pretty good name recognition in the district and held Mr. Gillmor to a 57% majority a year ago. That sounds like a hefty landslide until you remember that the 5th is a huge district spanning a lot of counties in rural northwest Ohio, and to hold Gillmor to less than 60% says a lot for a woman who has never held elective office. The state Democratic party may have an open casting call for the seat, but Robin knows the area and she's probably still got her Rolodex handy, so she might be the best contender for the special election. Meanwhile, Ohio is trending blue -- they elected a liberal governor in Ted Strickland and tossed out Republican Senator Mike DeWine, replacing him with Sherrod Brown. And the 5th district, while staunchly conservative, isn't wingnutty like some parts of the country.
The Republicans have had a rough couple of weeks, and Mr. Gillmor's sudden passing has stepped in to make it even more so.
HT to AMERICAblog.
