James A Traficant Jr

A Representative from Ohio; born in Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio, May 8, 1941; graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School, Youngstown, Ohio, 1959; B.S., University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1963; M.S., University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1973; M.S., Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio, 1976; executive director, Mahoning County, Ohio, Drug Program, Inc., 1971-1981; sheriff, Mahoning County, Ohio, 1981-1985; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-ninth and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1985-July 24, 2002); expelled from the House of Representatives pursuant to H. Res. 495, passed on July 24, 2002; unsuccessful candidate as an Independent for the One Hundred Eighth Congress in 2002. A flamboyant Democrat who was expelled from the House of Representatives after a bribery conviction in 2002, died Saturday September 27th in Youngstown, Ohio, four days after he had been injured in a tractor accident on his family’s farm. Mr. Traficant was an anti-establishment eccentric in the buttoned-up capital, and the behavior that was derided on Capitol Hill made him a favorite among his mostly blue-collar voters at home. He opposed free-trade agreements, pushed for “Buy American” requirements in spending bills and raged against foreign aid. He played football at the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated with a degree in education in 1963. He worked as a drug counselor for 10 years before he was elected sheriff of Mahoning County in 1980. Survivors include his wife, Patricia, and their two daughters, Robin and Elizabeth.