Clarence E. Miller
Clarence E. Miller | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 10th district | |
In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1993 | |
Preceded by | Walter H. Moeller |
Succeeded by | Martin Hoke |
Personal details | |
Born | Lancaster, Ohio, U.S. | November 1, 1917
Died | August 2, 2011 Lancaster, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 93)
Political party | Republican |
Clarence Ellsworth Miller, Jr. (November 1, 1917 – August 2, 2011) was a
He was born in Lancaster, Ohio, one of six children of an electrician father. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in correspondence school and became a certified electrical engineer. He worked for Columbia Gas and held patents related to the pumping of gas.[1]
Miller was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966 to represent a section of southeastern Ohio where, in Lancaster, he had served as mayor. During the Persian Gulf War, he was reportedly the only member of Congress who had a grandson (Drew Miller, of Lancaster, Ohio) fighting in that conflict.[1]
By training, he was an engineer, and The Almanac of American Politics wrote that Mr. Miller approached politics with the "precise and orderly manner" that one might expect from someone of his profession.[1]
U.S. patents
U.S. patent 3,088,655, Filed August 1, 1960, Patented May 7, 1963 "Remote Control and Alarm System For A Compressor Station and Compressor Engines Thereof"
U.S. patent 3,210,582, Filed July 26, 1960, Patented October 5, 1965 "Magneto Having Auxiliary Pole Piece"
Elections
In 1966, the Tenth Congressional District elected Miller to the
Miller was a 13-term Ohio Republican nicknamed "Five Percent Clarence" for his persistent efforts to cut spending bills by that amount. He did not cultivate publicity, preferring instead to focus on legislation more than on the Washington talk-show circuit. He was known for his near-perfect attendance on votes no matter how minute. In 1990, the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call named Mr. Miller the "most obscure" member of Congress. It was intended as a compliment, considering that grandstanders never would have received such an honor. A fiscal conservative, he served on the House Appropriations Committee. The numerous bills he introduced, often unsuccessfully, aimed to cut spending measures—if not by the 5 percent figure in his nickname, then at least by 2 percent. In 1977, he succeeded in persuading House colleagues to cut foreign aid by 5 percent.[1]
He lost his bid for reelection in the 1992 primary after redistricting.[1]
Elections by landslide
Twelve of the thirteen elections won by Mr. Miller were by a margin of victory of greater than 25%.
Heated 1992 primary
Ohio lost two seats in the 1990
The new district map was not agreed upon by the General Assembly until March 26, 1992, one week before the filing deadline for the primary originally scheduled for May 5. (Governor George Voinovich signed the new map into law on March 27, and on April 1 the General Assembly moved the primary to June 2.) Miller's own hometown was placed in freshman David Hobson's Seventh District, but Miller chose to run in the Sixth District against Bob McEwen; only one of the twelve counties in Miller's old Tenth District was in the new Seventh but the largest piece of his old district, five counties, was placed in the new Sixth. Miller also had a strong distaste for McEwen, a Hillsboro Republican in his sixth term who had been elected to Congress at age thirty.
Despite being hurt in a fall in his bathtub after slipping on a bar of soap, an injury that led Republicans to expect his withdrawal, Miller stayed in the race. A deal was hoped for as late as May 15, the day Miller was scheduled to hold a press conference Ohio political observers thought he would use to announce his withdrawal, but Miller stayed in the race and the two incumbents faced each other in the Republican primary on June 2, 1992.
McEwen, who Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America pronounced "invincible", was caught up in the
The primary race was bitter. Miller called McEwen "Pinocchio" and McEwen said of Miller "his misrepresentations and falsehoods are gargantuan. I tried to be his best friend in the delegation. I am deeply disappointed at the meanness of his effort." Tom Deimer of Cleveland's Plain Dealer wrote that the two candidates were largely identical on the issues: "both are textbook Republican conservatives, opposed to abortion, gun control, high taxes, and costly government programs — unless located in their districts." Miller noted he had no overdrafts, saying, "the score is 166 to nothing" referring to the number of checks McEwen bounced in the House banking scandal.
The 1992 primary was so close it forced a recount and a lawsuit. When
Family
His wife of 51 years, the former Helen Brown, died in 1987. The couple had two children, Ronald K. Miller of Lancaster and Jacqueline M. Williams of Cincinnati; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.[1]
Death
After his election loss Clarence Miller returned to Lancaster. He was honored on his birthday, November 20, 2010, by the Hocking Valley Chapter of the Ohio Society of The Sons of the American Revolution, for his patriotism. He resided in Lancaster until his death on August 2, 2011, aged 93.
See also
References
- Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa. The Almanac of American Politics, 1994. ISBN 0-89234-058-4
- ISBN 0-87187-599-3
- United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Printing. 1987–1988 Official Congressional Directory, United States Government Printing Office, 1987.
- United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Printing. 1991–1992 Official Congressional Directory, United States Government Printing Office, 1991.
- United States Congress. "Clarence E. Miller (id: M000718)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
External links
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f "Clarence E. Miller, Ohio congressman, dies at 93". The Washington Post. 2011-08-03. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10.
- ^ "Bill Summary & Status - 102nd Congress (1991 - 1992) - H.R.5727 - THOMAS (Library of Congress)". Archived from the original on 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2005-05-23.