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Howard Metzenbaum

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Howard Morton Metzenbaum (June 4, 1917 – March 12, 2008) was an American politician and businessman who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Ohio (1974, 1976–1995). He also served in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate from 1943 to 1951.

Howard Metzenbaum
Metzenbaum in 1983
United States Senator
from Ohio
In office
December 29, 1976 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byRobert Taft Jr.
Succeeded byMike DeWine
In office
January 4, 1974 – December 23, 1974
Appointed byJohn J. Gilligan
Preceded byWilliam B. Saxbe
Succeeded byJohn Glenn
Member of the Ohio Senate
In office
1947–1951
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
In office
1943–1947
Personal details
Born
Howard Morton Metzenbaum

(1917-06-04)June 4, 1917
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMarch 12, 2008(2008-03-12) (aged 90)
Aventura, Florida, U.S.
Resting placeMayfield Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Shirley Turoff
​
(m. 1947)​
Children4, including Shelley
Alma materOhio State University (BA, LLB)

Early life and education

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Metzenbaum was born June 4, 1917, in Cleveland, Ohio, to a poor family, the son of Anna (née Klafter) and Charles I. Metzenbaum.[1] His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and France, and his maternal grandparents were Hungarian Jews.[2] He attended Glenville High School, where he ran track, while also working odd jobs after hours.[1] He graduated from Ohio State University, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1939 and a law degree in 1941.[3] During the 1940s, he practiced law in Cleveland. After initially facing discrimination due to his Jewish heritage,[citation needed] he found acceptance representing large labor unions, first with the Communications Workers of America and later the International Association of Machinists.[4]

Business career

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Metzenbaum became independently wealthy through investments, particularly in real estate near what became the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which Metzenbaum and his partner, Alva "Ted" Bonda, correctly envisioned would make for extremely profitable, 24-hour, well-lit parking lots. The business expanded to become Airport Parking Company of America (APCOA), the world's largest parking lot company.[5] By 1970, he had sold his interest in APCOA Parking for US$20 million.[6]

In the early 1970s, Metzenbaum also co-owned the Sun Newspapers chain of weeklies which covered the Cleveland suburbs, a venture undertaken after his first senatorial election defeat.[7]

Political career

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Ohio legislature

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Metzenbaum served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1943 to 1947. He then served in the Ohio Senate from 1947 to 1951.[4]

In 1958, he served as the campaign manager for future U.S. Senator Stephen M. Young, who, in a major upset, narrowly unseated incumbent Senator John Bricker, the Republican Party's 1944 vice presidential nominee. He returned to assist Young in his successful reelection campaign in 1964.[4]

U.S. Senate

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John Glenn, former rival and later ally to Metzenbaum

In 1970, Metzenbaum ran for the Senate seat vacated by Young, who chose not to run for a third term. He beat astronaut John Glenn in the Democratic primary by a close 46%-45% margin, but narrowly lost to Robert Taft Jr. in the general election.

In 1974, when Senator William B. Saxbe (R-OH) resigned from his seat to accept the nomination as U.S. attorney general, Governor John J. Gilligan appointed Metzenbaum to serve the remainder of Saxbe's term. Metzenbaum ran for election to the seat, but in a bitter Democratic primary, lost to Glenn, who subsequently won the general election by a landslide. In the primary, Metzenbaum contrasted his strong business background with Glenn's military and astronaut credentials, saying his opponent had "never worked for a living." John Glenn had served in the Marine Corps for 23 years. Glenn's reply came to be known as the "Gold Star Mothers" speech. He told Metzenbaum to go to a veterans' hospital and "look those men with mangled bodies in the eyes and tell them they didn't hold a job. You go with me to any Gold Star mother and you look her in the eye and tell her that her son did not hold a job". Many felt the "Gold Star Mothers" speech won the primary for Glenn, which he won by 54% to 46%.[5]

In 1976, Metzenbaum sought a rematch against Taft. The race was close again, but this time he won, riding on Jimmy Carter's coattails. Taft resigned the seat a few days before his term ended, allowing Metzenbaum to be sworn in a few days early and hence have a small edge in seniority over other senators newly elected in 1976. He was reelected in 1982, comfortably defeating Republican state Senator Paul Pfeifer. That same year, Metzenbaum's cousin, Harriett Woods, ran against Metzenbaum's Republican colleague, John Danforth, for Danforth's U.S. Senate seat in Missouri.[8] Danforth defeated Woods by a margin of less than two percentage points.

In 1981 Metzenbaum was insulted on the floor of the Senate when Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina called him the "senator from B'nai B'rith".[9] Some interpreted this as a slur on Metzenbaum's Jewish faith.[9] Hollings later apologized to Metzenbaum and the remarks were stricken from the record.[10]

On December 2, 1981, Metzenbaum was one of four senators to vote against[11] an amendment to President Reagan's MX missiles proposal that would divert the silo system by $334 million as well as earmark further research for other methods that would allow giant missiles to be based. The vote was seen as a rebuff of the Reagan administration.[12][13]

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Glenn and Metzenbaum had strained relations. There was a thaw in 1983 when Metzenbaum endorsed Glenn for president.

In 1988 Metzenbaum was opposed by Cleveland mayor George Voinovich. Voinovich accused Metzenbaum of being soft on child pornography.[14][15] Voinovich's charges were criticized by many, including Glenn, who recorded a statement for television refuting Voinovich's charges.[16] Metzenbaum won the election by 57% to 43%, even as George H. W. Bush won Ohio's electoral votes by roughly 11 percentage points.[17] Ten years later, Voinovich was elected to Glenn's U.S. Senate seat after Glenn's retirement.

Issues

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Metzenbaum did not run for reelection in 1994. His son-in-law Joel Hyatt was nominated by the Democrats to replace him, but Hyatt lost to Lieutenant Governor Mike DeWine, who had been elected as Voinovich's running mate in 1990.

While in the Senate, Metzenbaum was a powerful liberal. He was known as "Senator No" (a nickname shared by Republican Jesse Helms of North Carolina) and "Headline Howard" and a "headline hog"[5][18][19] due to his ability to filibuster bills by offering scores of amendments as well as blocking hidden special-interest legislation.[19] Metzenbaum took a particular interest in antitrust and consumer protection issues, often threatening to repeal the antitrust law exemption given to Major League Baseball. Since his retirement, the issue has gone largely unaddressed. Metzenbaum became well known for his service on the Senate Judiciary Committee, particularly because of his efforts to keep stringent antitrust laws and his pro-choice stance on abortion.

Metzenbaum was skeptical of corporations and agencies promoting aspartame. An allegation was that the G. D. Searle & Company was trying to bring aspartame to market and get it approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by submitting false data. Metzenbaum berated Searle's fabricated tests and also faulted the American Medical Association (AMA), whose Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported, with some significant disclaimers, that aspartame was safe for most people. Of the report, Metzenbaum said, "I wish that this [JAMA] report could ease my concerns. It does not. It merely restates the FDA position, which relies solely on the Searle tests. As I have indicated these tests are under a cloud. In addition, the concerns raised recently by the scientists...were not even included in the report." In 1985, the U.S. Senate heard testimony relating to an amendment by Metzenbaum that would require the quantity of aspartame in a product to be labeled.

Cleveland Stokers

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In January 1968 Metzenbaum and Bonda purchased the Cleveland Stokers soccer club from Cleveland Indians executives Vernon Stouffer and Gabe Paul. Under their leadership, the team played one year in the North American Soccer League, and even won their division, before departing the league due to differences in business philosophy with the other owners.

Retirement

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After leaving the Senate in 1995, Metzenbaum served as the chairman of the Consumer Federation of America. He died at his home in Aventura, Florida on March 12, 2008.[20] He was buried at Mayfield Cemetery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.[21]

Denying urban legends to the contrary, Metzenbaum said he was never affiliated with the Communist Party.[22] When the National Republican Senatorial Committee suggested in 1987 that he had "Communist sympathies", Chairman Rudy Boschwitz apologized for the smear.[23]

Metzenbaum's cousin James Metzenbaum was an Ohio attorney who wrote a text on zoning law and once ran for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Personal life

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Metzenbaum married Shirley Louise Turoff (1923–2019) on 8 August 1946. They had four daughters : Barbara, Susan, Shelley, and Amy. Susan married Joel Hyatt.

Legacy

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The Old Federal Building and Post Office, now Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse

Metzenbaum was behind several pieces of enacted legislation during his senatorial career. These included the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which required warning periods for large factory closures;[24][25] the Brady Law, which established a waiting period for handgun purchases;[5][26] and the Howard M. Metzenbaum Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA) (U.S. Public Law 103-82), which prohibits federally subsidized adoption agencies from delaying or denying child placement on grounds of race or ethnicity.[27]

On May 27, 1998, the Old Federal Building and Post Office in downtown Cleveland was renamed the Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse in his honor.[28]

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  • Metzenbaum was referenced in the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "Switcheroo". Space Ghost mentioned him as a guest whom his staff had forgotten to book.
  • Metzenbaum had a cameo in the 1993 film Dave.
  • Metzenbaum was referenced in numerous Cleveland-area advertisements.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Kroll, John (December 4, 1994). "Howard's End: Metzenbaum was true to form through his last days in the Senate". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  2. ^ "Ancestry of Howard Metzenbaum". Wargs.com. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  3. ^ Brudney, James J. (September 2008). "Memorial Service Honors Sen. Howard Metzenbaum '41". This Month @ Moritz. The Ohio State University. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "METZENBAUM, HOWARD MORTON". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western University. July 24, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d "Howard M. Metzenbaum, 1917-2008: Ohio Senator was a champion of labor and master of rules". Los Angeles Times. March 13, 2008. pp. B9.
  6. ^ "Upset Time: POLITICS". Time. May 18, 1970. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
  7. ^ "Sun Newspapers," Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, David D. VanTassel, ed., 1997. Retrieved March 13, 2008
  8. ^ Bumiller, Elisabeth (October 15, 1982). "Senate Showdown In the Show-Me State". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Shanahan, Mike (November 14, 1981). "Prayer Issue Sparks Fiery Senate Debate". The Dispatch (Lexington, NC). Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  10. ^ "Hollings issues apology". The Augusta Chronicle. Associated Press. October 16, 1998. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  11. ^ "The 90-4 vote by which the Senate approved the..." UPI. December 3, 1981.
  12. ^ Roberts, Steven V. (December 3, 1981). "SENATORS REJECT PLAN FOR PLACING MX MISSILE IN SILOS". New York Times.
  13. ^ Webbe, Stephen (December 4, 1981). "Reagan scorns Senate rejection of silo-based MX missile plan". The Christian Science Monitor.
  14. ^ Clements, Chase (September 8, 1988). "TV ad on child-porn legislation stirs up U.S. Senate race in Ohio". Toledo Blade. Retrieved May 6, 2013. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ Miller, Robert E. (October 20, 1988). "Metzenbaum Far Ahead Of Challenging Cleveland Mayor". Associated Press. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  16. ^ "In Ohio's Senate race, the low road crosses the campaign trail. Negative TV ads roil Metzenbaum-Voinovich race but fail to stir voters". The Christian Science Monitor. October 6, 1988. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  17. ^ Hallett, Joe (November 9, 1988). "Metzenbaum scores a big victory over Voinovich". Toledo Blade. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Patricia (March 14, 2008). "Ohio Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum, 90; Fought Special-Interest Bills, Tax Breaks". Washington Post. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  19. ^ a b Sullivan, Patricia (March 14, 2008). "Ohio Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum, 90; Fought Special-Interest Bills, Tax Breaks". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  20. ^ Martin, Douglas (March 14, 2008). "Howard M. Metzenbaum, Who Battled Big Business as Ohio Senator, Dies at 90". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  21. ^ "METZENBAUM, Howard Morton - Biographical Information". Bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  22. ^ Personal correspondence, January 5, 2006, from Harold S. Stern, Metzenbaum's law partner after 1953
  23. ^ "American Notes: POLITICS". Time. August 10, 1987. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
  24. ^ "Bill Summary & Status, 100th Congress (1987 - 1988), S.2527". The Library of Congress. Retrieved May 9, 2013.[permanent dead link‍]
  25. ^ "29 USC Chapter 23 - WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING NOTIFICATION". Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  26. ^ Associated Press, "Former Ohio Sen. Howard Metzenbaum dies", 13 Mar. 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2008
  27. ^ "Multiethnic Placement Act: Submission of Recruitment Plans" (PDF). Administration for Children and Families. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. October 11, 1995. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  28. ^ "Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse". U.S. General Services Administration. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Ohio
(Class 1)
1970, 1976, 1982, 1988 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from Ohio
1974
Served alongside: Robert Taft 		Succeeded by
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 1) from Ohio
1976–1995
Served alongside: John Glenn 		Succeeded by
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