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Romano Mazzoli

(Redirected from Ron Mazzoli)

Romano Louis "Ron"[1] Mazzoli (November 2, 1932 – November 1, 2022) was an American politician and lawyer from Kentucky.

Romano Mazzoli
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 3rd district
In office
January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byWilliam Cowger
Succeeded byMike Ward
Member of the Kentucky Senate
from the 35th district
In office
January 1, 1968 – December 1970
Preceded byMartin J. Duffy
Succeeded byLacey Smith
Personal details
Born
Romano Louis Mazzoli

(1932-11-02)November 2, 1932
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedNovember 1, 2022(2022-11-01) (aged 89)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Helen Dillon
​
​
(m. 1959; died 2012)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame (BS)
University of Louisville (JD)
Harvard University (MPA)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1954-1956
RankSpecialist Third Class
Romano Mazzoli's voice
Mazzoli speaks in support of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
Recorded June 16, 1992

He represented Louisville, Kentucky, and its suburbs in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 through 1995 as a Democrat. He was the primary architect, with Senator Alan Simpson, of major immigration reform legislation.

Early life and career

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Mazzoli, whose father immigrated to the United States from northern Italy, was born in Louisville and was a 1950 graduate of St. Xavier High School, a Xaverian Brothers boys preparatory school.[2][3] He won the 1950 Kentucky boys high school doubles tennis championship with fellow St. Xavier 1951 alumni George D. Koper.[2] He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, in 1954 and from the University of Louisville law school, first in his class, in 1960. Mazzoli served in the Kentucky Senate from 1968 through 1970.[2] In 1969, he ran for mayor of Louisville, and came third in the Democratic primary.[2]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Mazzoli was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970, defeating Republican incumbent William Cowger by 211 votes, the closest House election of that year.[2] Serving for the next 24 years, he was Chairman of the House of Representatives' Immigration, International Law and Refugees Subcommittee for twelve years. He also served on the Small Business, Intelligence and District of Columbia Committees.

In 1981, Mazzoli, an anti-abortion Democrat, introduced, along with Republican Henry Hyde, the Human Life Amendment,[4] a proposed constitutional amendment which would ban all abortions by granting legal protection to all unborn children in the United States. Ultimately, the amendment failed to amass the 218 votes necessary to pass.[5]

Mazzoli authored the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Reform and Control Act, later known as the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and cosponsored it with Republican Senator Alan K. Simpson. The bill enacted the first U.S. laws to sanction employers who hired undocumented aliens; it also granted an amnesty for aliens already living and working in the United States. After five years of debate and compromise, the Simpson-Mazzoli Bill was ultimately signed into law in November 1986.[3] Also in 1986, Mazzoli was one of the House impeachment managers who prosecuted the case in the impeachment trial of Judge Harry E. Claiborne. Claiborne was found guilty by the United States Senate and removed from his federal judgeship.[6]

Mazzoli did not run for reelection in 1994, leaving office in January 1995. The 104th United States Congress, the first in nearly a quarter century without Mazzoli, passed legislation (P.L 104–77), signed by President Bill Clinton on December 28, 1995, renaming the Federal Building in his hometown of Louisville, the Romano L. Mazzoli Federal Building.

Later life

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After leaving Congress, he taught at Bellarmine University and was the Ralph S. Petrilli Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Louisville Law School for the Fall 1995 semester, returning later to the law school as faculty.

In 2002, Mazzoli was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He graduated with a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in June 2004. While studying for his degree, he lived on campus, where he met Pete Buttigieg, then an undergraduate student. In 2012, Mazzoli officiated Buttigieg's inauguration as mayor of South Bend, Indiana.[3]

In September 2006, Simpson and Mazzoli co-authored an article that appeared in The Washington Post revisiting their 1986 immigration legislation.

Personal life and death

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Mazzoli married Helen Dillon in 1959. They had two children and remained together until her death in 2012.[2]

Mazzoli died at his home in Louisville on November 1, 2022, one day before his 90th birthday.[2]

Election results

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Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1974)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Vincent N. Barclay 28,813 26.56
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli (incumbent) 37,346 69.67
American William P. Chambers 3,383 3.12
Independent Luther J. Wilson 708 0.65
Total votes 108,475 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold
Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1976)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Denzil J. Ramsey 58,019 41.22
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli (incumbent) 80,496 57.19
American William P. Chambers 2,229 1.58
Total votes 140,744 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold
Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1978)
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli (incumbent) 37,346 65.67
Republican Norbert D. Leveronne 17,785 31.27
Independent Tom Beckham 1,312 2.31
Socialist Workers John Cumbler 428 0.75
Total votes 56,871 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold
Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1980)
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli (incumbent) 85,873 63.74
Republican Richard Cesler 46,681 34.65
American Robert D. Vessels 468 0.35
Citizens John Cumbler 1,272 0.94
Libertarian Henry G. Logsdon 430 0.32
Total votes 134,724 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold
Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1982)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Carl Brown 45,900 32.19
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli (incumbent) 92,849 65.11
Independent Norbert D. Leveronne 2,840 1.99
Libertarian Dan Murray 608 0.43
Socialist Workers Craig Honts 400 0.28
Total votes 142,597 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold
Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1984)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Suzanne M. Warner 68,185 31.67
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli (incumbent) 145,680 67.67
Independent Peggy Kreiner 1,273 0.59
Write-In 139 0.06
Total votes 215,277 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold
Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1986)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lee Holmes 29,348 26.15
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli (incumbent) 81,943 73.01
Socialist Workers Estelle Debates 899 0.80
Write-In 43 0.04
Total votes 112,233 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold
Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1988)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Philip Dunnagan 57,387 30.30
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli (incumbent) 131,981 69.70
Total votes 189,368 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold
Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1990)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Al Brown 55,188 39.44
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli 84,750 60.56
Total votes 139,938 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold
Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Election (1992)
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Romano L. Mazzoli (incumbent) 148,066 52.74
Republican Susan B. Stokes 132,689 47.26
Write-In Patricia Metten 15 0.005
Total votes 280,770 100.00
Turnout  
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ "US Congressman Ron Mazzoli laid to rest at Cavalry Cemetery in Louisville". November 7, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Former US Representative Romano Mazzoli of Louisville dies". The Courier-Journal. November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Risen, Clay (November 5, 2022). "Romano Mazzoli, Who Oversaw Major Immigration Reform, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Brozan, Nadine (February 15, 1981). "Opposing Sides Step up Efforts on Abortion Measure". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "CQ Almanac Online Edition".
  6. ^ "List of Individuals Impeached by the House of Representatives". United States House of Representatives. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 3rd congressional district
1971–1995 		Succeeded by
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