Tom Foley

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For the Connecticut gubernatorial candidate, see Thomas C. Foley. For other uses, see Thomas Foley.
The Honorable
Tom Foley
KBE
File:Tom Foley Official Portrait.jpg
49th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office
June 6, 1989 – January 3, 1995
President George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Preceded by Jim Wright
Succeeded by Newt Gingrich
25th United States Ambassador to Japan
In office
November 19, 1997 – April 1, 2001
President Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Preceded by Walter Mondale
Succeeded by Howard Baker
House Majority Leader
In office
January 3, 1987 – June 6, 1989
Speaker Jim Wright
Whip Tony Coelho
Preceded by Jim Wright
Succeeded by Dick Gephardt
House Majority Whip
In office
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987
Speaker Tip O'Neill
Leader Jim Wright
Preceded by John Brademas
Succeeded by Tony Coelho
Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee
In office
January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981
Speaker Carl Albert
Tip O'Neill
Preceded by William Poage
Succeeded by Kika de la Garza
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Washington's 5th district
In office
January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by Walt Horan
Succeeded by George Nethercutt
Personal details
Born Thomas Stephen Foley
(1929-03-06)March 6, 1929
Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Heather Strachan
Alma mater University of Washington
B.A. 1951, J.D. 1957
Religion Roman Catholicism
Speaker of the House
Tom Foley,
official congressional portrait
Official portrait as chairman
of the Agriculture Committee

Thomas Stephen "Tom" Foley (March 6, 1929 – October 18, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician from the state of Washington. He was the 49th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1989 to 1995. He represented Washington's 5th congressional district for 30 years as a Democratic member from 1965 to 1995.

Foley was the first Speaker of the House since 1862 to be defeated in a re-election campaign. He served as the United States Ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton.

Early life and legal practice

Foley was born in Spokane, Washington, the son of Helen Marie (née Higgins), a school teacher, and Ralph E. Foley, a Superior Court Judge.[1] He was of Irish Catholic descent.[2] In 1946, he graduated from the Jesuit-run Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane. He went on to attend Gonzaga University in Spokane and the University of Washington in Seattle, the latter awarding him a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1951. In 1957, he earned a law degree from the same university.

Following law school, Foley entered private practice. In 1958, he began working in the Spokane County prosecutor's office as a deputy prosecuting attorney,[3] and later taught at Gonzaga University Law School (in Spokane) from 1958 to 1959. In 1961, he joined the Washington Attorney General's office as an assistant attorney general.[3]

In 1961, Foley moved to Washington, D.C., and joined the staff of Senator Henry Jackson, the then-Democratic Senator From Washington.[3] He left Jackson's employ in 1964 at his urging to run for Congress.[3]

Congressional service

In 1964, Foley was unopposed for the Democratic nomination for Washington's 5th congressional seat,[4] which included Spokane. He faced 11-term Republican incumbent Walt Horan in the general election and won by seven points, one of many swept into office in the Democratic landslide. He was re-elected without significant difficulty until 1978, when he narrowly defeated conservative activist Duane Alton. The next race in 1980 was also close, when physician John Sonneland finished just 4 points back. Though the fifth district became increasingly conservative, Foley didn't face serious opposition again until his defeat in 1994.

In 1981, Foley was chosen majority whip by the House Democratic caucus and served in that capacity until 1987, when he moved up to the position of majority leader. In 1989, Jim Wright of Texas stepped down as Speaker of the House amid an ethics scandal, and Foley was elected to succeed him. He became the first Speaker from a state west of the Rocky Mountains.

Term limits

During his time in the House, Foley repeatedly opposed efforts to impose term limits on Washington state's elected officials, winning the support of the state's voters to reject term limits in a 1991 referendum; however, in 1992, a term limit ballot initiative was approved by the state's voters.[3]

Foley brought suit, challenging the constitutionality of a state law setting eligibility requirements on federal offices. Foley won his suit, with federal courts declaring that states did not have the authority under the United States Constitution to limit the terms of federal officeholders.

However, in Foley's bid for a 16th term in the House, his Republican opponent, George Nethercutt, used the issue against him, properly citing the caption of the federal case brought by Foley, "Foley against the People of the State of Washington". Nethercutt vowed that if elected, he would not serve more than three terms in the House (but ultimately served for five terms). Foley lost in a narrow race. While Foley had usually relied on large margins in Spokane to carry him to victory, in 1994 he won Spokane by only 9,000 votes, while Nethercutt did well enough in the rest of the district to win overall by just under 4,000 votes.

Foley became the first sitting Speaker of the House to lose his bid for re-election since Galusha A. Grow in 1862. He is sometimes viewed as a political casualty of the term limits controversy of the early 1990s. President Bill Clinton attributed his defeat to his support for the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994.[5]

Electoral history

Here is a chart of the voting results in Foley's election race. There are subtotals for the city of Spokane, rural Spokane County, and a Spokane total, as this is the main part of the 5th Congressional District.

Year Candidate Party Spokane Outside County District
1964 Tom Foley* D 41,377 17,587 58,964 84,830
Walt Horan (Inc) R 32,262 16,757 49,019 73,884
1966 Tom Foley* D 35,533 15,334 50,867 74,571
Dorothy Powers R 25,357 13,232 38,589 57,310
1968 Tom Foley* D 41,203 19,227 60,430 88,446
Richard Bond R 29,659 16,988 46,647 67,304
1970 Tom Foley* D 40,791 20,532 61,323 88,189
George Gamble R 19,926 11,928 31,854 43,376
1972 Tom Foley* D 58,282 35,060 93,342 150,580
Clarice Privette R 12,468 8,637 21,105 34,742
1974 Tom Foley* D 30,717 18,726 49,443 87,959
Gary Gage R 16,925 12,020 28,945 48,739
1976 Tom Foley* D 41,720 27,905 69,625 120,415
Duane Alton R 30,318 25,519 55,837 84,262
Bear Sandahl L 834 407 1,241 1,959
Ira Liebowitz USL 403 181 584 935
1978 Tom Foley* D 28,346 18,858 47,204 77,201
Duane Alton R 20,923 18,942 39,865 68,761
Mel Tonasket I 5,574 4,580 10,154 14,887
1980 Tom Foley* D 41,256 31,604 72,860 120,530
John Sonneland R 32,857 33,662 66,519 111,705
1982 Tom Foley* D 39,810 32,362 72,172 109,549
John Sonneland R 18,482 20,420 38,902 60,816
1984 Tom Foley* D 56,820 49,360 106,180 154,988
Jack Hebner R 20,517 23,729 44,246 67,438
1986 Tom Foley* D 43,011 37,939 80,950 121,732
Floyd Wakefield R 12,510 14,281 26,791 41,179
1988 Tom Foley* D 56,249 53,791 110,040 160,654
Marlyn Derby R 14,438 17,772 32,210 49,657
1990 Tom Foley* D 38,553 37,121 75,674 110,234
Marlyn Derby R 15,082 18,363 33,445 49,965
1992 Tom Foley* D 49,675 45,919 95,594 135,965
John Sonneland R 32,508 40,108 72,616 110,443
1994 Tom Foley D 39,331 35,323 74,654 106,074
George Nethercutt* R 30,265 41,065 71,330 110,057

Later career

In 1997, Foley was appointed as the 25th U.S. Ambassador to Japan by President Bill Clinton.[6] He served as ambassador until 2001.

Foley was a Washington delegate to the 2000 Democratic National Convention.[citation needed] On July 9, 2003, Washington Governor Gary Locke awarded the Washington Medal of Merit, the state's highest honor, to Foley.[citation needed] He was North American Chairman of the Trilateral Commission.[7]

Death

Foley died at his home in Washington, D.C. on October 18, 2013, following months of hospice care after suffering a series of strokes and a bout with pneumonia.[8] He was 84 and is survived by his wife, Heather. He had been experiencing aspiration pneumonia. Services were held at St. Aloysius Church at Gonzaga University, as well as Washington, D.C.[9][10] Speaker John Boehner, and Nancy Pelosi, who also served as Speaker, issued statements honoring Foley.[11] In a White House statement, U.S. President Barack Obama called Speaker Foley a "legend of the United States Congress" who "represented the people of Washington's 5th district with skill, dedication, and a deep commitment to improving the lives of those he was elected to serve.", going on to praise him for his bipartisanship and subsequent ambassadorial service under former President Clinton.[12] Vice President Joseph Biden also released an official statement, saying "Tom was a good friend and a dedicated public servant.", citing his work in Congress with Foley in the 1980s on budgetary issues.[13] Washington Governor Jay Inslee also released a statement, acknowledging his efforts to reach consensus and emphasize mutual common ground, and his work in the legal system and in Congress, in these capacities serving the state and the Spokane, Washington area.[14] Former President George H. W. Bush, whose presidential term overlapped Foley's service as Speaker, stated he "represented the very best in public service- and our political system" and "never got personal or burned bridges."[15]

Honors

References

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.gonzaga.edu/academics/libraries/foley+library/faqs-and-information/History.asp
  2. ↑ http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8703
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Commentary: "Is Tom Foley the Wrong Man to Send to Tokyo?" BusinessWeek. May 12, 1997; Wudunn, Sheryl. "New U.S. Diplomat Tries to Speak Japan's Language," New York Times. April 8, 1998.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Trilateral Commission: Foley, bio notes
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/releases/article.aspx?id=163
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: FOLEY, Thomas Stephen, (1929 - 2013); Retrieved 19 October 2013
  17. ↑ Tom Hayden, Irish on the Inside: In Search of the Soul of Irish America, p. 116; Retrieved 19 October 2013

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Washington's 5th congressional district
1965–1995		 Succeeded by
George Nethercutt
Preceded by Chairperson of the House Agriculture Committee
1975–1981		 Succeeded by
Kika de la Garza
Preceded by Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives
1981–1987		 Succeeded by
Tony Coelho
Preceded by Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives
1987–1989		 Succeeded by
Dick Gephardt
Party political offices
Preceded by Deputy Leader of the Democratic Party in the U.S. House of Representatives
1981–1987		 Succeeded by
Tony Coelho
Preceded by Leader of the Democratic Party in the U.S. House of Representatives
1987–1989		 Succeeded by
Dick Gephardt
Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
1989–1995		 Succeeded by
Newt Gingrich
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Japan
1997–2001		 Succeeded by
Howard Baker

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