Harold Sawyer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Vander Veen |
| Succeeded by | Paul Henry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1920-03-21)March 21, 1920 |
| Died | April 2, 2003(2003-04-02) (aged 83) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Marin Junior College University of California, Berkeley (BA) University of California, Hastings (JD) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Harold Samuel Sawyer (March 21, 1920 – April 2, 2003) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state ofMichigan. Born and raised in theSan Francisco Bay Area, Sawyer representedMichigan's 5th congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1985.
Sawyer was born inSan Francisco, California.[1] He attended public schools of the San Francisco Bay area before graduating from Marin Junior College (now theCollege of Marin),Kentfield, California and from theUniversity of California, Berkeley in 1940. He earned aJ.D. from theUniversity of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1943.
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He served in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II, after which he settled inGrand Rapids, Michigan and established a successful private law practice.
From 1968 to 1976, Sawyer was a member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission. From 1975 to 1976, he was prosecuting attorney forKent County. In 1976, Sawyer defeated incumbentDemocratRichard Vander Veen to reclaimMichigan's 5th congressional district for theRepublicans. The seat had been held byGerald R. Ford until he was appointed to becomeVice President of the United States; it had been in Republican hands without interruption from 1913 until Vander Veen's victory. Sawyer benefited from the presence of Ford atop the ticket in his bid for a full term as president.
Sawyer was elected to theNinety-fifth and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1985. However, he did not have nearly as easy a time of it as Ford or his Republican predecessors. In 1978, he only defeated Democratic challenger Dale Sprik by 0.7 percent, a difference of 1,100 votes.[2] He defeated Sprik by seven points in a rematch.[3] In 1982, he defeated former state representative Stephen Monsma with 53 percent of the vote.[4] These would be the last times that a Democrat managed 40 percent of the vote in the district in the 20th century (it was renumbered as the3rd district in 1993).
Sawyer served on theHouse Select Committee on Assassinations investigating theassassinations of John F. Kennedy andMartin Luther King, Jr.[5] Sawyer was one of four members who dissented from the Committee's finding thatDictabelt evidence suggested that Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy."[5] Responding to a question asking how he would handle the Committee's report if he were at theJustice Department, he replied: "I'd file it in acircular file."[6] Sawyer stated that the conclusions in both cases were based on "supposition upon supposition upon supposition".[7]
In 2003, Sawyer died of throat cancer at his home inAlgoma Township. He is interred in Rockford Cemetery, inRockford, Michigan.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 5th congressional district 1977–1985 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
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