Howard Coble | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's6th district | |
| In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Robin Britt |
| Succeeded by | Mark Walker |
| Member of theNorth Carolina House of Representatives from the 27th[1] district | |
| In office 1983–1985 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Bell Hunter |
| Succeeded by | Albert S. Lineberry Frank Julian Sizemore, III |
| Member of theNorth Carolina House of Representatives from the 23rd[2] district | |
| In office 1979–1983 | |
| Preceded by | Henry E. Frye Thomas Odell Gilmore Thomas B. Sawyer William Marcus Short Charles Edward Webb[3] |
| Succeeded by | George W. Miller Jr. William Paul Pulley, Jr. Kenneth Bridgeforth Spaulding |
| Secretary of theNorth Carolina Department of Revenue | |
| In office 1973–1977 | |
| Governor | James Holshouser |
| Preceded by | Gilmer Andrew Jones, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Mark G. Lynch |
| Member of theNorth Carolina House of Representatives from the 26th[4] district | |
| In office 1969–1971 | |
| Preceded by | Hargrove Skipper Bowles, Jr. Elton Edwards James Gooden Exum, Jr. Charles Wesley Phillips Daniel P. Whitley, Jr.[5] |
| Succeeded by | Clifton Tredway Hunt, Jr. John McNeill Smith, Jr.[6] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Howard Coble (1931-03-18)March 18, 1931 Greensboro,North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | November 3, 2015(2015-11-03) (aged 84) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Appalachian State University Guilford College (AB) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | United States Coast Guard |
| Years of service | 1952–1956 1977–1978 1960–1982 (USCGR)[7] |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
Coble speaks in support of theDigital Millennium Copyright Act, which he sponsored Recorded August 4, 1998 | |
John Howard Coble (March 18, 1931 – November 3, 2015) was an American politician who was theU.S. representative forNorth Carolina's 6th congressional district, serving from 1985 to 2015. He was a member of theRepublican Party. The district includes all or portions of ten counties in the northern-central part of the state, including portions ofGreensboro andDurham.
Coble was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, the son of Johnnie E. (Holt) and Joseph Howard Coble.[8] After high school, he initially attendedAppalachian State University, but after a year joined theUnited States Coast Guard, serving for over 5 years and staying on as a reservist for an additional 18 years. Upon discharging from military service, he attendedGuilford College, from which he received a history degree. He was a member of the Epsilon Iota chapter ofPi Kappa Phi fraternity at theUniversity of North Carolina at Greensboro. Coble then moved on to theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a degree in law.
After graduating from college, Coble first worked as an insurance agent. He then spent nearly 20 years as a practicing attorney, and he was also Secretary of Revenue under North Carolina GovernorJames Holshouser. In 1979, Coble was elected to theNorth Carolina House of Representatives, serving until his election to Congress.
Coble was first elected to Congress in 1984, narrowly defeating Walter Cockerham in the primary 51%–49%.[9] In the general election, he defeated one-termDemocratic incumbentRobin Britt 51%–49%.[10] Coble was likely the beneficiary of long coattails fromRonald Reagan, who carried the district by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. In 1986, he defeated Britt in a rematch, which was an even closer 50.03%–49.97% and Coble won by only 79 votes (closest margin of victory that year). He would never face another contest nearly that close, and would be reelected 13 more times with 61% or more of the vote.[11] In July 2008, Coble won the Republican primary unopposed and became North Carolina's longest-serving Republican U.S. congressman, surpassing former U.S. CongressmanJim Broyhill (who was also elected to 12 terms but left the House in July 1986 to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat). Coble announced in 2013 that he would not run for another term in2014, and would retire after 30 years in Congress.[12]
In the105th United States Congress Coble moved to suspend the rules and pass theNET Act on November 4, 1997, which removed the requirement of financial gain for criminal prosecution of copyright violation.[13] The NET Act was passed only after the House suspended the rules.[14]
Coble was a strong supporter of agriculture and had voted in favor of bills to protect agriculture. Coble opposed further regulation oftobacco because he believed it would hurt North Carolina tobacco planters.
Coble took a hard-line position on illegal drugs, and co-sponsored a resolution to oppose the legalization and use ofmedical marijuana.[15] He also voted for an amendment to authorizedrug testing on federal employees.[15] However, he authored a resolution to celebrate the passage of theTwenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Prohibition ofalcoholic beverages in the United States.[15] Coble was also a member of theTea Party Caucus, joiningSue Myrick andWalter B. Jones as the sole members of the North Carolina Congressional delegation to join the group.
In June 2013, Coble announced introduction of new legislation to reform thecongressional pension program. He stated that reforming congressional pensions was long overdue and that the bill would lengthen the time of service required before a member would be eligible for participation in the pension program.[16] Coble himself pledged not to receive any pension from theUnited States government. He toldCBSUp to the Minute, "I figured taxpayers pay my salary – not a bad salary, and I figure that's sufficient. Let me fend for myself after the salary's collected." He also stated to CBS, "I've pledged my assurance I won't take the pension. That's between my constituents and me. As far as convicted felons, I guess that's between their constituents and themselves." He was one of two congressmen, withRon Paul, to have pledged to decline his pension.[17]
However, during the government shutdown in October 2013, Coble said that although 800,000 federal workers are furloughed and not receiving a paycheck, he would still collect his salary as a requirement of law.[18] Coble was one of 87 Republicans who voted to end the shutdown.[19]
A billto extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for 10 years (H.R. 3626; 113th Congress) was introduced in the House on December 2, 2013, by Coble.[20] The bill would extend the Act but would not expand any of its provisions (related to plastic guns).[21] It passed the House on December 3, 2013.
Coble also sponsored theDigital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),[22] in 1997, a bill fundamental to the foundation of internet law. It would come into effect in the year 2000.
As a young man, Coble frequently enjoyed eating a breakfast of Rose brand pork brains in milk gravy and eggs. According to a quote from Coble appearing alongside his family recipe for "Breakfast Brains N' Eggs," the breakfast was "fairly regular" and "not at all unusual".[23]
Coble was a member of the Guilford College Board of Visitors and of theU.S. Coast Guard Academy Board of Visitors.
He was aFreemason and member of Guilford Lodge number 656 inGreensboro.[24]
Coble had skin cancer for many years among other ailments. He was admitted to intensive care in a Greensboro hospital in September 2015 after complications from skin cancer surgery, and died in the hospital from those complications on November 3, 2015, at age 84.[25][26]
| Year | Republican | Votes | % | Democratic | Votes | % | Third Party | Party | Votes | % | Third Party | Party | Votes | % | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Howard Coble | 102,925 | 51% | Robin Britt | 100,263 | 49% | |||||||||||||
| 1986 | Howard Coble | 72,329 | 50% | Robin Britt | 72,250 | 50% | |||||||||||||
| 1988 | Howard Coble | 116,534 | 62% | Tom Gilmore | 70,008 | 38% | |||||||||||||
| 1990 | Howard Coble | 125,392 | 67% | Helen Allegrone | 62,913 | 33% | |||||||||||||
| 1992 | Howard Coble | 162,822 | 71% | Robin Hood | 67,200 | 29% | |||||||||||||
| 1994 | Howard Coble | 98,355 | 100% | No candidate | |||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Howard Coble | 167,828 | 73% | Mark Costley | 58,022 | 25% | Gary Goodson | Libertarian | 2,693 | 1% | |||||||||
| 1998 | Howard Coble | 112,740 | 89% | No candidate | Jeffrey Bentley | Libertarian | 14,454 | 11% | |||||||||||
| 2000 | Howard Coble | 195,727 | 91% | No candidate | Jeffrey Bentley | Libertarian | 18,726 | 9% | |||||||||||
| 2002 | Howard Coble | 151,430 | 90% | No candidate | Tara Grubb | Libertarian | 16,067 | 10% | |||||||||||
| 2004 | Howard Coble | 207,470 | 73% | William Jordan | 76,153 | 27% | |||||||||||||
| 2006 | Howard Coble | 108,433 | 71% | Rory Blake | 44,661 | 29% | |||||||||||||
| 2008 | Howard Coble | 221,008 | 67% | Teresa Bratton | 108,873 | 33% | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | Howard Coble | 156,252 | 75% | Sam Turner | 51,507 | 25% | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | Howard Coble | 222,116 | 61% | Tony Foriest | 142,467 | 39% | Hugh Chauvin | Libertarian | 4,847 | 2% | Brandon Parmer | Green | 2,017 | 1% |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Theodore C. Conrad | Republican nominee forNorth Carolina State Treasurer 1976 | Vacant Title next held by Nancy L. Coward |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 6th congressional district 1985–2015 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
