Jack Buechner | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Robert A. Young |
| Succeeded by | Joan Kelly Horn |
| Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 94th district | |
| In office January 3, 1973 – January 5, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Richard J. DeCoster |
| Succeeded by | Stephen C. Banton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John William Buechner (1940-06-04)June 4, 1940 Kirkwood, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | March 6, 2020(2020-03-06) (aged 79) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Marietta Caiarelli (divorced) Nancy Chanitz Buechner (1990–2006, her death) Andrea Dravo Buechner |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Benedictine College (BA) Saint Louis University (JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
John William Buechner (June 4, 1940 – March 6, 2020) was an Americanlawyer andpolitician from who served in theUnited States House of Representatives, representingMissouri's 2nd congressional district from 1987 to 1991. After serving in Congress, Buechner (BEEK-ner)[1] became president of theInternational Republican Institute and was an associate atManatt, Phelps & Phillips. From 2001 until his retirement in 2005, he was the president of thePresidential Classroom program. He served as senior counsel to The Hawthorn Group inAlexandria, Virginia, and was on the advisory board ofBloomberg Government. He was also a member of the ReFormers Caucus ofIssue One.[2]
Buechner was raised inKirkwood, Missouri, and attendedparochial schools. He graduated fromBenedictine College inAtchison, Kansas, and graduated with aBA inpolitical science. He received hisJD fromSaint Louis University School of Law.[3]
He was elected to theMissouri House of Representatives in 1972 and served until 1982. For the1964,1980, and1988Republican National Conventions, Buechner was a delegate.[3] In 1984 he ran for theU.S. House of Representatives inMissouri's 2nd congressional district, challengingincumbentDemocratRobert A. Young. Buechner lost narrowly to Young, receiving 47.5% of the vote.
In1986, Buechner again challenged Young, and this time he was elected, winning 52.7% of the vote. In 1987, Buechner was among 26 House Republicans who voted against overriding PresidentRonald Reagan's veto of a clean water bill that Reagan believed was "loaded with waste and larded with pork."[4]
At the House, Buechner served in theBudget Committee and the Committee onScience, Space and Technology.[5] TheAmerican Conservative Union gave Buechner an 86% conservative rating for his 1987 votes on certain bills;[6] subsequent ratings were 88% in 1988,[7] 73% in 1989,[8] and 67% in 1990.[9]
Buechner was re-elected in1988, but in1990 he was defeated by DemocratJoan Kelly Horn by only 54 votes.[10] In that election, 102 of the 406 House members who won re-election did so with 60 percent of the vote or less, and R.W. Apple Jr. ofThe New York Times blamed "taxes and the budget battle" for Buechner's loss.[11] Buechner was the first Congressional guest onLate Night with David Letterman.[5] For around five times until 1992, Buechner was among participants in weekly Thursday night poker games that SenatorAlfonse D'Amato hosted in D'Amato's Washington office. Those poker games helped lobbyists connect to members of Congress.[12]
After Congress, Buechner became president of theInternational Republican Institute.[5] After SenatorJohn McCain became chairman of the Institute, the board fired Buechner, who later described his dismissal as "less than gracious."[13] He also became a partner at theWashington, D.C., office of law firmManatt, Phelps & Phillips[14][12] and later Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C.[5] In academia, Buechner was a visiting professor ofpolitical thought atWebster University Vienna and adjunct professor ofpolitical science atSaint Louis University andStephens College.[5]
Buechner's first marriage was to Marietta Caiarelli, a nurse. They had a son, Terrence, in 1969, and another son, Patrick.[14][15] In 1990, Buechner married Nancy Chanitz and had another son, Charles. They lived inMcLean, Virginia. Nancy died in 2006.[15] Buechner married Andrea Dravo, an attorney, in 2009. They lived inWashington, D.C., prior to Buechner's death in 2020.[16] Buechner died on March 6, 2020, in Washington, D.C.[17]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri's 2nd congressional district 1987–1991 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
| People | |
