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James Bilbray | |
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| Acting Chair of theBoard of Governors of the United States Postal Service | |
| In office December 2014 – December 8, 2016 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Postmaster General | Megan Brennan |
| Preceded by | Mickey D. Barnett |
| Vice Chair of theBoard of Governors of the United States Postal Service | |
| In office 2012 – December 2014 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Postmaster General | Megan Brennan |
| Preceded by | Mickey D. Barnett |
| Member of theBoard of Governors of the United States Postal Service | |
| In office 2006 – December 8, 2016 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Postmaster General | John E. Potter Patrick R. Donahoe Megan Brennan |
| Preceded by | John F. Walsh |
| Succeeded by | William D. Zollars |
| Member of theDefense Base Realignment and Closure Commission | |
| In office 2005–2006 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Secretary | Donald Rumsfeld Robert Gates |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNevada's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Harry Reid |
| Succeeded by | John Ensign |
| Member of theNevada Senate from theClark County district | |
| In office January 1981 – January 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Hubert Bilbray (1938-05-19)May 19, 1938 |
| Died | September 19, 2021(2021-09-19) (aged 83) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Michaelene Bilbray |
| Relations | Brian Bilbray (cousin) |
| Children | 4, includingShannon Bilbray-Axelrod |
| Education | American University (BA,JD) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1955–1956 1957–1963 (reserve) |
| Unit | United States Army Reserve Nevada Army National Guard |
James Hubert Bilbray (May 19, 1938 – September 19, 2021) was an American politician, lawyer, and postal executive who served four terms as theU.S. representative forNevada's 1st congressional district from 1987 to 1995. He was a member of theDemocratic Party.
Born inLas Vegas in 1938, Bilbray graduated fromLas Vegas High School and attended theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas, from 1959 to 1960. He received a Bachelor of Arts in government and public administration fromAmerican University inWashington, D.C., in 1962 and aJuris Doctor from theWashington College of Law in 1964. He served in theNevada Army National Guard from 1955 to 1956 and in the United States Army Reserve from 1957 to 1963.
Bilbray practiced law and was deputydistrict attorney ofClark County from 1965 to 1967. He was then chief legal counsel in the Clark Countyjuvenile court from 1967 to 1968 and was an alternate municipal judge in Las Vegas from 1978 to 1980. He became licensed to practice law before theNevada Gaming Commission and theNevada Gaming Control Board in 1970.
ADemocrat, he ran for theUnited States House of Representatives in 1972 against conservative incumbentWalter Baring, a fellow Democrat who was disliked by his party's establishment. Bilbray won the primary and was expected to win the general election, but Baring surprised him by endorsing the Republican nominee,David Towell, who upset Bilbray in a close race. Bilbray made a comeback in 1980 when he was elected to theNevada State Senate, where he served from 1981 to 1987, and also became chairman of the Taxation Committee and a member of the Judiciary Committee.
He successfully ran for theU.S. House of Representatives in 1986 for the seat being vacated byHarry Reid, who made a successful run for theU.S. Senate in the same election. He served as chairman of theSmall BusinessSubcommittee on Taxation, Tourism and Procurement and was also a member of theForeign Affairs,Armed Services andIntelligence committees.
Bilbray lost his re-election campaign in the 1994Republican Revolution, losing toRepublican opponentJohn Ensign by less than 1,400 votes. Bilbray appeared to be well on his way to reelection until news surfaced that reports surfaced that one of his aides stood to make a huge profit from lands legislation sponsored by Bilbray.[1]
After leaving Congress, Bilbray joined the law firm of Kummer, Kaempfer, Bonner and Renshaw asOf Counsel in 1996 where he has specialized in dealing with local, state and federal issues. In 2001, he received an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for his work in state and federal government. He was appointed a commissioner on the 2005Base Realignment and Closure Commission and in 2006 was appointed a member of theBoard of Governors of the United States Postal Service byPresidentGeorge W. Bush for a term ending in 2015. He resided in Las Vegas until his death in 2021.
He died on September 19, 2021.
James H. Bilbray Elementary School in Las Vegas is named in his honor.
Bilbray and his wife Michaelene had three daughters: Bridget Bilbray Phillips who was the first principal of James H. Bilbray Elementary School, Erin Bilbray-Kohn who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. House inNevada's 3rd district in 2014, andShannon Bilbray-Axelrod, a member of theNevada Assembly since 2017. They also had one son, Kevin. He was a cousin toBrian Bilbray, a two-time Republican congressman fromSouthern California. Bilbray died on September 19, 2021, at the age of 83.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Bilbray | 61,830 | 54.09 | |
| Republican | Bob Ryan | 59,433 | 44.04 | |
| Libertarian | Gordon Michael Morris | 2,145 | 1.88 | |
| Total votes | 114,317 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Bilbray (Incumbent) | 101,764 | 63.97 | |
| Republican | Lucille Lusk | 53,588 | 33.69 | |
| Libertarian | Patrick O'Neill | 3,724 | 2.34 | |
| Total votes | 159,076 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Bilbray (Incumbent) | 84,650 | 61.41 | |
| Republican | Bob Dickinson | 47,377 | 34.37 | |
| Libertarian | William Moore | 5,825 | 4.23 | |
| Total votes | 137,852 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Bilbray (Incumbent) | 128,178 | 57.87 | |
| Republican | J. Coy Pettyjohn | 84,217 | 38.02 | |
| Libertarian | Scott A. Kjar | 8,993 | 4.06 | |
| Total votes | 221,488 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Ensign | 73,769 | 48.48 | |||
| Democratic | James Bilbray (Incumbent) | 72,333 | 47.54 | |||
| Libertarian | Gary Wood | 6,065 | 3.99 | |||
| Total votes | 152,167 | 100.0 | ||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||||
Nevada Rep. James Bilbray (D) was felled after it was revealed days before the election that his aide stood to profit millions from lands legislation he had sponsored
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNevada's 1st congressional district January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Territorial (1861–1864) |
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| One at-large seat (1864–1983) |
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| Districts (1983–present) (3rd district established in 2003) (4th district established in 2013) |
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