Bart Gordon | |
|---|---|
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| Chair of theHouse Science Committee | |
| In office January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Sherwood Boehlert |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Hall |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Science Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 4, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Ralph Hall |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Hall |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's6th district | |
| In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Al Gore |
| Succeeded by | Diane Black |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Barton Jennings Gordon (1949-01-24)January 24, 1949 (age 76) Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Leslie |
| Education | Middle Tennessee State University (BS) University of Tennessee, Knoxville (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1971–1972 |
Barton JenningsGordon (born January 24, 1949) is an American politician and formerU.S. Representative forTennessee's 6th congressional district, serving from 1985 until 2011. The district includes several rural areas and fast-growing suburbs east ofNashville. He was Chairman of theHouse Committee on Science and Technology from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of theDemocratic Party. He announced on December 14, 2009, that he would not seek re-election in 2010.[1][2]
Gordon was born inMurfreesboro, Tennessee, where he has lived all of his life. His father and grandfathers were farmers, and his mother was a teacher in the Rutherford County schools. He served in the United States Army Reserve in 1971 and 1972.[3] He graduated cum laude fromMiddle Tennessee State University in 1971, where he was student body president, and earned aJ.D. degree from theUniversity of Tennessee College of Law in 1973. He is a member of theKappa Alpha Order. He then entered private practice in Murfreesboro.
Active in Democratic politics early on, he was briefly executive director of theTennessee Democratic Party in 1979 and state party chairman from 1981 to 1983.
When 6th District CongressmanAl Gore announced in 1983 that he would run for theUnited States Senate in 1984, Gordon stepped down as state party chairman to run for the seat. He initially faced a hard-fought race against the brother of the publisher of Nashville's formerconservativenewspaper, theNashville Banner. However, he won handily in November 1984, riding Gore's coattails in the midst ofRonald Reagan's landslide victory in that year's presidential election. Gordon is regarded as amoderate. He has favored the repeal of theinheritance tax and the "marriage tax penalty".
Gordon was re-elected by huge margins until 1994, when hisRepublican opponent wasattorneySteve Gill, a formerbasketball player at theUniversity of Tennessee who is now aradiotalk show host. Gordon only won by one percentage point, but managed to defeat Gill more handily in 1996. Gordon was re-elected in 1998 and 2000 by margins similar to those he scored in the 1980s and early 1990s. He faced no significant opposition in 2002, 2004 and 2006 and was unopposed in 2008. This is largely because the 2002 reapportionment by the Democratic-controlledTennessee General Assembly removedWilliamson County, a wealthy and heavily Republican suburban area south of Nashville, from the 6th District and added it to the already heavily Republican7th District. From 2003 to 2019, that district was held byMarsha Blackburn, a Williamson County resident who was Gordon's opponent in 1992–the first time since his initial run for the seat that he faced a reasonably well-financed Republican challenger.
Even as Gordon continued to win reelection, the 6th began trending heavily Republican at the local level in the 1990s and 2000s. For instance, even with Gore atop the ticket asBill Clinton's running mate in 1996 and as presidential candidate in 2000, the Republican nominee for president carried the district in both elections. In addition to Nashville's suburbs bleeding into the district, the more rural areas began shedding their "Yellow Dog Democratic" roots. The Republican trend in the district really manifested itself after Gordon's retirement; his replacement as Democratic candidate,Brett Carter, only tallied 29.3 percent of the vote, barely half that of Republican State SenatorDiane Black. No Democrat has crossed the 30 percent mark in the district since Gordon's retirement.
During his tenure in Congress, Gordon "helped pass theCOMPETES Act and the2007 Energy Bill."[4]
In December 2008, Gordon came under fire from Tennessee conservatives for failing to vote on the auto bailout, stating that his failure to vote was due to a "technical glitch" in the voting system.[5] In March 2010, Gordon announced that he would vote in favor of the Senate Health Care bill.[6]
Gordon has been the fastest runner of foot races in Congress for 20 years. Most recently, he defeated CongressmanAaron Schock, 33 years his younger at the Capital Challenge Charity Race.[7]
Gordon voted against theAffordable Health Care for America Act[8] in November 2009 but voted for both thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act and theHealth Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 in March 2010.[9][10]
In April 2009, Gordon voted against theMatthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[11]
Gordon is currently a partner in the global law firmK&L Gates and is a distinguished fellow at the Council on Competitiveness. He was appointed by President Obama to the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel,[13] the panel traveled to theAntarctic in December 2011 and put out the report “More and Better Science in Antarctica Through Increased Logistical Effectiveness” in July 2012. He is a member of the Brookings Leadership Advisory Board[14] and is a project member for theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences' New Models for U.S. Science and Technology Policy.[15] He is a board member of the U.S Association of Former Members of Congress,[16] and the Middle Tennessee State University Foundation[17] and he is on the Board of Counselors for the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.[18] He also is a member of the ReFormers Caucus ofIssue One.[19]
In 2012 Gordon was bestowed the insignia of Officer in theFrench Legion of Honor.[20] He delivered the commencement keynote address and was awarded an honorary doctorate fromRensselaer Polytechnic Institute in May 2012.[21] In May 2013, he received the first honorary doctorate given by his alma materMiddle Tennessee State University.[22]
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's 6th congressional district 1985–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Science Committee 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Science Committee 2007–2011 | |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
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