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Donald J. Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from New York's31st district | |
| In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander Pirnie (redistricting) |
| Succeeded by | Sherwood Boehlert (redistricting) |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly from the Herkimer County district | |
| In office January 1, 1965 – December 31, 1965 | |
| Preceded by | Leo A. Lawrence |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| In office January 1, 1966 – December 31, 1966 | |
| Preceded by | new district |
| Succeeded by | Louis H. Folmer |
| In office January 1, 1967 – November 7, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Harvey M. Lifset |
| Succeeded by | K. Daniel Haley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1923-05-08)May 8, 1923 Ilion, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 27, 2003(2003-09-27) (aged 80) Little Falls, New York, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Margaretta "Gretta" Mitchell (née: Margaretta Wilson LeVee) - m. 1945–2003, his death |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Hobart College /Columbia Univ. |
| Occupation | elected official /optometrist |
Donald Jerome Mitchell (May 8, 1923 – September 27, 2003) was an American politician. He represented New York in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983.
Donald J. "Don" Mitchell, a native of Central Upstate New York'sMohawk Valley, with ancestral family roots tracing back to theAmerican Revolution, was born inIlion, New York, in 1923.[1]
The oldest child of Donald J. Mitchell and Winnifred Packard Mitchell ofHerkimer, New York, he attended the Herkimer Public School System, graduating in 1940 fromHerkimer High School,[2] which had been founded in 1899.
In 1945, after returning home from his military service duringWorld War II, Mitchell married Margaretta "Gretta" Wilson LeVee, the daughter of E. Allen LeVee and Margaret Tinker LeVee, ofLittle Falls, New York.[2][a][3]
Married for over 57 years at the time of the Congressman's death in 2003, the Mitchells had three children – Gretchen, Cynthia, and Allen – and two grandchildren, Susan and Lisa.[1][2]
DuringWorld War II, Mitchell served as a carrier-based fighter pilot in theUnited States Navy from 1942 until 1945.[2] An avid pilot in private life, Dr. Mitchell re-enlisted in the Navy in 1951, and served as aNaval Flight Instructor inPensacola, Florida, from 1951–1953, during theKorean War.[1]
Following his military service in World War II, Mitchell completed a bachelor's degree inOptometry atHobart College in 1949, and earned a master's degree fromColumbia University in 1950. In the early 1950s he founded an optometry practice inHerkimer, New York.[2]
In 1954, he was elected to the Herkimer City Council (1954–1957), and served as Mayor of Herkimer from 1957 to 1960. He was also active in numerous civic and charitable organizations. Among those were: theBoy Scouts of America, theAmerican Civil Defense Association, the Central Association for the Blind, the Eastern New York Chapter of theNature Conservancy, theMohawk Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, theAmerican Cancer Society, theUnited Way, and theHerkimer County Historical Society. Additionally, he served as a member of the Herkimer Zoning Board of Appeals from 1963 until 1964, until elected to theNew York State Assembly.[1][2]
In 1964, Mitchell was elected to representHerkimer County in theNew York State Assembly.[1]
He was a member of the State Assembly from 1965 to 1972, serving in the175th,176th,177th,178th and179th New York State Legislatures.[2] He served in theRepublican leadership as theAssembly'sMajority Whip from 1969 to 1972.[2]
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In 1972, Mitchell was elected to theUnited States Congress where he represented what is nowNew York's 31st Congressional District.[4] After being successfully re-elected to a second term by a wide margin in 1974, he then ran unopposed to for three more terms,[2] serving in Congress a total of 10 years from January 3, 1973, until January 3, 1983.[1][5]
While in the U.S. Congress, Mitchell served on theHouse Armed Services Committee, and was elected by his colleagues and served four years in the House Republican Leadership as Regional Whip for New England and the Mid-Atlantic States.[4]
Mitchell was also a founder of, and the first Chairman of the Northeast/Midwest Coalition in the U.S. House of Representatives, and was a founding member of the Congressional Tourism Caucus.[2]
He and a coalition of other House members also started a campaign in the early 1970s to persuade theDefense Department to award more military contracts and employ more people in the Northeast, which was losing Defense funding and contracts to the South. And in 1974, Mitchell led another successful campaign to prevent the Air Force from cutting 1,500 jobs at theRome Air Development Center atGriffiss Air Force Base inRome, NY[6]
In 1982, at the behest of Broadway ProducerJoe Papp, and with the encouragement of members of his family and others involved in a "Save the Theatres"[7][8][9][10] effort to preserve historicBroadway theatres in New York City, Mitchell introduced legislation in the Congress along with 13 co-sponsors[b] to designate a "Broadway/Times Square Theatre District National Historic Site" in Mid-Town Manhattan.[c]
Mitchell's bill (97th Congress – H.R.6885) faced fierce opposition and extensive lobbying mounted against it byMayor Ed Koch's administration and big-money Manhattan development interests. Although the measure was, consequently, never enacted – the overall effect of his legislative initiative and of the "Save the Theatres" effort generally, however, was to slow down the rapid destruction of the oldTheater District. This allowed for the preservation of at least some of the historic playhouses, with the eventual designation by the City of an official "Theater Subdistrict",[d] and helped to ensure retention of a measure of the District's original flavor, atmosphere, charm and historic character for future generations of theatregoers and visitors to the City.[12]
As a result in large part to Papp's efforts, with the support of Congressman Mitchell and many others, the Theater District remains one of New York City's primary and most popular tourist attractions and destinations.[12]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(October 2025) |
In 1984, Mitchell retired from public service and returned toHerkimer, New York. There he resumed hisoptometry practice, he and his wife Gretta dividing their time between homes in theMohawk Valley and inCedar Key, Florida.[1][2]
TheVeterans Administration hospital clinic atGriffiss Air Force Base near Rome, New York was formally designated by Act of Congress, signed into law by President Clinton, to be known as the "Donald J. Mitchell VA Outpatient Clinic". The facility provides primary care and other health care services for veterans in the greater Utica-Rome-Syracuse area in Central New York State.[13]
In 1992, Congressman Mitchell and his family established the "Donald J. Mitchell Family Fund", a charitable trust fund administered through the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties based inUtica. The foundation and the Mitchell fund's mission is to build partnerships, inspire leadership and generate positive outcomes toward increasing the percentage of adults with bachelor's degrees in Herkimer and Oneida counties, through annual grants to local students; and to embrace other programs and collaborations that address economic development, education, health, and arts and culture in the region.[14]
Mitchell died on September 27, 2003, of complications associated withParkinson's disease. Upon his death, theUtica Observer-Dispatch newspaper noted: "If anyone can be heralded for having led an exemplary life, its former U.S. Congressman Donald J. Mitchell.... Mitchell managed to balance a vigorous commitment to community and country without ever forsaking family and friends – and he left a legacy of pride along a path that took him from the Mohawk Valley to the Nation's Capital and back again."[1]
Escorted by bothActive Duty, andAmerican Legion Veteranshonor guards – and borne by uniform personnel representing all branches of theU.S. Military – Mitchell was interred with fullmilitary honors, accompanied by "Taps" and the firing ofvolley shots, on a hillside at the Oak Hill Cemetery overlooking a tributary of theMohawk River in his hometown ofHerkimer, New York.[1][2]
| New York State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York State Assembly Herkimer County 1965 | Succeeded by district abolished |
| Preceded by new district | New York State Assembly 122nd District 1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York State Assembly 112th District 1967–1972 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 31st congressional district 1973–1983 | Succeeded by |
