Jim Chapman | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's1st district | |
| In office August 3, 1985 – January 3, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Sam B. Hall |
| Succeeded by | Max Sandlin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Louis Chapman (1945-03-08)March 8, 1945 (age 80) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Texas, Austin (BBA) Southern Methodist University (JD) |
James Louis Chapman (born March 8, 1945) is an American business and political leader. From 1985 to 1997, he served asDemocratic Congressman representing theTexas's 1st congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives. His home town wasSulphur Springs.
Chapman was born in Washington, D.C. He attended public schools in Sulphur Springs; he received an undergraduate degree in business administration from theUniversity of Texas at Austin (1968) and aJ.D. degree from theSouthern Methodist University School of Law inDallas, Texas (1970).
After a stint in private practice, Chapman became theDistrict Attorney for the Eighth Judicial District ofTexas from 1976 to 1985, during which he achieved a 99 percent conviction record and a national reputation as a tough,law and order prosecutor. Chapman served in leadership roles with theTexas District and County Attorneys Association and the National District Attorneys Association. Later, he set up his own practice and was senior partner of the law firm of Chapman, Price, Hughes & Bauer. He also became chairman of a local community bank.
Chapman was elected in 1985 as a Democrat in the 99th Congress during a highly visiblespecial election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. RepresentativeSam B. Hall. He defeated theRepublican choice,Edd Hargett, a former professionalfootball player, by just over 1,900 votes.[1][2] However, he would never face another contest anywhere near that close, and was reelected to the five succeeding Congresses (August 3, 1985 – January 3, 1997). He was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Fifth Congress in 1996, but was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination to theUnited States Senate in 1996.
While in Congress, Chapman served four years on the DemocraticSteering and Policy Committee, which sets committee assignments and the legislative agenda for the caucus. He also served as chairman of the Texas Democratic congressional delegation and as a member of the Democratic Whip organization.
Chapman served on theHouse Appropriations Committee, working on numerous projects including restoration and development of anArmy Corps of Engineers-maintained East Texas lake called Cooper Lake, located betweenCooper andSulphur Springs. In honor of his work, Congress later enacted legislation formally renaming the lake as "Jim Chapman Lake." Prior to his service on the Appropriations Committee, he served on thePublic Works and Transportation Committee;Small Business Committee; and theScience, Space and Technology Committee. Chapman gained notoriety during theClinton–Lewinsky scandal when it was revealed in theStarr Report thatPresident Clinton was receivingfellatio fromMonica Lewinsky while on the phone with Chapman on November 15, 1995 between 9:25pm and 9:30pm.[3]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's 1st congressional district 1985–1997 | Succeeded by |
| 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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| National | |
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