Bob Davis | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's11th district | |
| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Philip Ruppe |
| Succeeded by | Bart Stupak (redistricting) |
| Member of theMichigan Senate from the37th district | |
| In office January 1, 1971 – December 31, 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas F. Schweigert |
| Succeeded by | Mitch Irwin |
| Member of theMichigan House of Representatives from the106th district | |
| In office January 1, 1967 – December 31, 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Clayton T. Morrison |
| Succeeded by | Richard Friske |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert William Davis (1932-07-31)July 31, 1932 Marquette, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | October 16, 2009(2009-10-16) (aged 77) Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Northern Michigan University Hillsdale College |
| Occupation |
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Robert William Davis (July 31, 1932 – October 16, 2009) was an Americanpolitician from the state ofMichigan. He represented the state's11th congressional district, which at that time included theUpper Peninsula and a large portion ofNorthern Michigan, in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1979 until 1993.
Davis was born inMarquette, Michigan. His family moved toSt. Ignace soon after his birth, where he attended public schools. He graduated from LaSalle High School in 1950. He attendedNorthern Michigan University,Hillsdale College, and the College of Mortuary Sciences atWayne State University. Before entering politics, Davis served as Funeral Director at the Davis Funeral Home in St. Ignace.
In 1966, Davis was elected as aRepublican to theMichigan House of Representatives from thestate's 106th District and was reelected in 1968. In 1970, Davis was elected to theMichigan State Senate from the37th district and was reelected in 1974. He served as the Majority Whip, 1970–1974, and as Senate Republican Leader, 1974–1978. In 1978, Davis was elected to the96th United States Congress and was subsequently re-elected to the six succeeding Congresses. Davis did not seek re-election in 1992. In Congress, Davis helped establish theThunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and theKeweenaw National Historical Park.
In early 1992, Davis was implicated in theHouse banking scandal or congressional check-kiting scandal. The Congress ran its own bank and allowed members who wished to do so to frequently write overdrawn or insufficient fund checks to their account. Davis was one of the most notorious of these, writing many overdrawn checks. There was no illegality, though, since the bank allowed members overdraft protection.
For the elections of 1992, after redistricting due to the1990 census, most of what had been 11th congressional district becameMichigan's 1st congressional district, while the 11th district was apportioned to represent a part of theMetro Detroit area. In 1992,DemocratBart Stupak was elected from 1st district, succeeding Davis as the U.S. representative for the U.P. and Northern Michigan. Stupak, coincidentally, defeatedPhilip Ruppe, the man Davis replaced as congressman in 1978. Davis lived inGaylord, Michigan.
He became a lobbyist forK&L Gates. He was active in the Bush campaign, having served on the Michigan Bush Committee, and was a friend and former colleague of Vice PresidentDick Cheney.
According to theChicago Sun-Times of May 31, 1989, Davis revealed that he hired a woman with whom he lived for his committee staff, but he said he had not violated House rules. He acknowledged recommending that Brook Ball, 27, 29 years his junior, be hired for the House Merchant Marine staff. However, in 1987 Davis was still married to his third wife, DC-based network radio and TV news anchor/journalist Marty Davis, whom he married in 1976. The couple reconciled five months after their 1989 divorce until 1992. He married Ball in 1992, who survives him, as do his four children.
Davis died at a hospice inArlington, Virginia at age 77 of heart and kidney failure.[1][2][3]Robert is interred at Protestant Cemetery, Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | United States Representative for the 11th Congressional District of Michigan 1979–1993 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
