Siteadmin, oversight, Administrators
5,098
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Created page with ''''George Victor Voinovich''' (born July 15, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Ohio and a member of the Republican Party. Voinovich announced he will...'
'''George Victor Voinovich''' (born July 15, 1936) is the senior [[United States]] [[Senator]] from [[Ohio]] and a member of the [[Republican Party]]. Voinovich announced he will retire from the Senate when his term expires in January 2011. Previously he served as [[Mayor]] of [[Cleveland]] from 1980-1989 and [[Governor]] of [[Ohio]] from 1991-1999.
==Early Life==
George Voinovich was born in Cleveland, Ohio to a [[Serbia]]n father and [[Slovene]] mother. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in government from [[Ohio University]] in 1958 and a law degree from Ohio State University in 1961. After serving as Ohio Assistant Attorney General, Voinovich served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971. He introduced 85 bills which became law. <ref>http://www.library.ohiou.edu/archives/voinovich/index.html</ref> Voinovich unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Cleveland in 1975. However, was elected in a second attempt in 1979, defeating [[Democrat]] [[Dennis Kucinich]].
==Political Career==
When taking office, Cleveland was the first major city to declare [[bankruptcy]] since the [[Great Depression]] and the city was on the edge of financial ruin. As Mayor, Voinovich approved a referendum to extend the terms for Mayor and City Council from two years to four, and reduced the number of council members from 33 to 21. He managed the revival the city's [[economy]] and became the longest serving Mayor of Cleveland in history. The National Journal called Voinovich "one of five local and state officials who make a difference in Washington."
In 1988 Voinovich ran for the United States Senate and was defeated 57% to 43%, despite Republican [[George H.W. Bush]] winning Ohio by eleven percentage points in the national presidential election. However, in 1990 Voinovich was elected Governor of Ohio with a record 72 percent of the vote. During his two terms [[unemployment]] hit a 25-year low, and curved state spending which balanced the budget. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1998 and reelected in 2004 by a landslide, winning all 88 counties.
==Political Views==
In March 2009, Voinovich was ranked number four on [[Human Events]]' top ten [[liberal]] Senate Republicans. <ref>http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31018</ref> Voinovich voted with his Republican colleagues 66.5% of the time. <ref>http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/v000126/</ref> He supports [[gun control]], has voted against reducing the marriage penalty and against repealing the death tax. George Voinovich strongly opposed [[John Bolton]] as [[United Nations]] Ambassador, saying "I just did not feel comfortable." <ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/politics/19cnd-bolton.html?hp&ex=1113969600&en=f8772edeba476df8&ei=5094&partner=homepage</ref> In May 2005, he cried on the Senate floor, urging the Senate to vote against the confirmation of John Bolton. <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF08KHwVjoo</ref> Voinovich later changed his position and said Bolton has done a "good job" as UN Ambassador.
In July 2009, Voinovich attacked southern conservatives, saying to The Columbus Dispatch "we got too many [[Jim DeMint]]s and [[Tom Coburn]]s. It's the southerners, They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr. People hear them and say, 'These people, they're southerners. The party's being taken over by southerners. What they hell they got to do with Ohio?'" <ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/29/vitter-defends-south-valu_n_247335.html</ref> Conservative [[Louisiana]] Senator [[David Vitter]] responded, "He's a moderate, really wishy-washy. I'm on the side of conservatives getting back to core conservative values."
Some of Voinovich's stances are conservative, such as when he voted against the $827 billion stimulus package, "I voted against this bill because it is weighed down by too much spending that is not stimulative and will not provide the jump-start our economy so desperately needs." <ref>http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsCenter.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=71795c66-f9d7-0280-2710-167e85ea83fb&Region_id=&Issue_id=</ref> During the [[2008 Presidential Election]], Voinovich said of [[Barack Obama]] "He is left of [[Ted Kennedy]]. With all due respect, the man is a [[socialist]]." <ref>http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/10/george_voinovich_calls_barack.html</ref>
==External Links==
*[http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Home.Home Official Website]
*[http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/george_voinovich.htm Voinovich on the Issues]
== References ==
<references/>
[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]
==Early Life==
George Voinovich was born in Cleveland, Ohio to a [[Serbia]]n father and [[Slovene]] mother. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in government from [[Ohio University]] in 1958 and a law degree from Ohio State University in 1961. After serving as Ohio Assistant Attorney General, Voinovich served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971. He introduced 85 bills which became law. <ref>http://www.library.ohiou.edu/archives/voinovich/index.html</ref> Voinovich unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Cleveland in 1975. However, was elected in a second attempt in 1979, defeating [[Democrat]] [[Dennis Kucinich]].
==Political Career==
When taking office, Cleveland was the first major city to declare [[bankruptcy]] since the [[Great Depression]] and the city was on the edge of financial ruin. As Mayor, Voinovich approved a referendum to extend the terms for Mayor and City Council from two years to four, and reduced the number of council members from 33 to 21. He managed the revival the city's [[economy]] and became the longest serving Mayor of Cleveland in history. The National Journal called Voinovich "one of five local and state officials who make a difference in Washington."
In 1988 Voinovich ran for the United States Senate and was defeated 57% to 43%, despite Republican [[George H.W. Bush]] winning Ohio by eleven percentage points in the national presidential election. However, in 1990 Voinovich was elected Governor of Ohio with a record 72 percent of the vote. During his two terms [[unemployment]] hit a 25-year low, and curved state spending which balanced the budget. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1998 and reelected in 2004 by a landslide, winning all 88 counties.
==Political Views==
In March 2009, Voinovich was ranked number four on [[Human Events]]' top ten [[liberal]] Senate Republicans. <ref>http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31018</ref> Voinovich voted with his Republican colleagues 66.5% of the time. <ref>http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/v000126/</ref> He supports [[gun control]], has voted against reducing the marriage penalty and against repealing the death tax. George Voinovich strongly opposed [[John Bolton]] as [[United Nations]] Ambassador, saying "I just did not feel comfortable." <ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/politics/19cnd-bolton.html?hp&ex=1113969600&en=f8772edeba476df8&ei=5094&partner=homepage</ref> In May 2005, he cried on the Senate floor, urging the Senate to vote against the confirmation of John Bolton. <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF08KHwVjoo</ref> Voinovich later changed his position and said Bolton has done a "good job" as UN Ambassador.
In July 2009, Voinovich attacked southern conservatives, saying to The Columbus Dispatch "we got too many [[Jim DeMint]]s and [[Tom Coburn]]s. It's the southerners, They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr. People hear them and say, 'These people, they're southerners. The party's being taken over by southerners. What they hell they got to do with Ohio?'" <ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/29/vitter-defends-south-valu_n_247335.html</ref> Conservative [[Louisiana]] Senator [[David Vitter]] responded, "He's a moderate, really wishy-washy. I'm on the side of conservatives getting back to core conservative values."
Some of Voinovich's stances are conservative, such as when he voted against the $827 billion stimulus package, "I voted against this bill because it is weighed down by too much spending that is not stimulative and will not provide the jump-start our economy so desperately needs." <ref>http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsCenter.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=71795c66-f9d7-0280-2710-167e85ea83fb&Region_id=&Issue_id=</ref> During the [[2008 Presidential Election]], Voinovich said of [[Barack Obama]] "He is left of [[Ted Kennedy]]. With all due respect, the man is a [[socialist]]." <ref>http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/10/george_voinovich_calls_barack.html</ref>
==External Links==
*[http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Home.Home Official Website]
*[http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/george_voinovich.htm Voinovich on the Issues]
== References ==
<references/>
[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]