Stephanie Tubbs Jones (September 10, 1949 – August 20, 2008)Cleveland Clinic: Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones has died

WKYC WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's lo ...

, August 21, 2008 was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 11th congressional district from 1999 until her death in 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, her district encompassed most of Downtown and Eastern

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and many of the eastern suburbs in Cuyahoga County, including

Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...

, Cleveland Heights and

Shaker Heights Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cockta ...

. She was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

woman to be elected to Congress from Ohio. On December 19, 2006, Tubbs Jones was named Chairwoman of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for the 110th Congress. She was also a member of the

House Ways and Means Committee A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

. On August 19, 2008, Tubbs Jones was found unconscious in her car, having suffered a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

caused by a ruptured

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

. She was taken to an East Cleveland hospital, where she died the next day.

Early life, education and family

Tubbs Jones was born in

, the daughter of Mary, a factory worker and cook, and Andrew Tubbs, an airline skycap. She graduated from the city's Collinwood High School. She earned an undergraduate degree from

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

, graduating with a degree in Social Work from the Flora Stone Mather College in 1971. In 1974, she earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. On November 27, 1976, she married Mervyn L. Jones. Less than a year before they married, Mervyn Jones had been charged with aggravated murder and robbery. He eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser count of manslaughter and received "shock probation." The couple were married for 27 years until Mervyn's death, October 2, 2003. They had one son, Mervyn Leroy Jones Jr. Tubbs Jones was a member of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...

sorority. She was actively involved in the National Five Point Thrust Programs of her sorority, particularly Social Action and Political Awareness as an integral part of "Delta Days at the Nations Capital". Tubbs Jones was Golden Life Member of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

Political and legal career

Tubbs Jones was elected a judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court (1981) and subsequently served on the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County (1983–91). In 1990, she ran for Justice of the

Supreme Court of Ohio The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, ...

replacing Mary Cacioppo, the winner of the Democratic Primary, who withdrew for health reasons. She narrowly lost that race to Republican incumbent J. Craig Wright. She then served as the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor from 1991 until resigning in early 1999 to take her seat in Congress. She was the first African American prosecutor in Ohio history, and during her tenure she was the only black woman to serve as prosecutor in any major American city. She was succeeded as prosecutor by William D. Mason. Tubbs Jones served as board member of Hawken School from 1996–2004.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1998, Tubbs Jones won the Democratic nomination for the 11th congressional district after 30-year incumbent Louis Stokes announced his retirement. This all but assured her of election in the heavily Democratic, black-majority 11th. She won with 80 percent of the vote and was reelected four times with no substantive opposition. Tubbs Jones was a co-chairwoman of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

. She opposed the Iraq war, voting in 2002 against the use of military force. Despite representing a heavily unionized district, she was a strong proponent of free trade. Tubbs Jones most recently took a lead role in the fight to pass the United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement in November 2007. In 2004, she served as the chairwoman of the platform committee at the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

and as a member of the Ohio delegation. She strongly supported Sen.

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

in his campaign to become President of the United States. On January 6, 2005, she joined U.S. Senator

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is a retired American politician, lobbyist, and former reporter who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United St ...

(D-CA) in objecting to the certification of the

2004 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney, were re-elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated ...

results for Ohio. As the sponsor, she was one of the 31 who voted in the House to not count the 20 electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 election. Republican President George Bush won the state by 118,457 votes. In 2005, she came under fire from certain individuals after being named the congressperson with the fourth-highest (59) total trips sponsored by lobbyists. She was selected by Speaker

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

as chairperson of the

House Ethics Committee The U.S. House Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Before the 112th Congress, it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. ...

to watch over the standards of ethical conduct for members of the House. Tubbs Jones was popular in her district, and was routinely reelected against nominal Republican opposition. She received 83.44% of the vote in her final general election in 2006, against Republican Lindsey String. She faced no opposition in the 2008 Ohio Democratic primary. Tubbs Jones appeared on ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...

s " Better Know a District" in an episode which aired November 3, 2005. In the skit, Colbert suggested she create a spin-off vehicle for herself as "Judge Tubbs." She became a good friend of the show after the broadcast. Colbert paid tribute to Tubbs Jones at the close of his August 27, 2008 broadcast by airing her "Judge Tubbs" footage. Tubbs Jones was a strong and early supporter of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

in Clinton's run for president in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. She later supported

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

after Clinton conceded. In 2002, Tubbs Jones publicly praised Barbara Byrd-Bennett while she was CEO of the Cleveland Municipal School District, who over a decade later became a confessed, convicted felon due to fraud she committed while she was the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.

Death

On August 19, 2008, while driving her car, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones suffered a

due to a burst

in her brain. Police had noticed erratic driving and identified the unconscious Tubbs Jones after her vehicle left the roadway and came to a stop in a field. She was taken to the

intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

of Huron Hospital, a satellite of the

Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Academic health science center, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an O ...

, where she was put on

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform bas ...

. Due to hemorrhaging, she remained in unstable and critical condition. Tubbs Jones died August 20 at 6:12 p.m. EDT of complications from the brain hemorrhage. A

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was ordered by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland for November 18, 2008, to elect a successor to serve out the remainder of her term. Warrensville Heights Mayor Marcia Fudge, the Democratic nominee, won the election.

Electoral history

References

External links

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones
''Office of the Eleventh Congressional District of Ohio (Formerly the Office of Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones)''
Stephanie Tubbs Jones for Congress
official campaign site *
Black Biography — Stephanie Tubbs Jones
bio based on a 2000 interview *
C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Jones, January 28, 2007
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