Dennis Edward Eckart (born April 6, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who is a former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. Eckart, a member of the Democratic Party, represented Ohio's 11th congressional district from 1983 to 1993, and

Ohio's 22nd congressional district The 22nd congressional district of Ohio was eliminated as a result of the 1980 United States redistricting cycle, redistricting cycle after the 1980 United States census, 1980 census. In its last decade, the district primarily consisted of east ...

from 1981 to 1983. Before being elected to Congress, Eckart served in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

from 1975 to 1980.

Early life and career

Born into a Roman Catholic family in

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

, with two brothers Gary and Edward, Dennis Eckart attended St Joseph High School (now VASJ) and

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

, receiving his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1971. He went on to earn a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the

Cleveland State University College of Law Cleveland State University College of Law is the law school of Cleveland State University, a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It traces its origins to Cleveland Law School, founded in 1897, which merged in 1946 with the John Mars ...

in 1974, and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1974. Eckart began his law career practicing in Cleveland and served as the assistant prosecutor in the

Lake County, Ohio Lake County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,603. Its county seat is Painesville, and its largest city is Mentor. The county was established on March 6, 1840, from land given by Cuyahoga a ...

prosecuting attorney's office. In 1974, he won a seat in the

, where he served three terms from 1975 until 1980. From 1978 until 1982 he served as a vice-president of the Slovene National Benefit Society.

United States House of Representatives

In 1980, Eckart ran for the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

to replace the vacant seat from retiring 13-term Congressman

Charles Vanik Charles Albert Vanik (April 7, 1913 – August 30, 2007) was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1955 to 1981. Early life Vanik was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Stella (née ...

. Eckart ran in Ohio's 11th congressional district, defeating State Senator Tim McCormack and State Representative Anthony O. Calabrese, Jr. with 40% of the vote in the Democratic primary. He went on to defeat Republican opponent Joseph Nahra with 55% of the vote in the general election. After the

1980 census The 1980 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4% over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was the first ce ...

, Eckart's district was redrawn, moving him to

. The one-term Congressman defeated State Representative

Marcus Roberto Marcus Aurelius Roberto (November 26, 1930 – February 24, 1986), a Democrat, was a member of the Ohio General Assembly. Roberto initially won a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1970, replacing Anice Johnson, and won reelection in ...

in the Democratic primary and Republican Glen W. Warner in the general election. Eckart served on the

House Committee on Energy and Commerce A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the

House Committee on Small Business The United States House Committee on Small Business is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It was established in 1941 as the House Select Committee on Small Business. History On December 4, 1941, the U. S. House o ...

, where he served as Chairman of the Subcommittee for Antitrust, Deregulation and Ecology. During his tenure in the House, Eckart supported improving standards on

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

. He sponsored the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1983, a bill aimed to improve enforcement and greater protection for underground sources of drinking water. He also sponsored the Great Lakes Emergency Shoreline Protection Act, which would have started a federal guaranteed-loan program to provide for the protection from shoreline erosion of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. He also sponsored the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1987, amending the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954 The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2011–2021, 2022-2286i, 2296a-2297h-13, is a United States federal law that covers for the development, regulation, and disposal of nuclear materials and facilities in the United States. It was an ...

to provide for unlimited liability in the event of an accident at a nuclear power plant, and the failed House Joint Resolution 617, establishing a

balanced budget amendment A balanced budget amendment or debt brake is a constitutional rule requiring that a state cannot spend more than its income. It requires a balance between the projected receipts and expenditures of the government. Balanced-budget provisions ha ...

the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. Eckart gained notoriety for his portrayal of

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

in debate preparation with

Lloyd Bentsen Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 69th United States secretary of the treasury under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994. He served as a United States senator from ...

for the 1988 vice presidential debate. Eckart was a noted opponent of the

Superconducting Super Collider The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC), nicknamed Desertron, was a particle accelerator complex under construction from 1991 to 1993 near Waxahachie, Texas, United States. Its planned ring circumference was with an energy of 20 TeV per proto ...

, sponsoring a 1992 amendment in the House to defund the project. After the 1990 census, with an overall decline in Ohio's population and redistricting, Eckart's district was distributed to the

13th In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the Musical note, note thirteen scale degrees from the root (chord), root of a chord (music), chord and also the interval (music), interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is m ...

, 14th, 17th and 19th districts. He then decided not to run for reelection in the updated districts and was succeeded by Congressman

Eric Fingerhut Eric David Fingerhut (born May 6, 1959) is an American politician, attorney, and academic administrator serving as the president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). Prior to his appointment at JFNA, he served as president an ...

Post congressional career

After his term in Congress, Eckart worked in the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

's Congressional Process Committee, and was also on the board of the

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States, with more than 428,000 members in 130 countries. Founded in 1887 as the Americ ...

. He also served as chair of the United States Delegation to the

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism ...

. From 2000 to 2003 he served as president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association. He practiced law as a partner of

BakerHostetler BakerHostetler is an American law firm founded in 1916. One of the firm's founders, Newton D. Baker, was U.S. Secretary of War during World War I, and former Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. History , the firm was ranked the 73rd-largest law firm in t ...

, representing "a variety of clients before Congress, the Executive Branch, federal and state agencies and state legislatures" (se

until 2006, when he opened North Shore Associates, a consulting firm. Eckart's North Shore work includes many of his previous clients as well as some real estate development work.

Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting p ...

lists his liberal quotient as 80% for the entirety of his service. In 2002 the National Center for Responsible Gaming, or NCRG, elected him as chairman. This is an organization that does scientific research on

pathological gambling Problem gambling, ludopathy, or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to DSM-5 if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological ga ...

and youth gambling. In 2007 then

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Ted Strickland Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 68th governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ( ...

appointed Eckart to the board of trustees for

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

. Occasionally, when media begin to speculate about persons running for statewide office in Ohio, Eckart is usually mentioned by prognosticators for United States Senator. However, nothing besides mere mentions have occurred and it does not seem that Eckart will run again for public office.

Personal life

Eckart and his wife Sandy, have one adult son, Eddy. They reside in

Concord, Ohio Concord is an unincorporated community in Williamsburg township in Clermont County, in the U.S. state of Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie ...

. Eckart is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

References

Eckart's biography
from Baker & Hostletler LLP When not working for Northshore Associates he is spending time with

Lynn M. Martin Lynn Morley Martin (born Judith Lynn Morley; December 26, 1939) is an American businesswoman and former politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of labor from 1991 to 1993, under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Re ...

Nancy Johnson Nancy Elizabeth Johnson (née Lee; born January 5, 1935) is an American lobbyist and politics in the United States, politician from the U.S. state, state of Connecticut. Johnson was a United States Republican Party, Republican member of the Un ...

, or

Pat Saiki Patricia Hatsue Saiki (''née'' Fukuda; born May 28, 1930) is an American politician and former educator from Hilo, Hawaii. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1991 ...

External links

Voting record maintained by the Washington PostBioguideNCRG article
Real Law Radio is a legal news talk radio program, hosted by attorney Bob DiCello (Podcasts/Saturday March 27, 2010). * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Eckart, Dennis E. 1950 births Living people Cleveland State University College of Law alumni Xavier University alumni Politicians from Cleveland Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives American people of Slovenian descent Lawyers from Cleveland Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio People associated with BakerHostetler Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly