Elliott Harris Levitas (December 26, 1930 – December 16, 2022) was an American politician and lawyer from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. He was a former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Georgia's 4th congressional district Georgia's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. The district is currently represented by Democrat Hank Johnson, though the district's boundaries have been redrawn following the 2010 census, which ...

, serving five consecutive terms from 1975 to 1985. He was the first Jewish congressman elected in Georgia.

Early life

Born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, Levitas graduated in 1948 from

Henry W. Grady High School Midtown High School, formerly Henry W. Grady High School, is a public high school located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It began as Boys High School and was one of the first two high schools established by Atlanta Public Schools in 1872. I ...

there. He attended

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of h ...

in Atlanta, where he was a member of the secret honor society D.V.S. In 1956, he earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

Emory University School of Law Emory University School of Law is the law school of Emory University and is part of the University's main campus in Druid Hills, Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1916 and was the first law school in Georgia to be granted membership in the Am ...

. A

Rhodes scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, he received a Master of Laws degree in 1958 from

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He conducted additional study in law at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1954 to 1955. He was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1955 and commenced practice in Atlanta. Levitas was active in the local Jewish community in Atlanta and with the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

. He was in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

from 1955 to 1958.

Political career

Levitas was a delegate to the

1964 Democratic National Convention The 1964 Democratic National Convention of the Democratic Party, took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey from August 24 to 27, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a full term. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Min ...

in Atlantic City,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, which nominated the

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

Hubert H. Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...

, the first

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

slate to lose the electoral votes of Georgia since the Reconstruction era.

State legislature

Levitas was elected to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. ...

in 1964 and served from 1965 to 1974. Early in his first term, he gained notoriety for voting in support of civil rights activist

Julian Bond Horace Julian Bond (January 14, 1940 – August 15, 2015) was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the e ...

, who was in a contested battle to be assume his seat following his election to the legislature. Levitas was one of only five white legislators to vote in support of seating Bond. In his second term in the state House, he was one of thirty Democrats who voted for the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

Howard Callaway Howard Hollis Callaway (April 2, 1927 – March 15, 2014) was an American businessman and politician. He served as a Republican member for the 3rd district of Georgia of the United States House of Representatives. He also served as the 11th Un ...

, rather than the Democratic nominee,

Lester Maddox Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregati ...

, a

segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

from Atlanta, in the disputed 1966 gubernatorial race. The legislature, however, chose Maddox to resolve the deadlock though Callaway had led the balloting in the general election by some three thousand votes. In all, Levitas served five terms in the legislature.

Tenure in Congress

Levitas was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-fourth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985). Levitas represented a district dominated by

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missou ...

, northeast of Atlanta. For four terms prior to his election,

Benjamin B. Blackburn Benjamin Bentley Blackburn (born February 14, 1927) is a former U.S. Representative from Georgia who served from 1967 to 1975. Life and career Born in Atlanta, Blackburn attended public school there and graduated in 1947 from the University of N ...

, a Republican, represented the area. Elected in the

Watergate class of 1974 The Watergate Babies were Democrats first elected to the United States Congress in the 1974 elections, after President Richard Nixon's resignation over the Watergate scandal, on August 9, 1974. Democrats picked up 49 seats in the House and 5 in ...

, he quickly established himself as a champion of causes related to the environment, eventually rising to the chairmanship of the committee with oversight on such matters. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninety-ninth Congress in 1984, losing to Republican

Pat Swindall Patrick Lynn Swindall (October 18, 1950 – July 11, 2018) was an American politician, attorney, and businessman who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 4th congressional district, based in Atlanta's ...

amid Ronald Reagan carrying the district in a landslide.

Later life

After Congress, Levitas was a partner with

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton is an international law firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm has nineteen offices, including U.S. offices in California, Colorado, North Carolina, New York, Texas, Washington State, and the District of ...

. His most notable case, Cobell v. Norton, involved a lawsuit of the Blackfeet tribe against the U.S. Government over the amount owed to the tribe for land that had been taken and used for various industrial purposes. The successful $3.4 billion verdict was at the time the largest ever class-action award against the U.S. government. Levitas died on December 16, 2022, at the age of 91. He is buried at Arlington Memorial Park near Atlanta. Each year, his alma mater, Emory University, issues an award in Levitas’s honor to the outstanding graduating senior political science major.

References

External links

Kilpatrick Townsend profile
* *
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Elliott Levitas papers, 1965-1985
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitas, Elliott H. 1930 births 2022 deaths Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Emory University alumni Emory University School of Law alumni American Rhodes Scholars United States Air Force airmen Jewish American military personnel Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) University of Michigan Law School alumni Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives 21st-century American Jews