James McMillan Nielson Graham (August 26, 1945 – June 11, 2017) was a Scottish-born American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and a member of the

Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia (or simply D.C. Council) is the legislative branch of the government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state and is overseen ...

. As a Democrat he represented Ward 1 in Washington, D.C. from 1999 until 2015.

Life and education

Graham was born on August 26, 1945, in Wishaw, Scotland. Graham's parents, neither of whom had high school degrees, settled in

Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is an urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper Anacostia ...

, after immigrating to the United States from Scotland. A graduate of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

where he was a student politician and vice president of the National Student Association, Graham received a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a L.L.M. from

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

. Graham worked as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

for Chief Justice Earl Warren and held a staff attorney position with the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (chaired by Senator Abe Ribicoff, D-

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

). Graham served as an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

and

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

, as well as supervising instructor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Graham was licensed to practice

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

in the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to taking a seat on the city council, Graham was executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

providing services to people in Washington who have HIV and

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. Graham was a recovering alcoholic and came out as gay after leaving federal employment. He was the second openly gay elected official in D.C., after David Catania.

Gay community

In October 1979, Graham joined Whitman-Walker Clinic's board. He helped the clinic survive its initial funding crises and in April 1981 became president of the board. Within three years, he became the executive director, leading the clinic's response to AIDS for 15 years (1984–1999). Under his leadership the clinic became a leading HIV/AIDS institution, with more than 1,200 volunteers, 270 full-time employees, and satellite operations in Southeast Washington, Maryland and Virginia. When Graham left Whitman-Walker in January 1999, it had become one of the most comprehensive community based medical organizations responding to HIV/AIDS in the country. In 1984, dismayed by the quality of legal support, Graham himself undertook the legal aid counseling of those with AIDS for 18 months: "I went to dying people to straighten out their legal affairs ... in addition to other duties. It carried me right into the trenches; it created the whole experience. I vividly remember going to the bedsides, the horrible circumstances. ... It was extremely emotional." In an oral history for the Rainbow History Project, Graham commented, "We've had one of the greatest epidemics of all time and this was the history, the history of the community banding together and helping itself. It was a phenomenal story." He says of the time, "It was the most difficult period that I've ever been through, there's no question."

Public service

Graham was first elected in 1998 and won reelection in 2002, 2006, and 2010 but was defeated in his bid for a fifth term in the Democratic primary election on April 1, 2014, by a margin of 41 percent to 59 percent for challenger Brianne Nadeau. Graham served as chairman of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

twice—once in 2003 and again in 2009. In 1999 and 2007, Graham donated a large collection of his personal and professional papers to the

. The collection is under the care of GWU's Special Collections Research Center, located in the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library.Guide to the Jim Graham Papers, 1973-2006
, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University Committees Graham served as a member of the following committees on the D.C. Council: * Committee on Human Services (Chair) * Committee of the Whole * Committee on Business, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs * Committee on Transportation and the Environment * Committee on Workforce and Community Affairs

Death

Graham died June 11, 2017, at George Washington University Hospital from complications related to an infection and from

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD defines COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory s ...

(COPD).

Organizations

* D.C. AIDS Task Force (member since 1983) * AIDS Action Council (previous Board member) * National Lesbian and Gay Health Foundation (previous Board member) * Coalition for Consumers Health and Safety * Washington AIDS Partnership (previous Advisory Committee member) * Concerned Citizens on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Inc. (previous Advisory Board member) * National AIDS Network (previous Treasurer and Board member) * Rock Hard DC Strip Club

Criticism

In early 2005, Graham was accused (allegedly by Washington businessman Sinclair Skinner) of driving historically African-American businesses from the neighborhoods of Columbia Heights, Shaw, and the U Street corridor. The ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area since 1981. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial ...

'' reported on the accusation:

In early 2005, just as the Club U issue was heating up, posters portraying Graham as a reptile holding a pitchfork labeled "Grahamzilla" appeared on light poles and street signs around the ward. Another set of posters depicted Graham standing on a porch partying with young white men at the Graham "plantation." The latter included an illustration showing "Graham opponents" hanging from a gallows. The posters stretched the limits of political speech and disappeared quickly after they were put up.

On September 24, 2009, Graham's Chief of Staff, Ted Loza, was arrested by the FBI and charged with two counts of accepting bribes. The indictment alleges that Loza accepted two payments and promised to promote the legislation and policies concerning D.C. taxi cabs that the alleged briber wanted. Graham was the chairman of the committee that oversees taxi cab regulation, but voluntarily gave up oversight of cabs after Loza's arrest. The District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Government Accountability found substantial evidence that Graham asked a developer to withdraw its bid for a real estate project so that another firm, who had donated to Graham, could win the bid. In exchange, Graham offered to support the firm's bid for a lottery contract, violating the District employees code of conduct. The District Council also reprimanded Graham for his inappropriate actions. Graham described his actions as political horsetrading rather than anything illegal or unethical.

Election results

1998

2002

2006

2010

2014

References

External links

*
Metro - About Metro - Biographies
WMATA biography
Guide to the Jim Graham Papers, 1973-2006, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Jim 1945 births 2017 deaths American gay politicians Georgetown University Law Center alumni Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States American LGBTQ city council members Scottish gay politicians LGBTQ people from Washington, D.C. Michigan State University alumni Scottish emigrants to the United States University of Michigan Law School alumni Members of the Council of the District of Columbia Washington, D.C., Democrats Lawyers from Washington, D.C. People from Adams Morgan 20th-century American lawyers Infectious disease deaths in Washington, D.C. Respiratory disease deaths in Washington, D.C. Deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease