John Michael Orman (January 3, 1949 – July 5, 2009) was a politics professor at
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...
in
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...
. He was the
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
Democratic Party nominee for the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
seat in
Connecticut's fourth district, and briefly challenged
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Joseph Lieberman
Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, he was its nomine ...
for the
2006 Democratic Senate nomination. As of 2007, Orman was one of two people claiming to be the current chairman of the
Connecticut for Lieberman
Connecticut for Lieberman was a Connecticut political party created by twenty-five supporters of U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman in 2006. The party was created to enable Lieberman to run for re-election following his defeat in the Democratic Party pr ...
Party. He was born in
Brazil, Indiana
Brazil is a city in Clay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 8,176 at the 2022 census. The city is the county seat of Clay County. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area. There is a fountain from the country o ...
.
1984 Congressional race
Orman was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative from the Fourth Congressional District in 1984 against the popular incumbent Republican
Stewart McKinney. He said he saw it as an opportunity to discuss national issues and represent a progressive constituency.
After losing the election, he welcomed Rep. McKinney to his classroom to meet with his students.
2006 Senate campaign
In March 2005, Orman announced that he would challenge Lieberman for the Democratic nomination, saying Lieberman was disloyal to the Democratic party and supported the foreign policy of President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
.
Orman's campaign generated support from bloggers across the country, but for a variety of reasons, he was never considered a serious threat to Lieberman. In September 2005, he announced he was withdrawing from the race because of a lack of money.
The end of Orman's campaign was followed by the campaign of businessman
Ned Lamont
Edward Miner Lamont Jr. ( ; born January 3, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2019 as the 89th governor of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a Greenwich, Con ...
. When Lamont came to
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...
in the spring of 2006, he told those in attendance that he was "picking up where John Orman left off." Lamont went on to upset Lieberman in the Democratic
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Work ...
in August, winning the party's nomination for the Senate seat with 52% of the vote, but lost the general election to Lieberman, who ran on the Connecticut for Lieberman party line.
Connecticut for Lieberman Chairmanship
On November 15, 2006, Orman changed his party registration from "Democratic" to "Connecticut for Lieberman" and submitted "party rules" to the office of the Secretary of the State. Some of the new rules Orman adopted for the Connecticut for Lieberman party included:
On January 3, 2007, Connecticut Secretary of State
Susan Bysiewicz
Susan Bysiewicz ( ; born September 29, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 109th lieutenant governor of Connecticut since 2019. She previously served as the 72nd secretary of the state of Connecticut from 1999 to 2 ...
accepted a filing from Orman. Ted Bromely, a state elections attorney who worked for her office, said "If someone wanted to challenge it, they'd have to go to court."
On June 12, 2007, Orman called for Lieberman to resign from the Senate, describing the senator's rhetoric regarding military action against
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
as "unilateral warmongering" that could lead to "World War III". Orman called for Connecticut Governor
M. Jodi Rell
Mary Carolyn Rell (née Reavis; June 16, 1946 – November 20, 2024), known as M. Jodi Rell, was an American politician who served as the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011. Rell also had served as the state's 105th lieutenant gov ...
to appoint Susan Henshaw as Lieberman's replacement.
Other activities
A member of the Fairfield University faculty from 1978 until his death, Dr. Orman was a former Teacher of the Year and was serving as chair of the Department of Politics at the time of his death.
Orman was the author of four books on American politics. One of his books, "Celebrity Politics," gained national attention and was published in 2003 with
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
Professor Darrell West. He was also the faculty adviser to the
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...
men's basketball team, and a frequent participant in stand-up comedy and hip-hop contests. As a member of the Politics Department, he was instrumental in the hiring of several faculty members, including helping to recruit
David L. Downie from Columbia University.He was frequently written about in a number of local publications, including
''The Fairfield Mirror''.
Orman wrote ''Helen Keller Speaks'', a dramatic play and reading capturing the
social activist
Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...
views of
Helen Keller
Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when ...
based on her documented speeches and letters between 1913 and 1919. The play was first performed on March 14, 2009 at the
Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...
with actress
January LaVoy, one of Orman's former students, playing the role of Helen Keller.
Personal life
On July 5, 2009,
Orman died at his home from a heart attack.
In the days following his death, thousands of former friends and students commemorated Orman at Fairfield University and in the surrounding area.
Books
* ''Celebrity Politics'' (Prentice Hall, 2004)
* ''Presidential Accountability: New and Recurring Problems'' (Greenwood Press, 1990)
* ''Comparing Presidential Behavior: Carter, Reagan, and the Macho Presidential Style'' (Greenwood Press, 1987)
*
* ''Presidential Secrecy and Deception: Beyond the Power To Persuade'' (Greenwood Press, 1980)
References
External links
Remember John Orman memorial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orman, John
Fairfield University faculty
1949 births
2009 deaths
Connecticut Democrats
People from Brazil, Indiana
20th-century American political scientists