Martin Rossiter Hoke (born May 18, 1952) is an American Republican

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 ...

, former member of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, and 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 ...

from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Biography

Hoke was born in

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. The popula ...

, and attended school at the private

Western Reserve Academy Western Reserve Academy (WRA), or simply Reserve, is a private, midsized, coeducational boarding and day college preparatory school located in Hudson, Ohio, United States. A boarding school, Western Reserve Academy is largely a residential ...

. He graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1973 and earned a J.D. 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 ...

in 1980.Biographical Guide of the United States Congress
/ref> He has been noted for practicing

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

Business career

In 1981, Hoke began a company, Red Carpet Airport Car Care, that provided auto repair services at

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is a city-owned international airport in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and is the primary airport serving Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state, as w ...

. Four years later, he founded Red Carpet Cellular, a distributor of then-novel cellular telephones, which became the largest distributor of cell phones in Ohio. Hoke sold the company to

British Petroleum BP p.l.c. (formerly The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. and BP Amoco p.l.c.; stylised in all lowercase) is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. It is one of the oil and gas " supermajors" and one of ...

in 1988.

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

acquired the company in 1991. In 2007 Hoke developed an idea for a nasal irrigation system, partly to allay his own sinusitis. His creation evolved into Rhinosystems, Inc. of Brooklyn, OH, manufacturer of the patented Navage nasal irrigator, currently sold in Canada and the United States. In 2020,

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

rated Navage the “Best Nasal Irrigation System.”

Political career

In 1992, Hoke won the Republican nomination for Ohio's 10th congressional district, located in Cleveland's west side. Hoke upset heavily favored

Democrat 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Mary Rose Oakar Mary Rose Oakar (born March 5, 1940) is an American Democratic politician and former member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio, serving from 1977 to 1993. Oakar was the first Arab American woman, first Syrian American, and f ...

, who had represented the district (formerly the 20th District) for 16 years, in the general election. Oakar was hampered by writing bad checks at the House of Representatives Bank, one of many members who were entangled in the

House banking scandal The House banking scandal broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the US House of Representatives allowed its members to overdraw their House checking accounts without the risk of being penalized by the House bank, which was actually a cle ...

. Hoke was the first Republican to represent a significant portion of traditionally heavily Democratic Cleveland in over 30 years. Hoke won re-election in 1994 against Frank Gaul, a

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or , see ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The county seat and most populous city is Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,264,817, making it the second ...

Treasurer who had recently overseen losses in a county bond fund based on faulty advice from private bond counsel. In 1996, Hoke was defeated by former Cleveland mayor

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich ( ; October 8, 1946) is an American politician. Originally a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Kucinich served as U.S. Representative from Ohio's Ohio's 10th congressional district, 10th congressional district fro ...

49%-46%. Hoke was harmed by several gaffes he had made, the Democratic nature of the district, strong labor support for Kucinich, and a mounting public perception that he would lose. Hoke was appointed to the Ohio Casino Control Commission by Governor

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

on February 23, 2011. His term of office ended on February 21, 2017.Commissioners
/ref>

Controversy

Following the 1994 State of the Union speech by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, Hoke was preparing to be interviewed for a live broadcast for a local Cleveland television station. After being outfitted with a microphone by a female producer, Hoke remarked to Democratic fellow Cleveland-area 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 ...

that "She's got ze beega breasts" in a mock

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

accent. Although not broadcast live, the remark was recorded, and was the subject of a report by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' the following day. Coverage of the remark may have been a factor in his failed bid for re-election in 1996.

References

External links