Steve LaTourette

Steven Clare LaTourette (July 22, 1954 – August 3, 2016) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 19th congressional district and then Ohio's 14th congressional district from 1995 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. On July 30, 2012, it was reported that he would retire at the end of his term and not seek re-election. He subsequently co-founded a lobbying firm.[1]

Steve LaTourette
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2013
Preceded byEric Fingerhut
Succeeded byDave Joyce
Constituency19th district (1995–2003)
14th district (2003–2013)
Personal details
Born
Steven Clare LaTourette

(1954-07-22)July 22, 1954
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedAugust 3, 2016(2016-08-03) (aged 62)
McLean, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Susan LaTourette (1982–2003)
Jennifer Laptook (2003–2016)
Children6, including Sarah
EducationUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor (BA)
Cleveland State University (JD)

Early life, education and career

LaTourette was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Patricia Munn and Eugene LaTourette, an accountant.[2] The LaTourette family were French Huguenots who fled persecution in the 1600s and first settled in Staten Island, New York.

A graduate of Cleveland Heights High School (1972) and the University of Michigan, LaTourette studied law at the Cleveland State University College of Law.

After a stint as a public defender, LaTourette was elected the County Prosecutor of Lake County, Ohio, and served from 1989 to 1995. There, he made his name prosecuting the Kirtland mass murders that were organized by mass-murderer and self-proclaimed prophet, Jeffrey Lundgren.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

LaTourette was a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership. In 2006, LaTourette co-authored the Financial Data Protection Act of 2006, which sought to unify state and federal laws on banking and privacy and ease the burden of patchwork legislation.

Positions

In 1997, LaTourette sponsored H.R. 1151, a law that among other things exempted credit unions chartered for the purpose of making, or had a history of primarily making, member business loans, from certain regulatory restrictions. The effect of the deregulatory change was to increase risky lending to taxi companies, helping temporarily drive up the price of tax licenses before eventually resulting in large credit union losses and hundreds of bankruptcies.[3][4]

LaTourette had voted to impeach Bill Clinton for the Lewinsky scandal while he himself was having a long-term affair with his chief of staff, Jennifer Laptook.[5]

On Thursday, March 17, 2011, LaTourette became one of only seven Republicans who voted "NO" on a measure introduced in the US House of Representatives to strip all government funding from NPR.[6]

In a meeting with transit advocates, LaTourette disparaged fellow legislators, referring to them as "knuckledraggers that came in during the last election that hate taxes" and are reluctant even to consider raising revenues as part of a compromise to extend the debt ceiling.[7][8]

On June 28, 2012, LaTourette was one of only two Republicans (along with Scott Rigell of Virginia) who voted against a motion to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in criminal contempt of Congress, though he did vote to bring civil charges against Holder for his handling of the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal.[9][10]

Political campaigns

1994

LaTourette was elected to the House in 1994 in the wave of Republican successes in that year, defeating incumbent Eric Fingerhut. LaTourette served the 19th district of Ohio from 1995 to 2003. After another district was eliminated in the round of redistricting following the 2000 Census, LaTourette's district was renumbered to the 14th district of Ohio, where he represented the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, northeastern Summit County, northern Trumbull County, northern Portage County, Ashtabula County, Lake County, and Geauga County.

2008
See also: 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio § District 14

2010
See also: 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio § District 14

LaTourette defeated Democratic nominee and former Appellate Court judge Bill O'Neill in the general election, along with Libertarian nominee and accountant John Jelenic.

2012

On July 30, 2012, it was reported that LaTourette would retire at the end of his term and not seek re-election.[11]

Electoral history
Ohio's 19th congressional district: Results 1994–2000[12]
Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
1994 Eric Fingerhut 89,701 43% Steven C. LaTourette 99,997 48% Ronald Young Independent 11,364 6% Jerome Brentar Independent 5,180 3%
1996 Thomas Coyne Jr. 101,152 41% Steven C. LaTourette 135,012 55% Thomas Martin Natural Law 10,655 4%
1998 Elizabeth Kelley 64,090 34% Steven C. LaTourette 126,786 66%
2000 Dale V. Blanchard 101,842 32% Steven C. LaTourette 206,639 65% Sid Stone Libertarian 10,367 3%
Ohio's 14th congressional district: Results 2002–2006[12]
Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
2002 Dale V. Blanchard 51,846 28% Steven C. LaTourette 134,413 72% *
2004 Capri S. Cafaro 119,714 37% Steven C. LaTourette 201,652 63%
2006 Lewis R. Katz 97,753 39% Steven C. LaTourette 144,069 58% Werner J. Lange Nonpartisan 8,500 3%
2008 William O'Neill 125,214 39% Steven C. LaTourette 188,488 58% David Macko Libertarian 9,511 [13] 3%
2010 William O'Neill 72,604 31% Steven C. LaTourette 149,878 65% John Jelenic Libertarian 8,383 4%
Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, Sid Stone received 113 votes.

Post-congressional career

LaTourette established a Super PAC, Defending Main Street. The PAC was created to curb the influence of the Tea Party movement in the Republican Party.[14]

Despite his previous opposition to same-sex marriage, in 2015, LaTourette signed a Supreme Court brief to support the overturn of state bans on the practice.[15]

Illness and death

In mid-2014 LaTourette discovered that he had pancreatic cancer. Consequently, he filed a claim in May 2015 against the Office of the Attending Physician of the United States Congress citing a lack of information in that regard when he was observed earlier.[16] LaTourette died on August 3, 2016, from pancreatic cancer, aged 62.[17]

See also

References
  1. "Recently Retired Boehner Ally Opens DC Lobbying Shop". talking points memo. January 9, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  2. "Jennifer Laptook, Steven LaTourette". The New York Times. February 20, 2005. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  3. "Metsger Discusses Taxi Medallion Credit Unions and Risk-Based Capital Rule". NCUA. December 8, 2017.
  4. Rosenthal, Brian (May 19, 2019). "As Thousands of Taxi Drivers Were Trapped in Loans, Top Officials Counted the Money". NY Times.
  5. Falone, Michael. "GOP's Unlucky Class of '94'". CBS News. July 2, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2010 – via Politico.
  6. "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 192". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  7. Tanya Snyder (March 16, 2011). "Rep. LaTourette Tells Transit Advocates to Ask Congress for What They Need". Archived from the original on March 22, 2011.
  8. Tomasky, Michael (February 7, 2013). "Obama's Big and Quiet Transformation". New York Review of Books.
  9. Bresnahan, John; Min Kim, Seung (June 28, 2012). "Holder held in contempt". POLITICO. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  10. Resnikoff, Ned (June 28, 2012). "House votes to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress". NBC News. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  11. "Rep. Steve LaTourette to retire from Congress, sources say". cleveland.com. July 31, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  12. "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
  13. "Federal Elections 2008". Washington DC: Federal Elections Commission. July 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. Reinhard, Beth (October 24, 2013). "Inside the Messy but Moneyed Republican Plan to Neutralize the Tea Party". National Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  15. "Ex-Rep. Steve LaTourette, Mayor Frank Jackson and Cuyahoga County sign Supreme Court briefs to support same-sex marriage". cleveland.com. March 6, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  16. Taylor, Andrew (May 27, 2015). "Former Rep. LaTourette files claim vs US over missed cancer". Associated Press. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  17. Sabrina Eaton (August 4, 2016). "Former congressman Steve LaTourette dies at age 62". cleveland.com.
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