Tim Ryan (Ohio politician)
Tim Ryan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 17th district | |
| In office 2003 - present | |
| Preceded by | James Traficant |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
- For others, see Tim Ryan (disambiguation).
Timothy J. Ryan (born July 16, 1973) is an American member of the Democratic Party, who is a U.S. representative for the 17th district of Ohio, serving since 2003.
Ryan was born in Niles, Ohio and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Warren. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowling Green State University in 1995. In 2000, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire.
Ryan served on the staff of controversial congressman Jim Traficant (D-Ohio) in the mid-1990s. From 2000 to 2002 he served a term in the Ohio State Senate. After Traficant was convicted on criminal charges in 2002, Ryan declared his candidacy for the Congressional seat of his home district. As the result of redistricting following the 2000 census, the 17th, which had long been based in Youngstown, now included portions of Akron and Portage County. Before the redistricting, all of Akron had been part of the 14th District, represented by eight-term Democrat Tom Sawyer. The 14th had been eliminated in the year 2000 redistricting, and Sawyer's district was incorporated into the 17th. In the 2002 Democratic primary, Ryan defeated Sawyer, who was seen as insufficiently labor-friendly in the newly drawn district. Traficant ran as an independent in the race from his prison cell.
Ryan easily won the election in November. When he took office in January 2003, he was the youngest Democrat in the House. He was reelected in 2004.
Recently, before the 2004 presidential election, Ryan spoke on the House floor in a charismatic speech denouncing the Bush administration's denial of a draft reinstatement, comparing this to the administration's previous claims that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction, the Bush tax cuts would create jobs, and other such claims. A video clip of his speeches began to circulate throughout the Internet, particularly through left-wing media sites, and can be found here [1]. He repeated in September 2006 with an equally-impassioned speech criticizing what he felt to be the Bush administration's tendency to distract the public from key issues like the war in Iraq and the economy. [2]
Ryan is a member of the Thirty Something Working Group [3], which is a Congressional caucus composed of all of the members of the US House of Representatives who are in their 30s or younger. It is organized by the House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in order to energize and engage younger people in politics by focusing on issues that are important to them.
Early in the race, Ryan was strongly courted by national Democrats to run against Mike DeWine for Senate in 2006 but declined. He endorsed Paul Hackett for the seat, who later withdrew from the race in favor of fellow Ohio Rep Sherrod Brown's candidacy.
Popular culture
- Ryan was the inspiration of the 2005 movie "Steel Valley" [4], and is an avid fan of the Dave Matthews Band.
See also
- Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 17th District
- List of United States Representatives from Ohio