Jim Oberstar

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Jim Oberstar

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 1975–
Preceded by	John Blatnik
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	September 10, 1934 (age 72) Chisholm, Minnesota
Political party	Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Spouse	Jean Kurth
Religion	Roman Catholic

James Louis Oberstar, usually known as Jim Oberstar (born September 10, 1934), is a United States politician. Oberstar has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1975, representing Minnesota's 8th congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota. The district is located in the northeastern part of the state. It includes the state's third-largest city, Duluth; it also includes Brainerd, International Falls and Hibbing.

With the Democrats' victory in the 2006 midterm elections, Oberstar has become chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

1 Background
2 Political career
3 Electoral history
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Background

He was born in Chisholm, Minnesota, and still owns his original family home in Chisholm. He received his B.A. at the College of St. Thomas (now the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul). He also received a Master's degree in European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, with further study at Laval University in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada and Georgetown University. He spent four years as a civilian language teacher in the United States Marine Corps, teaching English to Haitian military personnel and French to American Marine officers and noncommissioned officers.^[1]

[edit] Political career

Oberstar served as chief staff assistant to 8th District Congressman John Blatnik for 12 years. When Blatnik didn't run for a 15th term in 1974, he endorsed Oberstar as his successor. Oberstar won handily in November and has been reelected 15 times without serious difficulty. The Democrats--in the persons of Blatnik and Oberstar--have held the seat since 1947. His lowest winning percentage was 59 percent in 1992, but since then has not earned less than 60 percent of the vote. He is the longest-serving member of either house of Congress in Minnesota's history.

Oberstar is an internationally recognized expert on aviation and aviation safety. He has served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee since his first term. Blatnik had chaired the committee during his last two terms in Congress (when it was known as the Public Works Committee), with Oberstar as staff administrator. Oberstar was a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST) which was set up in September 1989 to review and report on aviation security policy in the light of the sabotage of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988. An avid cyclist, Oberstar has been a champion of creating trails for cycling and hiking to promote healthy living and more active lifestyles. In 2005 he authored and had passed the Safe Routes to Schools act, a $200 million program that helps school districts address the growing problem of childhood obesity by building biking and walking paths to schools, hiring crossing guards and promoting safety programs.^{[citation needed]}

Oberstar generally has a liberal voting record, but opposes abortion and opposes gun control. The latter stand is fairly common among DFLers outside the Twin Cities, as Minnesota is a "pioneer state" with a long hunting and fishing tradition. Many DFL officials are hunters and anglers. He is the co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, along with Republican Chris Smith of New Jersey.

In 2007, along with Gene Taylor, Brad Ellsworth and others, Oberstar was one of 16 Democrats who voted against federal funding for stem cell research [1].

He is considered to be the third most liberal member of the Minnesota delegation in the 109^th Congress, scoring 13% conservative by a conservative group^[2] and 86% progressive by a liberal group.^[3] Minnesota Congressional Districts shows the scores for the entire delegation.

Along with John Conyers, in April 2006 Oberstar brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of the Constitution in the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005^[4]. The case (Conyers v. Bush) was ultimately dismissed^[5].

Oberstar resides with his wife, Jean, in both Potomac, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., and in his original family home in Chisholm.

During the 2006 elections, Oberstar's Republican opponent was former United States Senator Rod Grams, whose home is in the southwestern corner of the 8th. Grams was by far the strongest opponent Oberstar had ever faced, and the first well-funded Republican to run in the 8th in decades. However, Oberstar trounced Grams by over 30 points.

Oberstar is one of two committee chairmen from Minnesota, the other being Collin Peterson of the neighboring 7th District.

[edit] Electoral history

1974 DFL Primary for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL), 49%
- Tony Perpich (DFL), 29%
- Florian Chmielewski, 19.5%

1974 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL), 62%
- Jerome Arnold (R), 26%
- William R. Ojala (Economic Justice), 10%
- Robert C. Bester (Independent), 2%

1976 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), unopposed (100%)

1978 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 87%
- John W. Hull (AM), 13%

1980 DFL Primary for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 49%
- Thomas E. Dougherty (DFL), 39%

1980 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 70%
- Edward Fiore (IR), 28%
- Ilona Gersh (SW), 2%

1982 DFL Primary for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 87%
- Bernard Sydow (DFL), 13%

1982 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 77%
- Marjory L. Luce (IR), 23%

1984 DFL Primary for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 65%
- Tom Dougherty (DFL), 33%

1984 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 67%
- Dave Rued (IR), 32%

1986 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 73%
- Dave Rued (IR), 27%

1988 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 74.5%
- Jerry Shuster (IR), 25.5%

1990 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 73%
- Jerry Shuster (IR), 27%

1992 DFL Primary for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 78%
- Leonard J. Richards (DFL), 22%

1992 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 59%
- Phil Herwig (IR), 30%
- Harry Robb Welty (PCP), 8%

1994 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 66%
- Phil Herwig (IR), 34%

1996 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 67%
- Andy Larson (R), 25%
- Stan Estes (Reform), 6%

1998 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 66%
- Jerry Shuster (R), 26%
- Stan Estes (Reform), 5.7%

2000 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 68%
- Bob Lemen (R), 26%
- Mike Darling (Independent), 5.7%

2002 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 68.5%
- Bob Lemen (R), 31.2%

2004 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 65%
- Mark Groettum (R), 32%

2006 Race for U.S. Representative - 8th District
- Jim Oberstar (DFL) (inc.), 64%
- Rod Grams (R), 34%
- Harry Welty (UP), 2%

[edit] References

^ About Jim Oberstar Accessed August 12th, 2006
^ Congressional Voting Scorecard 2005 (pdf). SBE Council’s Congressional Voting Scorecard 2005. Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (June, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-02.
^ Leading with the Left. Progressive Punch. Retrieved on 2006-11-02.
^ Associated Press. "11 House Members to Sue Over Budget Bill", ABC News, 2006-04-27. Retrieved on 2007-02-20.
^ Associated Press. "Judge Dismisses Budget Bill Lawsuit", ABC News, 2006-11-06. Retrieved on 2006-11-28.