| The Honorable Tim Ryan |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 17th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | James Traficant |
| Member of the Ohio Senate from the 32nd district |
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| In office January 3, 2001-December 19, 2002 |
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| Preceded by | Anthony Latell Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Marc Dann |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 16, 1973 Niles, Ohio |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | single |
| Residence | Niles, Ohio |
| Alma mater | Bowling Green State University, Franklin Pierce Law Center |
| Occupation | Congressman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Timothy John "Tim" Ryan (born July 16, 1973) is the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 17th congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the Ohio Senate.
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Tim Ryan was born in Niles, Ohio and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, where he played football as a quarterback.[1] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Bowling Green State University in 1995 and was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. In 2000, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire.[2]
Ryan served on the staff of controversial U.S. Representative Jim Traficant (D-Ohio) in the mid-1990s. From 2000 to 2002 he served a term in the Ohio State Senate.
Ryan is a member of the "30 Something" Working Group,[3] which is a Congressional caucus that includes those members of the United States House of Representatives who are Democrats and have not yet reached the age of 40. It was organized by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to energize and engage younger people in politics by focusing on issues that are important to them.
Ryan voted for the Stupak Amendment restricting federal funding for abortions. In March 2010, he stated that he will vote "Yes" on the Senate version of the Health Care bill lacking Stupak Amendment language.[4]
Before the 2004 presidential election, Ryan spoke on the House floor in an impassioned 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.[5] He repeated in September 2006 with an equally-heated 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.[6]
In 2010, Ryan introduced the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, which sought punitive trade tariffs on countries, notably China that, were engaging in currency manipulation. It passed the House overwhelmingly but never made it to the floor in the Senate.
In an October 2010 interview with conservative magazine Human Events, Ryan said tax increases on small businesses were necessary "because we have huge deficits. We gotta shore up Social Security. We gotta shrink our deficits".[7]
After Jim 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; most of it was drawn into the 13th District of fellow Democrat Sherrod Brown, but Sawyer's home was drawn 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 general election in November 2002. When he took office in January 2003, he was the youngest Democrat in the House, at 29 years of age.
Ryan was reelected. On January 13, 2005 the Federal Election Commission made public a campaign finance compliance case involving Tim Ryan, the Tim Ryan for Congress committee, Dennis Rossi, Second National Bank, and the Mahoning County Democratic Party. In a "Conciliation Agreement" Tim Ryan as an individual and his campaign committee were assessed a $6,000 civil penalty as "the Commission found that Mr. Ryan accepted an excessive contribution in the form of a ($50,000) cosigned bank loan." In a separate "Conciliation Agreement" Rossi was assessed a $4,000 civil penalty for "excessive contribution; exceeding the annual $25,000 contribution limit".[8]
Early in the race, Ryan was strongly courted by national Democrats to run against Mike DeWine for Senate in 2006 but he declined. He endorsed Paul Hackett for the seat, who later withdrew from the race in favor of Sherrod Brown's candidacy.
On October 4, 2007, Ryan announced his endorsement of U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) in the race for the Democratic nomination for President. In a post on the well-known progressive blog DailyKos, he said: "When I vote for a President I want certain qualities. I want passion, I want conviction and I want clarity. Today I endorse Chris Dodd because he has all three." After Dodd withdrew from the race, Ryan endorsed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) on April 19, saying that under her administration "people in the seventeenth district of Ohio would enjoy a return to strong economic growth, millions of jobs being created and a rise in wages.".[9]
Ryan was challenged by Republican Jim Graham, Independent James Traficant, a former Democratic U.S. Congressman whom Ryan succeeded, and Green Party nominee Elaine Mastromatteo.
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | Other | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Timothy J. Ryan | 94,441 | 51% | Ann Womer Benjamin | 62,188 | 34% | James A. Traficant, Jr. | Independent | 28,045 | 15% | ||||
| 2004 | Timothy J. Ryan | 212,800 | 77% | Frank V. Cusimano | 62,871 | 23% | ||||||||
| 2006 | Timothy J. Ryan | 170,369 | 80% | Don Manning II | 41,925 | 20% | ||||||||
| 2008 | Timothy J. Ryan | 204,028 | 78% | Duane Grassell[11] | 56,003 | 22%[12] | ||||||||
| 2010 | Timothy J. Ryan | 100,295 | 53.7% | Jim Graham | 56,441 | 30.2% | James A. Traficant, Jr. | Independent | 29,969 | 16.1% |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jim Traficant |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 17th congressional district January 3, 2003 – present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Dutch Ruppersberger D-Maryland |
United States Representatives by seniority 221st |
Succeeded by Linda Sanchez D-California |
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