Jack Ryan (2004 U.S. Senate candidate)

Jack Ryan (born circa 1960) is a Republican from the state of Illinois who was forced to withdraw from the 2004 United States Senate race due to an alleged sex scandal involving his relationship with his ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan.cite news |first=Stephen |last=Kinzer |authorlink=Stephen Kinzer |coauthors=Jo Napolitano |title=Illinois Senate Campaign Thrown Into Prurient Turmoil |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E3D71039F930A15755C0A9629C8B63&scp=1&sq=Jack+Ryan+Jeri+Ryan&st=nyt |work=New York Times |date=2004-06-23 |accessdate=2008-02-10 ] [cite news |first=Jo |last=Napolitano |title=Illinois G.O.P. Finally Picks A Candidate |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906EEDB153CF936A3575BC0A9629C8B63&scp=1&sq=Jack+Ryan+sex+scandal&st=nyt |work=New York Times |date=2004-10-05 |accessdate=2008-02-10 ]

Biography

Ryan spent his childhood in Wilmette, Illinois, with his five siblings, and attended New Trier High School.Broder, David. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64866-2004Mar16.html “In Illinois, a Contest of Contrasts: Millionaire to Face Son of Kenyan Immigrant for Senate Seat”] , Washington Post (2004-03-17).] He graduated from high school in 1977 and went on to Dartmouth College, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, and his JD from Harvard Law School. After this, he worked for Goldman Sachs as an investment banker and eventual partner, first in New York City, and then in the Chicago branch.

In 2000, after Goldman Sachs went public, Ryan's net worth was in the hundreds of millions. He retired from Goldman and taught part-time at an inner-city Chicago Catholic parochial school, Hales Franciscan High School. He later became a full-time teacher at the school. Currently, Mr. Ryan is running a news media company, 22nd Century Media, which publishes five separate localized newspapers in the greater Chicago area.

Political platform

During his Senate campaign, Ryan was a proponent of across-the-board tax cuts and tort reform, an effort to limit payout in medical malpractice lawsuits. He was also a proponent of school choice and an approach that stresses accountability in education and the freedom to choose which school one's children attend.

2004 U.S. Senate race

Ryan hoped to succeed retiring Republican Peter Fitzgerald in the United States Senate. On March 16, 2004, he won the Republican primary, thus pairing him against Democrat Barack Obama. However, after allegations from his ex-wife, he withdrew his candidacy on June 25, 2004, and officially filed the documentation to withdraw on July 29, 2004.

Controversially, in 2004, Ryan had Justin Warfel (a campaign worker) follow his opponent, Barack Obama, throughout the day and record everything he did in public on videotape.cite news |first=David |last=Mendell |title=Ryan aide to give Obama more space |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0405230433may23,1,3572265.story |work=Chicago Tribune |date=2004-05-23 |accessdate=2008-02-11 ] The tactic backfired when many people, including Ryan's supporters, criticized this activity. Ryan's spokesman apologized, and promised that Warfel would give Obama more space. Obama acknowledged that it is standard practice to film an opponent in public, and Obama said he was satisfied with Ryan's decision to have Warfel back off.

Campaign demise

Ryan married actress Jeri Ryan in 1991; together they have a son, Alex Ryan. They divorced in 1999 in California, and the records of the divorce were sealed at their mutual request. Five years later, when Ryan's Senate campaign began, the "Chicago Tribune" newspaper and WLS-TV, the local ABC affiliate, sought to have the records released. On March 3, 2004, several of Ryan's GOP primary opponents urged release of the records. [Fornek, Scott; Herrmann, Andrew. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Senate%20rivals%20urge%20Ryan%20to%20unseal%20divorce%20records)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Senate%20rivals%20urge%20Ryan%20to%20unseal%20divorce%20records)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no “Senate rivals urge Ryan to unseal divorce records”] , "Chicago Sun-Times" (2004-03-04).] Both Ryan and his wife agreed to make their divorce records public, but not make the custody records public, claiming that the custody records could be harmful to their son if released. On March 16, 2004, Ryan won the GOP primary with 36 percent to 23 percent against Jim Oberweis who came in second. [Davey, Monica. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E4D61431F934A25750C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all “From Crowded Field, Democrats Choose State Legislator to Seek Senate Seat”] (2004-03-17).] Obama won the Democratic primary, with 53 percent to 23 percent against Dan Hynes, who came in second.

People alleged to be Barack Obama's backers emailed reporters about the divorce controversy, but refrained from on-the-record commentary about the divorce files. On March 29, 2004, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider ruled that several of the Ryans' divorce records should be opened to the public, and ruled that a court-appointed referee would later decide which custody files should remain sealed to protect the interests of Ryan's young child. [Ford, Liam. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0403300182mar30,1,7640086.story “Some Ryan divorce files should be unsealed”] , "Chicago Tribune" (2004-03-30).] The following week, on April 2, 2004, Barack Obama changed his position about the Ryans' soon-to-be-released divorce records, and called on Democrats to not inject them into the campaign.Fornek, Scott. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Obama:%20Back%20off%20divorce%20files)%20AND%20date(4/3/2004%20to%204/3/2004)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=4/3/2004%20to%204/3/2004)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Obama:%20Back%20off%20divorce%20files)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no "Obama: Back off divorce files"] , "Chicago Sun-Times" (2004-04-03).] The Ryan campaign characterized Obama's shift as hypocritical, because Obama's alleged backers had been emailing reports about the divorce records prior to Judge Schnider's decision.

On June 22, 2004, after receiving a report from the referee, Judge Schnider released the files that were deemed consistent with the interests of Ryan's young child. In those files, Jeri Ryan alleged that Jack Ryan had taken her to sex clubs in several cities, intending for them to have sex in public. The decision to release these files generated much controversy because it went against both parents' direct request, and because it reversed the earlier decision to seal the papers in the best interest of the child. Jim Oberweis, Ryan's defeated GOP opponent, commented that "these are allegations made in a divorce hearing, and we all know people tend to say things that aren't necessarily true in divorce proceedings when there is money involved and custody of children involved."

Prior to release of the documents, Ryan claimed he had told leading Republicans that the divorce file could cause problems for his campaign. [Martinez, Michael; Pearson, Rick. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0406180364jun18,1,3423709.story “Court sets release of Ryan's divorce file”] , Chicago Tribune (2004-06-18).] But after the documents were released, GOP officials including state GOP Chair Judy Baar Topinka said they felt Ryan had mislead them, saying the divorce records would not be embarrassing. [Pearson, Rick; Ford, Liam. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0406230356jun23,1,998870.story?coll=chi-homepagepromo451-fea “GOP leaders say they felt misled on Ryan file”] , Chicago Tribune (2004-06-23).] That charge of dishonesty led to calls for Ryan's withdrawal, though Topinka said after the June 25 withdrawal that Ryan's "decision was a personal one" and that the state GOP had not pressured Ryan to drop out. [Ford, Liam; Bush, Rudolph. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0406260116jun26,1,277974.story?coll=chi-news-hed “Ryan Quits Race”] , Chicago Tribune 2004-06-26.] Ryan's campaign ended less than a week after the custody records were opened, and Ryan officially filed the documentation to withdraw on July 29, 2004. The same party leaders who called for Ryan's resignation chose Alan Keyes as Ryan's replacement in the race; Keyes lost to Obama, 27% to 70%.

2004 Senate campaign in retrospect

Subsequent to his withdrawal from the U.S. Senate race in Illinois, Jack Ryan has characterized what happened to him as a "new low for politics in America".Sangwan, Rahul. [http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/archives/2004/10/jack_ryan_81_th.html “Jack Ryan '81: The Conservative Idealist”] , "The Dartmouth Independent" (2004-10-01).] According to Ryan, it was unprecedented in American politics for a newspaper to sue for access to sealed custody documents. Ryan opposed unsealing the divorce records of Senator John Kerry during Kerry's race against George W. Bush in 2004, and Kerry's divorce records remained sealed. Ryan has made this request: "let me be the only person this has happened to. Don’t ask for Ted Kennedy’s. Don’t ask for John McCain’s. Don’t ask for Joe Lieberman’s. Just stop. This is not a good precedent for American society if you really want the best and brightest to run."

References

External links

* [http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/25/il.ryan/ Ryan drops out of Senate race in Illinois] CNN, June 25, 2004
* [http://www.ilsenate.com/candidate.asp?ID=8 Illinois Senate Race 2004 - Jack Ryan] candidate profile
* [http://22ndcenturymedia.com/ 22nd Century Media] business website