- Betty Sutton
-
Betty Sutton 
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio's 13th districtIncumbent Assumed office
January 3, 2007Preceded by Sherrod Brown Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the 47th districtIn office
January 3, 1993-December 31, 2000Preceded by Cliff Skeen Succeeded by Robert J. Otterman Personal details Born July 31, 1963
Barberton, OhioPolitical party Democratic Spouse(s) Doug Corwon Residence Copley, Ohio Alma mater Kent State, University of Akron Occupation Attorney Religion Methodist Betty Sue Sutton (born July 31, 1963) is the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 13th congressional district, serving since 2007. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
The district includes most of the western and southern suburbs of Cleveland, and includes North Royalton, Akron, Lorain, Elyria, Strongsville, Avon and Cuyahoga Falls.
Contents
Early life and education
Sutton was born and raised the youngest of six children in Barberton, just outside Akron. She attended public schools, going on to graduate from Kent State University with a degree in political science. Sutton went on to study for a Juris Doctor at the University of Akron School of Law, where she received a Dean's Club Scholarship and earned both the American Jurisprudence Award and Federal Bar Association Award for Outstanding Performance in Constitutional Law.[1]
Early political career
During her first year of law school, Sutton successfully ran for her first public office, earning an at-large seat on the Barberton City Council in 1990.[1]
A year later, Sutton was appointed to fill an at-large seat on the Summit County Council, where she served until 1992. Sutton was elected vice president of the council during her second year in office.[1]
In 1993 she began serving in Ohio House of Representatives. She served as State Representative for eight years, when she was term-limited.
At 28, she was the youngest woman ever to be elected to the Ohio State House of Representatives. In 1996, she cast the only vote in the Ohio House against a bill that she perceived as corporate welfare; the state's senate eventually rejected the bill. She served on the Committee on Commerce and Labor.[1]
In 2006, Sutton successfully ran for the seat vacated by Sherrod Brown in the U.S. House of Representatives in Ohio's 13th congressional district.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
- Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
- Committee on Natural Resources
Before she was appointed to the Armed Services Committee and the Natural Resources Committee, Sutton sat on the Energy and Commerce Committee in the 111th Congress, and on the Judiciary Committee and Rules Committee in the 110th Congress.
Caucus Memberships
- Congressional Arts Caucus
111th Congress
Earlier photo of Sutton
Sutton was also recognized as a "key House architect" in the American Clean Energy and Security Act that passed the House in June 2009.[2] An amendment she offered established the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Sutton received wide media attention in 2009 as a result of her lead sponsorship of the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act, which mandated the "Cash for Clunkers" program that went into effect during the summer of 2009.[3] Her 2010 Republican opponent, Tom Ganley, sold 876 cars under this program.[4] At the time, August 2009, his only complaint was about the speed of payment.[5]
Sutton was the lead sponsor of the Josh Miller HEARTS Act, which mandates that the Department of Education provide funding to local schools for the purchase of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).[6] The bill was named after one of Sutton's constituents, a 15-year-old honor student, football player, and wrestler from Barberton, Ohio who collapsed and died on the football field after suffering from sudden cardiac arrest.[7]
Other bills that Sutton has sponsored include the Protect Consumers Act of 2009, which calls for stricter action to protect consumers in the event of a product's mandatory recall by the FDA,[8] the Disability Equity Act, which eliminates the 5-month waiting period currently in place for Social Security disability benefits,[9] and the Contractor Accountability Act, which tightens public oversight of federal expenditures.[10]
Sutton was a member of the all-female, bipartisan softball team created by fellow House members Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) over the summer of 2009. The team played against a team consisting of staff from the National Republican Congressional Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee, and the game benefited the Young Survival Coalition, a foundation dedicated to young women with breast cancer.[11]
On July 16, 2009, Sutton came out in favor of a public option in any healthcare reform package.[12]
Political campaigns
2006
Main article: Ohio's 13th congressional district election, 2006After sitting Rep. Sherrod Brown of Ohio's 13th congressional district declared his intention to run against Mike DeWine for his seat in the U.S. Senate, Betty Sutton took part in the Democratic primary for his open seat. She defeated notables such as former U.S. Rep. Thomas C. Sawyer, who had previously been redistricted out of Congress, and Capri Cafaro, who had run against Rep. Steven LaTourette in the neighboring 14th District during the previous election cycle. Sutton capitalized on the anti-corruption theme of Ohio's 2006 elections to make a strong showing late in the primary season, and held it to win the primary with the strong support of organized labor.[13]
Sutton went on to win the November general election against Craig L. Foltin, the Republican mayor of Lorain, Ohio. The Republicans had high hopes for Foltin, who was the popular Republican mayor of a heavily Democratic city,[14] and despite the local newspaper Akron Beacon Journal's reluctant endorsement of Foltin,[15] Sutton defeated him 61.22 percent to 38.78 percent, or 135,639 votes to 85,922 votes.
Her campaign received support from the pro-choice political action committee EMILY's List.[16]
2008
Sutton won against Republican nominee David Potter.
Sutton endorsed Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic primaries after Clinton won the Ohio primaries, stating that she was following the lead of her constituents.[17] Sutton went on to campaign for Barack Obama after he secured the nomination.[18]
2010
Sutton defeated Republican nominee car dealer Tom Ganley.
Personal life
Sutton is by trade an attorney specializing in labor law. Between her time in the Ohio and United States legislatures, Sutton worked as a labor lawyer with the firm of Faulkner, Muskovitz & Phillips LLP (FMP).[1]
She currently lives in Copley Township with her husband Doug Corwon, a mediator with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.[19]
References
- ^ a b c d e "U.S. Representative Betty Sutton :: Representing Ohio's 13th District". Sutton.house.gov. 2009-11-18. http://sutton.house.gov/about/?id=21&story=biography. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ Sirota, David (2009-06-27). "One brief shining moment for clean energy - Global warming". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2009/06/27/waxman_markey/. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "H.R. 2751: Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act". GovTrack.us. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2751. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ Dealers-turned-candidates run into trouble, USA Today, May 12, 2010
- ^ 'Cash for clunkers' program to end Monday, Robert Schoenberger, The Plain Dealer, August 20, 2009
- ^ "H.R. 1380: Josh Miller HEARTS Act". GovTrack.us. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1380. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "Cleveland, OH | Project AED: Barberton family takes defibrillator fight to Capitol Hill". WKYC.com. http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=83285&provider=gnews. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "H.R. 841: Protect Consumers Act of 2009". GovTrack.us. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-841. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "H.R. 2263: Disability Equity Act". GovTrack.us. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2263. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "H.R. 1360: Contractor Accountability Act". GovTrack.us. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1360. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "A league of their own - Shenanigans". Politico.Com. http://www.politico.com/blogs/anneschroeder/0709/A_league_of_their_own_.html. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "U.S. Representative Betty Sutton :: Representing Ohio's 13th District". Sutton.house.gov. 2009-07-16. http://sutton.house.gov/news/floorstatement.cfm?id=69. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "Ohio's 13th congressional district election, 2006 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio's_13th_congressional_district_election,_2006. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "Article: The comeback kid: with the loss of the city's second-largest employer,... | AccessMyLibrary - Promoting library advocacy". AccessMyLibrary. 2005-08-01. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-29809824_ITM. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "Article: EDITORIAL: For the U.S. House: Our choice: Craig Foltin in the 13th... | AccessMyLibrary - Promoting library advocacy". AccessMyLibrary. 2006-10-19. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-31504455_ITM. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Rhee, Foon (2008-04-18). "Clinton picks up three superdelegates - 2008 Presidential Campaign Blog - Political Intelligence". Boston.com. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/04/clinton_picks_u_2.html. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "Hillary Clinton tells Ohio supporters: 'No Palin'". Usatoday.Com. 2008-09-14. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-14-hillaryclinton-ohio_N.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "Doug Corwon: ZoomInfo Business People Information". Zoominfo.com. http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Corwon_Doug_343011214.aspx. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
External links
- Representative Betty Sutton official U.S. House site
- Betty Sutton for Congress official campaign site
- Profile on the Ohio Ladies' Gallery website
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
United States House of Representatives Preceded by
Sherrod BrownMember of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio's 13th congressional district
2007–PresentSucceeded by
IncumbentUnited States order of precedence Preceded by
Adrian M. Smith
R-NebraskaUnited States Representatives by seniority
287thSucceeded by
Tim Walz
D-MinnesotaCategories:- 1963 births
- Living people
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio
- Members of the Ohio House of Representatives
- Ohio city council members
- Ohio Democrats
- Ohio lawyers
- People from Summit County, Ohio
- Female members of the United States House of Representatives
- Women state legislators in Ohio
- American Methodists
- University of Akron alumni
- Kent State University alumni
- Committee on Armed Services
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