David E. Bonior

David Edward Bonior
House Majority Whip
In office September 11, 1991 – January 3, 1995
Leader	Dick Gephardt
Preceded by	William H. Gray III
Succeeded by	Tom DeLay
House Minority Whip
In office January 3, 1995 – January 15, 2002
Leader	Dick Gephardt
Preceded by	Newt Gingrich
Succeeded by	Nancy Pelosi
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 12th district
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	James G. O'Hara
Succeeded by	Sander Levin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 10th district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Dave Camp
Succeeded by	Candice Miller
Personal details
Born	June 6, 1945 (1945-06-06) (age 66) Detroit, Michigan
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Judy Bonior

David Edward Bonior (born June 6, 1945) is an American politician from the US state of Michigan. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, Bonior served as Democratic whip in the House from 1991 to 2002, during which time Democrats were in both the majority (1991–1995) and minority (1995–2002), making Bonior the third and second highest-ranking Democrat in the House, respectively. During his tenure in office, Bonior was the public face of Democratic opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),^[1] and was known for his tenacity in opposing Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, against whom Bonior filed more than seventy-five ethics charges.^[2]

Early life

Bonior claims to be of Ukrainian descent^[3]. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods, Michigan, in 1963 where he excelled in sports. He received a B.A. from the University of Iowa, where he also played football and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, in 1967. He received an M.A. from Chapman College in Orange, California in 1972. He served in the United States Air Force during the peak of the Vietnam War, from 1968 to 1972. However, he did not serve in Vietnam.

Political career

David Bonior at a reception at Wayne State University in 2004

Bonior was a Democratic member of the Michigan State House of Representatives from 1973 to 1976. In 1976, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 12th District (based in Macomb County) for the 95th and to the twelve succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 2003. His district was renumbered as the 10th in 1993, after Michigan lost a House seat as a result of the 1990 United States Census.

From 1991 to 2002, Bonior was the House Democratic Whip. He served as Majority Whip in the 102nd and 103rd Congresses. He was Minority Whip for the 104th through 107th Congresses. While the Democrats were in the majority, Bonior was the third-ranking Democrat in the House, behind the Speaker and House Majority Leader. While they were in the minority, Bonior was second-in-command behind the Minority Leader.

In Congress, Bonior generally had a progressive voting record, but opposed abortion in most cases.^[4]

For most of his tenure in Congress, Bonior represented a fairly compact district in Macomb and St. Clair counties northeast of Detroit. However, after the 2000 United States Census, Michigan lost one of its 16 seats in the House of Representatives. The redistricting process was controlled by the Republican majority in the state legislature, and Bonior's home in Mount Clemens was shifted from the 10th District to the 12th District. That district had long been represented by Democrat Sandy Levin, a longtime friend of Bonior's. At the same time, the state legislature radically altered the 10th, extending it all the way to the Thumb. The new 10th was considerably more rural and Republican than its predecessor; George W. Bush narrowly won the old 10th, but would have won the new 10th by a large margin. By all accounts, the 10th had been redrawn for popular Republican Michigan Secretary of State and Macomb County resident Candice Miller.

Bonior opted to run for Governor of Michigan, and stepped down as House Democratic Whip in early 2002. He lost in a heavily-contested primary between former Governor James Blanchard, and then-Michigan Attorney General and eventual nominee Jennifer Granholm, who went on to be elected to two terms as governor. Meanwhile, Miller easily won Bonior's old House seat and still holds it today.

Post-Congressional Career

Following his retirement from the House, Bonior became a professor of labor studies at Wayne State University,^[5] and founded American Rights at Work, a union advocacy organization of which he currently serves as Chairman.^[6] In 2006, former Senator John Edwards chose Bonior to run his campaign for the presidency in 2008.^[7] Bonior served as campaign manager for the duration of Edwards' candidacy. Upon the election of Barack Obama in November 2008, Bonior was a member of the President's-Elect economic advisory board. [1] He was honored by the Democratic Socialists of America in December 2008.^[8]

Bonior's Congressional District from 1993 to 2003

Controversies

An indictment unsealed in Detroit on March 26, 2008 accused Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a member of a Michigan nonprofit group, of arranging for three members of Congress to travel to Iraq in October 2002 at the behest of Saddam Hussein's regime, paid for by Iraqi intelligence officials.^[9] The dates from the indictment correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California. During the trip, the lawmakers expressed skepticism about the Bush administration's claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.

References

1. ^ Akers, Mary Ann. Where Are They Now? David Bonior, Bill Clinton washingtonpost.com The Sleuth. 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
2. ^ CNN-Time All Politics. Players: David A. (sic.) Bonior, 1997-03-03. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
3. ^ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Dec 3, 1991.
4. ^ Sometimes it helps to get outraged: David Bonior is passionate about issues. That's one of the reasons he visited Iraq. Now he's on the receiving end of a lot of anger – Cover Story | National Catholic Reporter | Find Articles at BNET.com
5. ^ Wayne State University Public Relations. Former U.S. Congressman David Bonior donates personal papers to Wayne State University's Walter P. Reuther Library. 2003-02-19. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
6. ^ American Rights at Work. David Bonior. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
7. ^ Christensen, Rob. Edwards aide seen as pit bull. Raleigh News & Observer 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2008-08-08
8. ^ http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/04/who_are_the_socialists_in_amer.html
9. ^ Niraj Warikoo, "Metro Iraqi is charged in spy case" Detroit Free Press March 27, 2008, p. 1A. "An indictment unsealed Wednesday in Detroit says he was an agent for Saddam Hussein's government who was paid money and oil to manipulate U.S. public and elected officials, including former U.S. Rep. David Bonior, D-Mt. Clemens."

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by James G. O'Hara	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 12th congressional district 1977–1993	Succeeded by Sander Levin
Preceded by Dave Camp	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 10th congressional district 1993–2003	Succeeded by Candice S. Miller
Party political offices
Preceded by William H. Gray III	House Majority Whip 1991–1995	Succeeded by Tom DeLay
	House Democratic Whip 1991–2002	Succeeded by Nancy Pelosi
Preceded by Newt Gingrich	House Minority Whip 1995–2002	Succeeded by Nancy Pelosi

Persondata
Name	Bonior, David E.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 6, 1945
Place of birth	Detroit, Michigan
Date of death
Place of death