Clarence E. Miller
Encyclopedia
Clarence Ellsworth Miller, Jr. (November 1, 1917 – August 2, 2011) was a Republican Congressman
from Ohio
, serving January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1993.
He was born in Lancaster, Ohio
, one of six children of an electrician father. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in correspondence school and became a certified electrical engineer. He worked for Columbia Gas and held patents related to the pumping of gas.
Miller was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966 to represent a section of southeastern Ohio where, in Lancaster, he had served as mayor. During the Persian Gulf War, he was reportedly the only member of Congress who had a grandson (Drew Miller, of Lancaster, Ohio) fighting in that conflict.
By training, he was an engineer, and the Almanac of American Politics wrote that Mr. Miller approached politics with the “precise and orderly manner” that one might expect from someone of his profession.
, Filed July 26. 1960, Patented Oct. 5, 1965 ”Magneto Having Auxiliary Pole Piece”
, and he was re-elected to twelve succeeding Congresses.
Miller was a 13-term Ohio Republican nicknamed “Five Percent Clarence” for his persistent efforts to cut spending bills by that amount. He did not cultivate publicity, preferring instead to focus on legislation more than on the Washington talk-show circuit. He was known for his near-perfect attendance on votes no matter how minute. In 1990, the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call named Mr. Miller the “most obscure” member of Congress. It was intended as a compliment, considering that grandstanders never would have received such an honor. A fiscal conservative, he served on the House Appropriations Committee. The numerous bills he introduced, often unsuccessfully, aimed to cut spending measures — if not by the 5 percent figure in his nickname, then at least by 2 percent. In 1977, he succeeded in persuading House colleagues to cut foreign aid by 5 percent.
He lost his bid for reelection in the 1992 primary after redistricting.
struck a deal to eliminate one Democratic and one Republican district, as one congressman from each party was expected to retire. The Republican expected to retire was Miller, but he announced he would run again. The Democrats in the Statehouse would not reconsider the deal and so Miller's Tenth District was obliterated. (The new Tenth was in Cuyahoga County
.)
The new district map was not agreed upon by the General Assembly until March 26, 1992, one week before the filing deadline for the primary originally scheduled for May 5. (Governor George Voinovich
signed the new map into law on March 27, and the General Assembly moved the primary to June 2 on April 1.) Miller's own hometown was placed in freshman David Hobson
's Seventh District, but Miller chose to run in the Sixth District against Bob McEwen
; only one of the twelve counties in Miller's old Tenth District was in the new Seventh but the largest piece of his old district, five counties, was placed in the new Sixth. Miller also had a strong distaste for McEwen, a Hillsboro
Republican in his sixth term who had been elected to Congress at age thirty.
Despite being hurt in a fall in his bathtub after slipping on a bar of soap, an injury that led Republicans to expect his withdrawal, Miller stayed in the race. A deal was hoped for as late as May 15, the day Miller was scheduled to hold a press conference Ohio political observers thought he would use to announce his withdrawal, but Miller stayed in the race and the two incumbents faced each other in the Republican primary on June 2, 1992.
McEwen, who Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America pronounced "invincible", was caught up in the House banking scandal
, which had been seized upon by Newt Gingrich
, a like-minded conservative House Republican, as an example of the corruption of Congress. Martin Gottlieb of the Dayton Daily News
said "McEwen was collateral damage" to Gingrich's crusade. McEwen initially denied bouncing any checks. Later, he admitted he had bounced a few. Then when the full totals were released by Ethics Committee investigators, the number was revealed to have been 166 over thirty-nine months. McEwen said that he always had funds available to cover the alleged overdrafts, pointing to the policy of the House sergeant at arms, who ran the House bank, paying checks on an overdrawn account if it would not exceed the sum of the Representative's next paycheck. In 1991, McEwen had also been criticized for his use of the franking privilege and his frequent trips overseas at taxpayer expense, but McEwen defended the trips as part of his work on the Intelligence Committee and in building relationships with legislatures overseas.
The primary race was bitter. Miller called McEwen "Pinocchio
" and McEwen said of Miller "his misrepresentations and falsehoods are gargantuan. I tried to be his best friend in the delegation. I am deeply disappointed at the meanness of his effort." Tom Deimer of Cleveland's Plain Dealer wrote that the two candidates were largely identical on the issues: "both are textbook Republican conservatives, opposed to abortion, gun control, high taxes, and costly government programs — unless located in their districts." Miller noted he had no overdrafts, saying, "the score is 166 to nothing" referring to the number of checks McEwen bounced in the House banking scandal
.
The 1992 primary was so close it forced a recount and a lawsuit. When Ohio Secretary of State
Bob Taft
dismissed Miller's charges of voting irregularities in Highland
, Hocking
, and Warren
Counties, Miller filed suit in the Ohio Supreme Court. Only in August did Miller drop his court challenge and then only because his campaign was out of money. In the final count, McEwen won 33,219 votes to Miller's 32,922, a plurality of only 297 votes. Ominously for November, each had won the counties they had formerly represented, McEwen making little headway in the new eastern counties in the district. After the final result, Miller refused to endorse McEwen and carried an unsuccessful legal challenge to the redistricting to the United States Supreme Court, insisting district lines should be drawn on a politically neutral basis. (After the primary, McEwen introduced H. R. 5727 in the House to name the locks on the Ohio near Gallipolis
after Miller, but the bill did not pass.http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:h.r.05727:) McEwen subsequently lost the general election that year to Ted Strickland
.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, serving January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1993.
He was born in Lancaster, Ohio
Lancaster, Ohio
Lancaster is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,780. It is located near the Hocking River, approximately southeast of Columbus, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fairfield County...
, one of six children of an electrician father. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in correspondence school and became a certified electrical engineer. He worked for Columbia Gas and held patents related to the pumping of gas.
Miller was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966 to represent a section of southeastern Ohio where, in Lancaster, he had served as mayor. During the Persian Gulf War, he was reportedly the only member of Congress who had a grandson (Drew Miller, of Lancaster, Ohio) fighting in that conflict.
By training, he was an engineer, and the Almanac of American Politics wrote that Mr. Miller approached politics with the “precise and orderly manner” that one might expect from someone of his profession.
US Patents
, Filed August 1, 1960, Patented May 7, 1963 “Remote Control and Alarm System For A Compressor Station and Compressor Engines Thereof”, Filed July 26. 1960, Patented Oct. 5, 1965 ”Magneto Having Auxiliary Pole Piece”
Elections
In 1966, the Tenth Congressional District elected Miller to the Ninetieth Congress, defeating incumbent Democrat Walter H. MoellerWalter H. Moeller
Walter Henry Moeller was an American politician of the Democratic party who was born in New Palestine, Indiana. He entered a Lutheran seminary in 1935 and served as a pastor in the 1940s and after his retirement from politics....
, and he was re-elected to twelve succeeding Congresses.
Miller was a 13-term Ohio Republican nicknamed “Five Percent Clarence” for his persistent efforts to cut spending bills by that amount. He did not cultivate publicity, preferring instead to focus on legislation more than on the Washington talk-show circuit. He was known for his near-perfect attendance on votes no matter how minute. In 1990, the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call named Mr. Miller the “most obscure” member of Congress. It was intended as a compliment, considering that grandstanders never would have received such an honor. A fiscal conservative, he served on the House Appropriations Committee. The numerous bills he introduced, often unsuccessfully, aimed to cut spending measures — if not by the 5 percent figure in his nickname, then at least by 2 percent. In 1977, he succeeded in persuading House colleagues to cut foreign aid by 5 percent.
He lost his bid for reelection in the 1992 primary after redistricting.
Elections by landslide
Twelve of the thirteen elections won by Mr. Miller were by a margin of victory of greater than 25%.Heated 1992 primary
Ohio lost two seats in the 1990 reapportionment. The Democrats and Republicans in the Ohio General AssemblyOhio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...
struck a deal to eliminate one Democratic and one Republican district, as one congressman from each party was expected to retire. The Republican expected to retire was Miller, but he announced he would run again. The Democrats in the Statehouse would not reconsider the deal and so Miller's Tenth District was obliterated. (The new Tenth was in Cuyahoga County
Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Cuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It is the most populous county in Ohio; as of the 2010 census, the population was 1,280,122. Its county seat is Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is part of Greater Cleveland, a metropolitan area, and Northeast Ohio, a...
.)
The new district map was not agreed upon by the General Assembly until March 26, 1992, one week before the filing deadline for the primary originally scheduled for May 5. (Governor George Voinovich
George Voinovich
George Victor Voinovich is a former United States Senator from the state of Ohio, and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served as the 65th Governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998, and as the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989.-Personal life:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, his father was...
signed the new map into law on March 27, and the General Assembly moved the primary to June 2 on April 1.) Miller's own hometown was placed in freshman David Hobson
Dave Hobson
David Lee Hobson is an American politician of the Republican Party who served as a U.S. representative from the seventh congressional district of Ohio.Hobson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Withrow High School in 1954...
's Seventh District, but Miller chose to run in the Sixth District against Bob McEwen
Bob McEwen
Robert D. "Bob" McEwen is a lobbyist and American politician of the Republican Party, who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from southern Ohio's Sixth District, from January 3, 1981 to January 3, 1993...
; only one of the twelve counties in Miller's old Tenth District was in the new Seventh but the largest piece of his old district, five counties, was placed in the new Sixth. Miller also had a strong distaste for McEwen, a Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Ohio
Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Highland County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,605 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hillsboro is located at ....
Republican in his sixth term who had been elected to Congress at age thirty.
Despite being hurt in a fall in his bathtub after slipping on a bar of soap, an injury that led Republicans to expect his withdrawal, Miller stayed in the race. A deal was hoped for as late as May 15, the day Miller was scheduled to hold a press conference Ohio political observers thought he would use to announce his withdrawal, but Miller stayed in the race and the two incumbents faced each other in the Republican primary on June 2, 1992.
McEwen, who Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America pronounced "invincible", was caught up in the House banking scandal
House banking scandal
The House banking scandal broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the United States House of Representatives allowed members to overdraw their House checking accounts without risk of being penalized by the House bank ....
, which had been seized upon by Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
, a like-minded conservative House Republican, as an example of the corruption of Congress. Martin Gottlieb of the Dayton Daily News
Dayton Daily News
The Dayton Daily News is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. In the 2010 Associated Press Society of Ohio newspaper competition that takes place every year, DaytonDailyNews.com was named "the best large-newspaper web site in Ohio".-History:On August 15,...
said "McEwen was collateral damage" to Gingrich's crusade. McEwen initially denied bouncing any checks. Later, he admitted he had bounced a few. Then when the full totals were released by Ethics Committee investigators, the number was revealed to have been 166 over thirty-nine months. McEwen said that he always had funds available to cover the alleged overdrafts, pointing to the policy of the House sergeant at arms, who ran the House bank, paying checks on an overdrawn account if it would not exceed the sum of the Representative's next paycheck. In 1991, McEwen had also been criticized for his use of the franking privilege and his frequent trips overseas at taxpayer expense, but McEwen defended the trips as part of his work on the Intelligence Committee and in building relationships with legislatures overseas.
The primary race was bitter. Miller called McEwen "Pinocchio
Pinocchio
The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...
" and McEwen said of Miller "his misrepresentations and falsehoods are gargantuan. I tried to be his best friend in the delegation. I am deeply disappointed at the meanness of his effort." Tom Deimer of Cleveland's Plain Dealer wrote that the two candidates were largely identical on the issues: "both are textbook Republican conservatives, opposed to abortion, gun control, high taxes, and costly government programs — unless located in their districts." Miller noted he had no overdrafts, saying, "the score is 166 to nothing" referring to the number of checks McEwen bounced in the House banking scandal
House banking scandal
The House banking scandal broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the United States House of Representatives allowed members to overdraw their House checking accounts without risk of being penalized by the House bank ....
.
The 1992 primary was so close it forced a recount and a lawsuit. When Ohio Secretary of State
Ohio Secretary of State
The Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
Bob Taft
Bob Taft
Robert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
dismissed Miller's charges of voting irregularities in Highland
Highland County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 40,875 people, 15,587 households, and 11,394 families residing in the county. The population density was 74 people per square mile . There were 17,583 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
, Hocking
Hocking County, Ohio
Hocking County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 29,380. Its county seat is Logan. Its name is from the Hocking River, the origins of which are disputed but is said to be a Delaware Indian word meaning "bottle river".-Geography:According to the...
, and Warren
Warren County, Ohio
Warren County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 212,693 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Lebanon. Warren County was erected May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County, and named for Dr...
Counties, Miller filed suit in the Ohio Supreme Court. Only in August did Miller drop his court challenge and then only because his campaign was out of money. In the final count, McEwen won 33,219 votes to Miller's 32,922, a plurality of only 297 votes. Ominously for November, each had won the counties they had formerly represented, McEwen making little headway in the new eastern counties in the district. After the final result, Miller refused to endorse McEwen and carried an unsuccessful legal challenge to the redistricting to the United States Supreme Court, insisting district lines should be drawn on a politically neutral basis. (After the primary, McEwen introduced H. R. 5727 in the House to name the locks on the Ohio near Gallipolis
Gallipolis, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,180 people, 1,847 households, and 1,004 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,156.2 people per square mile . There were 2,056 housing units at an average density of 568.7 per square mile...
after Miller, but the bill did not pass.http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:h.r.05727:) McEwen subsequently lost the general election that year to Ted Strickland
Ted Strickland
Theodore "Ted" Strickland was the 68th Governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ....
.
Family
His wife of 51 years, the former Helen Brown, died in 1987. The couple had two children, Ronald K. Miller of Lancaster and Jacqueline M. Williams of Cincinnati; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.Death
Clarence Miller returned to Lancaster, where he resided at the time of his death on August 2, 2011, aged 93.See also
- Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 10th District
- List of United States Representatives from Ohio
External links
- Photo of Miller from 1966 – Playle's Online Auctions
- hHttp://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/clarence-e-miller-ohio-congressman-dies-at-93/2011/08/02/gIQAwQ8bqI story.html]