James Bilbray: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|American politician and lawyer (1938–2021)}}

[[Image:JamesBilbray.jpg|right|James Bilbray]]

{{More footnotes needed | date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = James Bilbray

| image = James Bilbray official photo (2).jpeg

| birth_name = James Hubert Bilbray

| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|5|19}}

| birth_place = [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|9|19|1938|5|19}}

| death_place =

| education = [[American University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]])

| office = Acting Chair of the [[Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service]]

| term_start = December 2014

| term_end = December 8, 2016

| president = [[Barack Obama]]

| 1blankname = Postmaster General

| 1namedata = [[Megan Brennan]]

| predecessor = [[Mickey D. Barnett]]

| successor =

| office1 = Vice Chair of the [[Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service]]

| term_start1 = 2012

| term_end1 = December 2014

| president1 = [[Barack Obama]]

| 1blankname1 = Postmaster General

| 1namedata1 = [[Megan Brennan]]

| predecessor1 = [[Mickey D. Barnett]]

| successor1 =

| office2 = Member of the [[Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service]]

| term_start2 = 2006

| term_end2 = December 8, 2016

| president2 = [[George W. Bush]]<br>[[Barack Obama]]

| 1blankname2 = Postmaster General

| 1namedata2 = [[John E. Potter]]<br>[[Patrick R. Donahoe]]<br>[[Megan Brennan]]

| predecessor2 = John F. Walsh

| successor2 = William D. Zollars

| office3 = Member of the [[Base Realignment and Closure|Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission]]

| term_start3 = 2005

| term_end3 = 2006

| president3 = [[George W. Bush]]

| 1blankname3 = Secretary

| 1namedata3 = [[Donald Rumsfeld]]<br>[[Robert Gates]]

| predecessor3 =

| successor3 =

| state4 = [[Nevada]]

| district4 = [[Nevada's 1st congressional district|1st]]

| term_start4 = January 3, 1987

| term_end4 = January 3, 1995

| preceded4 = [[Harry Reid]]

| succeeded4 = [[John Ensign]]

| state_senate5 = Nevada

| district5 = [[Clark County, Nevada|Clark County]]

| term_start5 = January 1981

| term_end5 = January 1987

| predecessor5 = ''Multi-member district''

| successor5 = ''Multi-member district''

| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]

| spouse = Michaelene Bilbray

| branch = {{flag|United States Army}}

| unit = [[United States Army Reserve]]<br>[[Nevada Army National Guard]]

| serviceyears = 1955–1956<br>1957–1963 (reserve)

| children = 4, including [[Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod]]

| relations = [[Brian Bilbray]] (cousin)

}}

'''James Hubert Bilbray''' (born [[May 19]], [[1938]] – September 19, 2021) iswas aan American politician, lawyer, and postal executive who served four terms as the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] for [[DemocraticNevada's Party1st (Unitedcongressional States)|Democraticdistrict]] [[politician]],from who1987 to 1995. He was a member of the [[UnitedDemocratic StatesParty House(United ofStates)|Democratic RepresentativesParty]] from 1987 to 1995.

==Early life and education==

Bilbray was born 1938 in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]. He graduated from [[Las Vegas High School]] and

Born in [[Las Vegas]] in 1938, Bilbray graduated from [[Las Vegas Academy|Las Vegas High School]] and attended the [[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]], duringfrom 1959- to 1960. He earnedreceived a BABachelor of Arts in government and lawpublic degreeadministration from [[American University]], in [[Washington, D.C.]], in 1962 and 1965,a [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[Washington College of Law]] in 1964. He served in the [[Nevada Army National Guard]] from 1955 to 1956 and in the United States Army Reserve from 1957 to respectively1963.

==Career==

Bilbrary was in the [[U.S. National Guard|Nevada Army National Guard]] during 1955-1956 and the Reserve after that. He practiced law and was deputy district attorney of [[Clark County, Nevada]], during 1965-1967. He was chief legal counsel juvenile court, Clark County, 1967-1968,

Bilbray practiced law and was deputy [[district attorney]] of [[Clark County, Nevada|Clark County]] from 1965 to 1967. He was then chief legal counsel in the Clark County [[juvenile court]] from 1967 to 1968 and was an alternate municipal judge in Las Vegas from 1978 to 1980. He became licensed to practice law before the [[Nevada Gaming Commission]] and the [[Nevada Gaming Control Board]] in 1970.

alternate judge, city of Las Vegas, 1978-1980, and was elected to the [[Nevada Senate]] and served during 1981-1987. As a State Senator, he was chairman of the Taxation Committee and was a member of the Judiciary Committee.

A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], he ran for the [[United States House of Representatives]] in 1972 against conservative incumbent [[Walter S. Baring Jr.|Walter Baring]], a fellow Democrat who was disliked by his party's establishment. Bilbray won the primary and was expected to win the general election, but Baring surprised him by endorsing the Republican nominee, [[David Towell]], who upset Bilbray in a close race. Bilbray made a comeback in 1980 when he was elected to the [[Nevada Senate|Nevada State Senate]], where he served from 1981 to 1987, and also became chairman of the Taxation Committee and a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Bilbray was elected to the 100th Congress in 1986 and served during 1987-1995.

He lost his bid for relection in 1994. While in Congress he was Chairman of the Small Business Sub-Committee on Taxation, Tourism and Procurement, and was a member of the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, and Intelligence Committees.

=== Congress ===

After losing his bid for reelection in 1994, Bilbray began practicing law again. He specializes in government issues. Bilbray resides in Las Vegas and is a cousin of [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Brian Bilbray]], a current member of Congress.

He successfully ran for the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] in 1986 for the seat being vacated by [[Harry Reid]], who made a successful run for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] in the same election. He served as chairman of the [[United States House Committee on Small Business|Small Business]] [[Subcommittee]] on Taxation, Tourism and Procurement and was also a member of the [[United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs|Foreign Affairs]], [[United States House Committee on Armed Services|Armed Services]] and [[United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence|Intelligence]] committees.

[[File:Singer Cher with Representative James Bilbray and his wife.jpg|left|thumb|Bilbray and his wife with singer [[Cher]] in 1990.]]

==External links==

Bilbray lost his re-election campaign in the 1994 [[Republican Revolution]], losing to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] opponent [[John Ensign]] by less than 1,400 votes. Bilbray appeared to be well on his way to reelection until news surfaced that reports surfaced that one of his aides stood to make a huge profit from lands legislation sponsored by Bilbray.<ref>

* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000462 Bilbray biography in Bioguide] (U.S. Congress)

{{cite web |url=http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/dnw2006100501/

* [http://www.kkbr.com/02_Directory/of_counsel/bilbray.html law firm biography]

|title=October Surprise! (And a Leadership Demise?)

*[http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/b000462/ Voting record maintained by the Washington Post]

|access-date=June 22, 2009 |first=David |last=Wasserman |author2=Larry J. Sabato |author2-link=Larry J. Sabato |date=October 5, 2006 |work=Crystal Ball |publisher=[[University of Virginia Center for Politics]] |quote=Nevada Rep. James Bilbray (D) was felled after it was revealed days before the election that his aide stood to profit millions from lands legislation he had sponsored}}</ref>

=== Later career ===

{{Bioguide}}

After leaving Congress, Bilbray joined the law firm of Kummer, Kaempfer, Bonner and Renshaw as [[Of Counsel]] in 1996 where he has specialized in dealing with local, state and federal issues. In 2001, he received an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for his work in state and federal government. He was appointed a commissioner on the 2005 [[Base Realignment and Closure, 2005|Base Realignment and Closure Commission]] and in 2006 was appointed a member of the [[Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service]] by [[President of the United States|President]] [[George W. Bush]] for a term ending in 2015. He resided in Las Vegas until his death in 2021.

== Death and legacy ==

He died on September 19, 2021.

James H. Bilbray Elementary School in Las Vegas is named in his honor.

==Personal life==

Bilbray and his wife Michaelene had three daughters: Bridget Bilbray Phillips who was the first principal of James H. Bilbray Elementary School, Erin Bilbray-Kohn who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. House in [[Nevada's 3rd congressional district|Nevada's 3rd district]] in 2014, and [[Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod]], a member of the [[Nevada Assembly]] since 2017. They also had one son, Kevin. He was a cousin to [[Brian Bilbray]], a two-time Republican congressman from [[Southern California]]. Bilbray died on September 19, 2021, at the age of 83.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-19|title=Former Nevada Rep. James Bilbray dies|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/former-nevada-rep-james-bilbray-dies-2443773/|access-date=2021-09-20|website=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Electoral history ==

{{Election box begin no change | title= [[1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada|1986 election]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1986election.pdf|title=1986 Election Results|access-date=7 November 2018}}</ref>

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (US)

| candidate = James Bilbray

| votes = 61,830

| percentage = 54.09

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Republican Party (US)

| candidate = Bob Ryan

| votes = 59,433

| percentage = 44.04

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Libertarian Party (US)

| candidate = Gordon Michael Morris

| votes = 2,145

| percentage = 1.88

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 114,317

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link without swing

| winner = Democratic Party (US)

}}

{{End}}

{{Election box begin no change | title= [[1988 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada|1988 election]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1988election.pdf|title=1988 Election Results|access-date=7 November 2018}}</ref>

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (US)

| candidate = James Bilbray (Incumbent)

| votes = 101,764

| percentage = 63.97

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Republican Party (US)

| candidate = Lucille Lusk

| votes = 53,588

| percentage = 33.69

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Libertarian Party (US)

| candidate = Patrick O'Neill

| votes = 3,724

| percentage = 2.34

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 159,076

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link without swing

| winner = Democratic Party (US)

}}

{{End}}

{{Election box begin no change | title= [[1990 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada|1990 election]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1990election.pdf|title=1990 Election Results|access-date=7 November 2018}}</ref>

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (US)

| candidate = James Bilbray (Incumbent)

| votes = 84,650

| percentage = 61.41

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Republican Party (US)

| candidate = Bob Dickinson

| votes = 47,377

| percentage = 34.37

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Libertarian Party (US)

| candidate = William Moore

| votes = 5,825

| percentage = 4.23

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 137,852

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link without swing

| winner = Democratic Party (US)

}}

{{End}}

{{Election box begin no change | title= [[1992 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada|1992 election]]<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1992election.pdf 1992 Election Results]</ref>

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (US)

| candidate = James Bilbray (Incumbent)

| votes = 128,178

| percentage = 57.87

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Republican Party (US)

| candidate = J. Coy Pettyjohn

| votes = 84,217

| percentage = 38.02

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Libertarian Party (US)

| candidate = Scott A. Kjar

| votes = 8,993

| percentage = 4.06

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 221,488

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link without swing

| winner = Democratic Party (US)

}}

{{End}}

{{Election box begin no change | title= [[1994 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada|1994 election]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1994election.pdf|title=1994 Election Results|access-date=7 November 2018}}</ref>

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Republican Party (US)

| candidate = [[John Ensign]]

| votes = 73,769

| percentage = 48.48

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (US)

| candidate = James Bilbray (Incumbent)

| votes = 72,333

| percentage = 47.54

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Libertarian Party (US)

| candidate = Gary Wood

| votes = 6,065

| percentage = 3.99

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 152,167

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box gain with party link without swing

| winner = Republican Party (US)

| loser = Democratic Party (US)

}}

{{End}}

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111119210224/https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/leadership/board-governors/james-bilbray.pdf Biography at the United States Postal Service]

{{CongBio|B000462}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080307101807/http://www.kkbr.com/02_Directory/of_counsel/bilbray.html Biography at Kummer Kaempfer Attorneys at Law]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080430044718/http://www.brac.gov/commissioners.html Biography at the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061007145513/http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/article.php?id=DNW2006100501 Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080607181820/http://www.ccsd.net/schools/bilbray/ James H. Bilbray Elementary School]

*{{C-SPAN|7251}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20200213184844/https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Division/Research/Library/Documents/LegislatorDB/Bios/Bilbray,J1985.pdf Nevada Senate Biography]

{{s-start}}

{{Nevada-politician-stub}}

{{s-par|us-hs}}

{{US House succession box

| state=Nevada

| district=1

| before=[[Harry Reid]]

| after=[[John Ensign]]

| years=January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995

}}

{{s-end}}

{{NevadaUSRepresentatives}}

{{USCongRep-start | congresses= 100th–103rd [[United States Congress]]es | state=[[Nevada]]}}

{{USCongRep/NV/100}}

{{USCongRep/NV/101}}

{{USCongRep/NV/102}}

{{USCongRep/NV/103}}

{{USCongRep-end}}

{{startAuthority boxcontrol}}

{{succession box | title=[[US Congressional Delegations from Nevada|United States Representative for the 1st Congressional District of Nevada]] | before=[[Harry Reid]] | after=[[John Ensign]] | years=1987&ndash;1995}}

{{end box}}

[[Category{{DEFAULTSORT:1938 births|Bilbray, James Hubert]]}}

[[Category:Living1938 people|Bilbray, James Hubertbirths]]

[[Category:2021 deaths]]

[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Nevada|Bilbray, James Hubert]]

[[Category:American University School of Public Affairs alumni]]

[[Category:Nevada lawyers]]

[[Category:Lawyers from Las Vegas]]

[[Category:Nevada National Guard personnel]]

[[Category:Democratic Party Nevada state senators]]

[[Category:Politicians from Las Vegas]]

[[Category:University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni]]

[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nevada]]

[[Category:Washington College of Law alumni]]

[[Category:Military personnel from Nevada]]

[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]

[[Category:21st-century American lawyers]]

[[Category:21st-century United States government officials]]

[[Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]

[[Category:20th-century members of the Nevada Legislature]]