Charles Vanik

Charles Vanik
c. 1973
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 21st district
In office January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1969
Preceded by	Robert Crosser
Succeeded by	Louis Stokes
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 22nd district
In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by	Frances P. Bolton
Succeeded by	Dennis E. Eckart
Member of the Ohio State Senate
In office 1940–1942
Personal details
Born	Charles Albert Vanik April 7, 1913 Cleveland, Ohio
Died	August 30, 2007 (aged 94) Jupiter, Florida
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Case Western Reserve University CWRU School of Law
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	U.S. Naval Reserve
Battles/wars	World War II

Charles Albert Vanik (April 7, 1913 – August 30, 2007) was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives.

Life and career

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Vanik completed undergraduate studies and a law degree at Western Reserve University. After serving on the Cleveland City Council from 1938 to 1939 and the Ohio State Senate from 1940 to 1942, Vanik enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, seeing action in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. After the war, Vanik served as a city judge from 1946 to 1954.

In 1954, he ran for Ohio's 21st congressional district. The district, located on Cleveland's East Side, was evenly divided between African Americans, who were solidly Republican and whites, who were mostly Democrats.^[1] In both the Democratic primary and the general election, he faced off against African American challengers. In the Democratic primary, Vanik edged out John Holly, founder of the Negro Future Outlook League.^[2] In the general election, Vanik defeated Francis E. Young, who helped organize the Cleveland branch of the NAACP.^[1] Vanik shifted districts in 1968 to the neighboring 22nd district, to make way for Louis Stokes whose growing political operation had challenged him in previous races, defeating Frances P. Bolton, who had served the district since 1939. Vanik served in the district until 1981.

In 1974, Vanik sponsored the Jackson-Vanik amendment with Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson, which denied normal trade relations to certain countries with non-market economies that restricted the freedom of emigration. The amendment was intended to allow refugees, particularly religious minorities, to escape from the Soviet Bloc. During this time, Vanik was the chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade.

He used to insert into the Congressional Record what he called the "Annual Corporate Tax Study" in which he'd list corporations that paid little to no federal income taxes.

In 1982, Vanik contested for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant-governor of Ohio as running mate with Ohio Attorney General William J. Brown who was running for governor. The ticket lost to Richard F. Celeste and Myrl Shoemaker. Vanik was known for wearing black bow ties with every suit.

Vanik died in his sleep on August 30, 2007 at his home in Jupiter, Florida. He was 94. He was survived by his wife, Betty, one son, one daughter and two grandchildren.

References

1. "Three More Negroes May Win Congress Seats This November". Jet (Chicago). 1954-08-19. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 2014-07-04. In the balanced 21st district (50 per cent Negro, 50 per cent white vote), Negroes vote mostly Republican, whites Democratic.
2. "22 Negroes Win Primary Nominations". Jet (Chicago). 1954-05-20. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 2014-07-04. Young, active in civic affairs, will face Charles A. Vanik, a white municipal court judge, who edged out John Holly, founder of the Negro Future Outlook League, in the Democratic primary.

External links

Congressman Charles A. Vanik (third from left) and Congressman Mo Udall (second from right) visit a Samsonite plant in Ambos Nogales, a link in the "twin plant" concept that has created hundreds of jobs for communities on both sides of the international boundary, 1978

• Charles A. Vanik A Memorial site created by the Vanik Family
• United States Congress. "Charles Vanik (id: V000047)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-5-16
• Obituary from The Cleveland Plain Dealer