John J. H. "Joe" Schwarz (born November 15, 1937), is an American physician and independent politician from

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, who was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 2004 as a moderate

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. He represented

Michigan's 7th congressional district Michigan's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Southern Michigan and portions of Central Michigan. From 2004 to 2013 it consisted of all of Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, and Lenawee counties, and incl ...

from January 2005 to January 2007.

Early life and career

Schwarz was born and raised in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, Michigan, Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle C ...

, after his family moved there in 1935 so his father could work as a physician in the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

Hospital. He has two older siblings, Frank and Janet. He attended Fremont Elementary School, W.K. Kellogg Junior High School, and graduated from Battle Creek Central High School. He played on the baseball, swimming and football teams at B.C. Central. In 1959, he received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

, where he played on the 1956 reserve football team as a center. He returned, with his new family, to Battle Creek in 1974, and has been a practicing

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

in Battle Creek since that time. He currently sees patients at the Family Health Center in Battle Creek, a federally qualified health center. He is a

Fellow of the American College of Surgeons Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (or FACS) is a professional certification for a medical professional who has passed a set of criteria for education, qualification, and ethics required to join the American College of Surgeons. ''FACS'' ...

. His first wife, Anne, died in 1990, and he is divorced from his second wife. He has one daughter from his first marriage.

Political career

In 2006, Schwarz voted against the

Federal Marriage Amendment The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA ...

, which would have banned every state from legally recognizing

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. Schwarz is considered to be a moderate Republican who supports abortion rights and favors embryonic

stem cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

Post-congressional life

On the state level, Schwarz was appointed to Gov.

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she pre ...

's Emergency Financial Advisory Panel, led by former Michigan governors Milliken (R) and

Blanchard Blanchard is a French family name. It is also used as a given name. It derives from the Old French word ''blanchart'' which meant "whitish, bordering upon white". It is also an obsolete term for a white horse. Geographical distribution As of 2014, ...

(D). On the national level, Schwarz was appointed by Secretary of Defense

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush an ...

to serve on the independent panel to investigate the conditions at

Walter Reed Army Hospital The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and reti ...

in suburban Washington, DC. Schwarz was reappointed to the Altarum Institute Board of Trustees, a position he held prior to his congressional service, in February 2007. Altarum Institute is a nonprofit health policy research institute based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He also accepted a teaching position at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, which began in fall 2007. In 2010, Schwarz considered running for governor of Michigan as an independent in that year's election. However, on June 2, 2010, he announced he would not run due to fundraising issues. , Schwarz is a member of the

Michigan State Medical Society The Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) is a professional association representing more than 15,000 physicians in Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly ...

's board of directors. On June 16, 2014, Schwarz signed a brief in support of same-sex marriage. Schwarz currently serves as a trustee for

Olivet College Olivet College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It was founded in 1844 by missionaries from Oberlin College, and it followed Oberlin in becom ...

. Schwarz also served as campaign chair for the college's previous capital campaign during 2007-2009 academic years for Olivet College.

Electoral history

* 2006 Race for the U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District **

Tim Walberg Timothy Lee Walberg (born April 12, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the from 2007 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2023. Early life, educa ...

(R), 50% ** Sharon Renier (D), 46% ** David Horn (UST), 1% ** Robert Hutchinson (L), 2% ** Joe Schwarz, 1% (Write-in candidate) * 2006 Race for the U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District – Republican Primary **

(R), 53% ** Joe Schwarz (R) (inc.), 47% * 2004 Race for the U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District ** Joe Schwarz (R), 58% ** Sharon Renier (D), 36% * 2004 Race for the U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District – Republican Primary ** Joe Schwarz (R), 28% ** Brad Smith (R), 22% **

(R), 18% ** Clark Bisbee (R), 14% ** Gene DeRossett (R), 11% ** Paul DeWeese (R), 7% * 2002 Race for Governor – Republican Primary ** Dick Posthumus (R), 81% ** Joe Schwarz (R), 19%

References

External links

* *
Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Joe 1937 births 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American otolaryngologists Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy faculty Living people Mayors of places in Michigan Michigan Independents Michigan Wolverines football players Michigan state senators People from Battle Creek, Michigan Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan United States Navy Medical Corps officers University of Michigan faculty Faculty Military personnel from Michigan