Jim Slattery
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James Charles Slattery (born August 4, 1948) is an American politician. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 representing Kansas's 2nd congressional district as a Democrat, was the Democratic nominee for governor in
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
and was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator in 2008.


Early life, education, and early career

After serving in the United States Army, Slattery earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from
Washburn University School of Law The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of ...
in 1974. While at Washburn, he was a member of the Kansas Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta. In 1982, Slattery was inducted into Washburn's prestigious Sagamore Society. Prior to his election to the Congress, Slattery served in the
Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafti ...
, as a reserve Army officer and founded a successful real estate company.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections

;1982 Incumbent two term Republican Jim Jeffries of Kansas's 2nd congressional district decided to retire. Then-State Representative Slattery decided to run and defeated Republican nominee Morris Kay 57%-43%. ;1984 He won re-election to a second term against Jim Van Slyke with 60% of the vote, winning every county except
Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
. ;1986–1990 Over the next few years, he won re-election with no problem in 1986 (71%), 1988 (73%), and 1990 (63%)/ ;1992 After redistricting, he represented more counties in the southeastern part of the state. He defeated Jim Van Slyke 56%-41%. He performed strongly in the northern part of the district, but did poorly in the southern part, mostly new territory for Slattery. He lost two counties: Coffey and
Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...
while winning five counties with less than a 50% majority: Wilson, Woodson,
Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Unive ...
, Bourbon, and Franklin counties.


Tenure

Slattery served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 in the
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
delegation. He was a central player on many key issues, including environmental protection, health care, telecommunications, and budget cutting efforts. He worked to limit production of the
B-2 bomber The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...
, and was the chief sponsor of the successful amendment to terminate spending on the
Superconducting Super Collider The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) (also nicknamed the desertron) was a particle accelerator complex under construction in the vicinity of Waxahachie, Texas. Its planned ring circumference was with an energy of 20 TeV per proton and was ...
in 1993. Slattery gained success as a Democrat in a relatively conservative congressional district, Kansas's 2nd congressional district. He considered running for governor in 1990 against incumbent Gov.
Mike Hayden John Michael Hayden (born March 16, 1944) is a retired American politician and veteran who served as the 41st governor of Kansas, from 1987 to 1991. He subsequently served as the Secretary of the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department under Ka ...
, an unpopular governor following changes in property tax law. Slattery decided not to run in 1990, however, and Joan Finney became the first female governor of Kansas. In 1993, Slattery orchestrated the House campaign that killed the
Superconducting Super Collider The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) (also nicknamed the desertron) was a particle accelerator complex under construction in the vicinity of Waxahachie, Texas. Its planned ring circumference was with an energy of 20 TeV per proton and was ...
. The SSC would have been about three times as powerful as CERN's Large Hadron Collider, most notable for discovering a particle consistent with a Higgs boson.


Committee assignments

Slattery served on the Energy & Commerce, Veterans' Affairs, Budget, and Banking Committees.


1994 gubernatorial election

Finney served one term as governor, and Slattery decided to run for the open governorship in 1994, stepping down from Congress. However, he faced
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 ...
Bill Graves. Slattery lost that race, a victim of the Republican landslide of 1994.


Post-congressional career


Law career

Slattery lived in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and was partner in a Washington, D.C. law firm,
Wiley Rein LLP Wiley Rein LLP (known as Wiley) is one of the largest law firms in Washington, D.C., United States. With 240 lawyers, the firm represents clients in complex regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters. Many of the firm's lawyers and publ ...
after his defeat. In 2019, he left Wiley Rein, where he had worked for more than two decades, to start his own firm, Slattery Strategy. Jim Slattery has been practicing law since 1975 and has advised domestic and international clients who have matters pending before the U.S. Congress, federal agencies and regulatory bodies. His extensive client list has included large publicly traded corporations and smaller family controlled businesses.  He has special experience in public policy matters related to health care, railroads, International trade, Ukraine and Iran.  Slattery maintains strong relations with senior Democratic leaders in the U.S. House and Senate. He has also done various consulting and pro bono work, including successfully advocating for the release of a
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
student who had been imprisoned in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. His youngest son, Mike, lives in
Mission, Kansas Mission is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,954. History An Indian mission was established in 1829 at the town's site, hence ...
. Mike was elected to the Kansas State House in 2008, defeating his Republican opponent Ronnie Metzker. Mike edged out fellow Democrat Andy Sandler by three votes in a hotly contested primary.


2008 U.S. Senate campaign

Slattery declared his intention to run for the United States Senate in March 2008 against incumbent
Pat Roberts Charles Patrick Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Rep ...
, and officially announced his run in a statewide tour on April 29."Slattery finally getting it going against Roberts, plans April 29 kickoff"
Steve Kraske, '' Kansas City Star'', April 19, 2008 Slattery was defeated by Roberts. The loss was the 25th consecutive setback for Democrats running for U.S. Senate seats from Kansas (24 regular elections plus a 1996 special election following the resignation of Bob Dole). The state last elected a Democrat in 1932, George McGill, who lost his re-election bid in 1938.


References


External links


Partner profile
at Wiley Rein LLP
Jim Slattery for U.S. Senate
*
Campaign contributions (2008)
at
OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

Lobbyist profile
at
OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Slattery, Jim 1948 births Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas Kansas lawyers Living people Democratic Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives People from Atchison County, Kansas Politicians from Topeka, Kansas United States Army officers Washburn University alumni