John Varick Tunney (June 26, 1934 – January 12, 2018) was an American politician who served as a
United States Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
and
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
from the state of California in the 1960s and 1970s.
He was the son of boxing champion
Gene Tunney
James Joseph Tunney (May 25, 1897 – November 7, 1978) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1915 to 1928. He held the world heavyweight title from 1926 to 1928, and the American light heavyweight title twice between 1922 and 1 ...
.
Early life and career
Tunney was born in New York City, the son of heavyweight boxing champion
J. Joseph Tunney, widely known as "Gene", and
Polly Lauder Tunney, a member of the
Lauder Greenway Family. He grew up on the family's Star Meadow Farm in
Stamford, Connecticut and attended
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School (abbreviated NCCS) is an independent, private day school in New Canaan, Connecticut for students in Beginners (age 3) through Grade 9 from Fairfield and Westchester Counties. The current head of school is Aaron Cooper.
...
and the
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
.
Tunney graduated from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in 1956 with a degree in anthropology, where he was a member of the
St. Anthony Hall fraternity. He attended
The Hague Academy of International Law
The Hague Academy of International Law (french: Académie de droit international de La Haye) is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taugh ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and graduated from the
University of Virginia School of Law in 1959, where he was a roommate of future Massachusetts senator
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
, who remained a close friend. Tunney was admitted to the
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
New York bars in 1959 and practiced law in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. He married his first wife, Mieke Sprengers, on February 5, 1959.
Tunney joined the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
as a
judge advocate
Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions.
Australia
The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...
and served until he was discharged as a captain in April 1963. He taught business law at the
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...
in 1961 and 1962. In 1963, he was admitted to practice law in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. He was a special adviser to the
President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime from 1963 until 1968.
In 1964, Tunney was elected as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
in 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from
California's 38th congressional district (
Riverside and
Imperial counties). He served from January 3, 1965, until his resignation on January 2, 1971, when he became a senator.
In July 1969, while serving as a congressman, Tunney was called to
Hyannisport, Massachusetts by Senator Kennedy, a friend and former college roommate, to assist in dealing with the death of Mary Jo Kopechne following the
Chappaquiddick incident
The Chappaquiddick incident occurred on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts some time around midnight between July 18 and 19, 1969, when Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy negligently drove his car off a narrow bridge, causing it to overturn ...
. Noting his "service to the state," Tunney was made an honorary member of
Phi Sigma Kappa
Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic Fraternities and sororities, fraternity with approximately 74 List of Phi Sigma Kappa chapters#List of Chapters, active chapters and provisional chapters in ...
by the fraternity's
Cal State Northridge
California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest u ...
chapter in 1970.
United States Senator
In early 1970, Representative Tunney announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for the Senate. His announcement was followed by that of fellow congressman
George Brown, Jr.
George Edward Brown Jr. (March 6, 1920 – July 15, 1999) was an American Democratic politician from California. He represented suburban portions of Los Angeles County in the United States House of Representatives from 1963 to 1971 and parts of t ...
Their primary battle turned into one of the most bitter in California history. One of the key issues was the military draft. While Brown and Tunney both questioned expanding U.S. involvement in Vietnam, Brown opposed a continuation of the military draft while Tunney favored it. This conflict gave incumbent Republican
George Murphy
George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor, and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild fro ...
an early lead in the polls. Murphy's staunch support for the Vietnam War hurt his campaign and as the general election approached, Tunney overtook him in the polls. The Murphy campaign suffered another setback when he underwent surgery for throat cancer, weakening his voice to a whisper. The Tunney campaign used his youthful appearance and high energy to contrast with the aging Murphy. His hairstyle and mannerisms drew comparisons to
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
. Ultimately, Californians split their ticket in the 1970 midterm election, re-electing Republican governor
Ronald Reagan and electing Democrat Tunney to the Senate.
During his Senate term, Tunney produced a weekly radio report to California, in which he often interviewed other legislators. In 1974, he authored an
antitrust bill known as the
Tunney Act. Tunney would later write a book, ''The Changing Dream'', about what he saw as a looming resource crisis.
In December 1975, Tunney advocated for using American diplomacy in dealing with the
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...
. American covert and military support for pro-US rebels there suggested a return to the policies that had led up toward the highly unpopular
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. The Senate had postponed passage of the annual defense budget because of concerns that the bill contained funds for covert operations against Soviet-backed Angolan rebels. The
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
conducted highly classified briefings for senators, including Tunney, providing an accounting of where money was being spent. However, they failed to persuade him of the policy's usefulness. It was at this time that Tunney introduced an amendment that would cut $33 million from the defense budget that was to be allocated to pro-US rebels for covert operations. That effectively ended current and future covert funding from defense appropriations for Angola. Aid supporters filibustered the cutoff, offered counter-amendments and tried to shelve the amendment in committee.
The Ford administration, which strongly supported the covert operations, asserted that the amendment was a threat to both US-Soviet and US-Cuban relations. Cuba had deployed combat troops to Angola a month earlier. On December 20, 1975, Tunney's amendment passed 54–22 with the support of 16 Republicans. Its passage also increased the power of the Congress in foreign affairs at the expense of the executive branch.
Tunney was renominated for a second term in 1976 despite a high-profile challenge from his left in the form of
Tom Hayden
Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...
. That fall, Tunney was defeated in his reelection bid by Republican
S. I. Hayakawa, the former president of San Francisco State University, who had never held elected office. Hayakawa ran as an outsider and highlighted Tunney's numerous travels, missed Senate votes, and poor Senate attendance record during the campaign. He also painted Tunney as a
flip-flopper.
Still, Tunney led in the polls right up to election night, despite a steadily shrinking lead as the campaign wore on. Despite Democrat
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
's victory in the
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
, Tunney lost to Hayakawa in a mild upset, though Republican
Gerald Ford carried California in the presidential election. Tunney resigned his Senate seat on January 1, 1977, two days before his term would officially expire, to allow Hayakawa to have seniority over other incoming senators.
Throughout Tunney's term as a senator, he served as California's junior senator and served with
Alan Cranston.
After his 1976 Senate defeat, Tunney resumed practicing law and was a named partner at
Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg & Tunney (1976–1987). He also served on several corporate boards.
Interest in constitutional rights and government surveillance
In early 1975, soon after becoming chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, Tunney asked the subcommittee staff to initiate a long-term comprehensive investigation into the technological aspects of surveillance. The Surveillance Technology Report of 1976 stated that "This investigation of surveillance was the first attempt to organize an immense amount of data in a comprehensive and usable format and to provide a framework for future analyses and, ultimately, for the creation of institutional mechanisms that will diminish the threats posted by surveillance technology." In the preface of the report Tunney stated, "If knowledge is power, then certainly the secret and unlimited acquisition of the most detailed knowledge about the most intimate aspects of a person's thoughts and actions conveys extraordinary power over that person's life and reputation to the snooper who possesses the highly personal information."
Tunney also served as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Science and Technology, and as a member of the Joint Atomic Energy Committee.
Personal life
On May 22, 1972, Tunney's
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
-born wife Mieke sued for dissolution of their 13-year marriage on the basis of
irreconcilable differences
''Irreconcilable Differences'' is a 1984 American comedy-drama film starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, and Drew Barrymore. The film was a minor box-office success, making over $12 million. For their performances, both Long and Barrymore were no ...
. In addition to alimony, child support and half of the community property, she requested custody of the couple's three children.
On April 23, 1977, Tunney married Kathinka Osborne, a member of the
1964 Swedish Olympic ski team, with longtime friend Senator Kennedy serving as the
best man
A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...
.
In February 2003, Tunney joined former Senate colleagues
George McGovern and
Fred Harris in opposing the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
.
John and Kathinka Tunney lived primarily in
Sun Valley, Idaho (with homes also in New York and Los Angeles). He was chairman of the board of the
Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Culture Center at UCLA and remained active in environmental causes. Tunney retired from the Hammer Museum board at the end of 2013. In February 2015, a pedestrian bridge at the museum designed by architect
Michael Maltzan was named in Tunney's honor.
Writer
Jeremy Larner and director
Michael Ritchie reportedly based the
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
film ''
The Candidate'', starring
Robert Redford, on Tunney's successful Senate race in 1970.
In ''The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story'', a 1986
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
-TV movie based on
Ted Kennedy Jr. losing one of his legs to cancer, Tunney was portrayed by
Michael J. Shannon.
Tunney died of
prostate cancer on January 12, 2018, in Santa Monica, California at the age of 83.
See also
*
List of United States senators from California
California elects United States senators to Class 1 and Class 3. The state has been represented by 47 people in the Senate since it was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850. Its U.S. senators are Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Alex Pad ...
References
External links
Former U.S. Senator John V. TunneyBiographical Directory of the United States Congress entry
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunney, John V.
1934 births
2018 deaths
Lauder Greenway Family
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in California
Democratic Party United States senators from California
The Hague Academy of International Law people
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
Military personnel from New York City
Politicians from New York City
University of California, Riverside faculty
University of Virginia School of Law alumni
Yale University alumni