Michael Lynn Synar (October 17, 1950 – January 9, 1996) was an American
Democratic politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who represented
Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district
Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district is one of five United States congressional districts in Oklahoma and covers approximately one-fourth of the state in the east. The district borders Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas and includes (in who ...
in
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
for eight terms.
[
]
Early life and career
Synar was born in
Vinita, Oklahoma
Vinita is a city and county seat of Craig County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,743, a decline of 11.22 percent from the figure of 6,469 recorded in 2000.
History
Vinita was founded in 1870 by Elias C ...
,
His father, Ed Synar, was a World War II
B-24
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
tailgunner in Europe. His father's family line was Polish Catholics. Mike Synar was graduated from
Muskogee High School
Muskogee High School (MHS) is a three-year public high school in Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.. It is accredited by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.
Muskogee High School is pa ...
in 1968.
He attended the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
(OU) and graduated in 1972 with a
B.S.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
; later Synar also earned his
J.D. degree from the
University of Oklahoma College of Law
The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma.
The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Boa ...
in 1977.
Synar was also a
Rotary International Scholar and attended the Graduate School of Economics at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
(in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
) in 1973, and earned an
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in 1974.
While Synar's primary profession was the
practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profess ...
, he also worked as a
ranch
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...
er and a
real estate broker/agent
A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...
in the Muskogee area.
Election and service in Congress
![Bill Clinton and Mike Synar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Bill_Clinton_and_Mike_Synar.jpg)
He was first elected to Congress in 1978 at the age of 28, by defeating incumbent
Ted Risenhoover. Synar's campaign pulled off an upset victory as they circulated copies of a Washington D.C. media report that said Risenhoover slept on a "heart-shaped waterbed," which did not play well with the voters back home in Oklahoma.
Unlike most Oklahoma Democrats, Synar held
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
views politically. In the Congress, he may be best known for his successful constitutional challenge to the
Gramm–Rudman Act. In the 1986
Supreme Court decision ''
Bowsher v. Synar
''Bowsher v. Synar'', 478 U.S. 714 (1986), was a United States Supreme Court case that struck down the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Act as an unconstitutional usurpation of executive power by Congress because the law empowered Congress to terminate ...
'', the Court struck down the law stating, in part, that the provision granting executive power to
Comptroller General
A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level execut ...
Charles Arthur Bowsher, a legislative branch officer, did "violate the Constitution's command that Congress play no direct role in the execution of the laws." Synar was also an ardent and persistent foe of the
tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...
.
A major issue for Synar involved low fees charged ranchers who grazed cattle on public lands. The "animal unit month" (AUM) fee was only $1.35 and was far below the 1983 market value. The argument was that the federal government in effect was subsidizing ranchers, with a few major corporations controlling millions of acres of grazing land. Working with Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has be ...
, Synar tried to rally environmentalists and raise fees, but senators from Western states successfully blocked their proposals.
Despite having no criminal prosecution experience, in 1989 Synar served as the lead
House manager
An impeachment manager is a legislator appointed to serve as a prosecutor in an impeachment trial. They are also often called "House managers" or "House impeachment manager" when appointed from a legislative chamber that is called a "House of Repr ...
as Congress conducted an
impeachment trial
An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...
of then-
U.S. federal judge
In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...
Alcee Hastings
Alcee Lamar Hastings ( ; September 5, 1936 – April 6, 2021) was an American politician and judge from the state of Florida.
Hastings was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida by President Jimmy Cart ...
, who had been acquitted by a jury in a criminal trial but later impeached on
bribery charges but was removed from the bench in his impeachment trial. Ironically, Hastings was later elected to the U.S. Congress from
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, and re-elected 14 times becoming the dean of the Florida congressional delegation in 30 years in office. Hastings later was in line to chair the
House Select Committee on Intelligence
The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by ...
, but was passed over by
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
.
In 1992, the House Committee on Government Operations issued its 17th report, known colloquially as "the Synar Report", but formally as "Misplaced Trust: The
Bureau of Indian Affairs Mismanagement of the Indian Trust Fund."
Synar was Chairman of the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Subcommittee, which produced the report for the Committee on Government Operations (Chairman,
John Conyers Jr.
John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western Detroit ...
) at the direction of the 102nd Congress. The Synar Report led to the passage of the Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994, and helped to pave the way for the class action lawsuit, ''Cobell v. Babbitt'', initiated in 1996.
In 1994, Synar was narrowly defeated in a Democratic primary
runoff election by Virgil Cooper, a retired high school principal. Though Cooper's campaign spent less than $20,000 itself, some money was spent by outside interests that were opposed to Synar, including the
National Rifle Association, tobacco companies, and cattlemen. Cooper seized on Synar's connections with Japanese businesses with a bumper sticker slogan of "Sayonara Synar."
Cooper won by just 2,609 votes out of 92,987 cast, a 51-49 margin. Cooper was subsequently defeated in the general election by Republican
Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United St ...
by a 52-48 margin.
After Congress
After Congress, Synar served as the Chairman of the Campaign for America Project and of the National Bankruptcy Review Commission.
He was also awarded the 1995 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
Synar died of a
brain tumor
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...
on January 9, 1996, at the age of 45. The
American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a national organization of internists, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults.Sokanu "What is an Internist?" Retrieved October 20, 2014 With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest ...
offers a national public service award in honor of Rep. Synar's public efforts against tobacco smoking. His name is also attached to the Mike Synar Center at
Northeastern State University
Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of high ...
in
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...
. The
Institute of Governmental Studies The Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) is an interdisciplinary organized research unit at UC Berkeley, located in Moses Hall. It was founded in 1919 as the Bureau of Public Administration. IGS and its affiliated centers spearhead and promote r ...
at
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
annually awards up to fiv
graduate research fellowshipsin honor of Rep. Synar to distinguished graduate students who are writing their dissertations on an aspect of American politics.
See also
*
Oklahoma Democratic Party
The Oklahoma Democratic Party is an Oklahoma political party affiliated with the Democratic Party. Along with the Oklahoma Republican Party, it is one of the two major parties in Oklahoma politics.
The party dominated local politics in Oklahoma ...
*
Politics of Oklahoma
The politics of Oklahoma exists in a framework of a presidential republic modeled after the United States. The governor of Oklahoma is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform two-party system. Executive power is exercised ...
*
Oklahoma's congressional districts
As of the 2010 census, there are five United States congressional districts in Oklahoma. It was one of the states that was able to keep the same number of congressional districts from the previous census (in the past, Oklahoma has had as many a ...
*
United States congressional delegations from Oklahoma
These are tables of congressional delegations from Oklahoma to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
The current dean of the Oklahoma delegation is Representative Frank Lucas (R), having served in Congress s ...
*
List of notable brain tumor patients
A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of cells within the brain or inside the skull, and can be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign). Just over half of all primary brain tumors are malignant; the rest are benign, though they may still be ...
References
External links
Mike Synar at Biographical Directory of the U.S. CongressMike Synar Center at Northeastern State University, Muskogee, OKArticle on 1994 Synar primary lossBowsher vs Synar (1986)1995 JFK Profile in Courage Award Recipient]
*
*
ttps://arc.ou.edu/repositories/3/resources/158 Michael Lynn "Mike" Synar Collectionat the
Carl Albert Center
The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and infor ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Synar, Mike
1950 births
1996 deaths
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Ranchers from Oklahoma
Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.
Deaths from brain cancer in the United States
Northwestern University alumni
Oklahoma lawyers
People from Vinita, Oklahoma
American real estate brokers
University of Oklahoma alumni
American politicians of Polish descent
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American Episcopalians
House impeachment managers