Antonio James Manchin (April 7, 1927 – November 3, 2003) was a

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

Democratic politician who served as a member of the House of Delegates (1948–50; 1998–2003), as Secretary of State (1977–85), and as

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

(1985–89). A colorful and controversial figure, he was the uncle of former

West Virginia Governor The governor of West Virginia is the head of government of West VirginiaWV Constitution article VII, § 5. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WV Constitution article VII, § 12. The governor has a duty to enforce state law ...

and current

U.S. 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 ...

Joe Manchin III Joseph Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Manchin was the 34th governor o ...

Early life

Manchin was born in

Farmington, West Virginia Farmington is a town in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 389 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is best known for being the site of the 1968 Farmington Mine disaster. The community was named for the f ...

to Kathleen and Joseph Manchin I. His parents were of Italian descent. He was educated in the schools of Marion County and was elected to the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

in 1948 at age 21, but was defeated for re-election in 1950. In 1951, Manchin received his bachelor's degree in political science and sociology from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. In 1953, he received his teaching certification from

Fairmont State College Fairmont State University is a public university in Fairmont, West Virginia. History Fairmont State University’s roots reach back to the formation of public education in the state of West Virginia. The first private normal school in West Vir ...

. He spent most of the 1950s working as a high school teacher and wrestling coach. In 1962, he received his master's degree in education from West Virginia University.

Early career

In 1961, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

appointed Manchin to serve as state director of the

Farmers Home Administration The Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) was a U.S. government agency established in August 1946 to replace the Farm Security Administration. It superseded the Resettlement Administration during the Great Depression and operated until 2006. FmHA mi ...

and in 1970 he was appointed special assistant to the National Administrator of the Farmers Home Administration. In 1972, he ran for

West Virginia Secretary of State The Secretary of State of West Virginia is an elected office within the U.S. state of West Virginia state government. The secretary of state is responsible for overseeing the state's election process, including voter registration and election res ...

when incumbent

Jay Rockefeller John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is a retired American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Virg ...

retired to run for governor. In the seven-candidate Democratic primary, he finished second with 18% of the vote, behind Thomas Winner who won with a plurality of 20% of the vote. After the election, Governor

Arch A. Moore Jr. Arch Alfred Moore Jr. (April 16, 1923 – January 7, 2015) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from West Virginia. He began his political career as a state legislator in 1952. He was elected the 28th and 30th governor of West Virgi ...

in 1973 appointed him to direct the Rehabilitation Environmental Action Program (REAP), a successful effort which rid the State of more than 100,000 junked cars as well as numerous appliances. He would visit schools and ask students for help by joining his “REAP Regiment.”

Statewide office

In 1976, Manchin ran again for Secretary of State and defeated incumbent Republican James R. McCartney 55%–45%. In 1980, he won re-election with 71% of the vote. Elected State Treasurer in 1984, he created the Teddi Program, which brought 28,000 new jobs to West Virginia. He was

impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

by the House of Delegates on March 30, 1989, amid a controversy over bad investments that lost the state $279 million mainly during the time period between April and June 1987. The impeachment resolution blamed Manchin for negligence in delegating and supervising the investment fund, making improper investments and covering up losses. Though he initially vowed to stay in office, conviction by the Senate would have meant losing his eligibility to run for office again, and could have cost him his pension. He resigned before his

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 ...

before the State Senate was completed.

West Virginia legislature (1998–2003)

Elections

He returned to the House of Delegates in 1998, where he served until his death from a massive heart attack in 2003.

Tenure

The House of Delegates called him "a flamboyant character of the first magnitude" and praised his love of ceremony in their resolution honoring him after his death.

Committee assignments

*Government Organization *Roads and Transportation *Veteran Affair (Vice Chair) *Enrolled Bills (Chair)

Personal life

Manchin was married to Stella Machel Petros and had three children. One of his sons, Mark, is Harrison County, West Virginia Superintendent of Schools. A

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, A. James Manchin served as a lector at his church.

References

External links

A. James Manchin
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

Rehabilitation Environmental Action Program (REAP)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchin, A. James 1927 births 2003 deaths Impeached state and territorial constitutional officers of the United States Manchin family Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates People from Farmington, West Virginia Secretaries of State of West Virginia State treasurers of West Virginia West Virginia University alumni Politicians from Fairmont, West Virginia American people of Italian descent Catholics from West Virginia 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 1972 United States elections