Stanford Elmer "Stan" Parris (September 9, 1929 – March 27, 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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and Republican politician. He represented Virginia's 8th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for six two year terms. He served in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Virginia House of Delegates, and also as

Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth __NOTOC__ The Secretary of the Commonwealth is a member of the Virginia Governor's Cabinet. The office is currently held by secretary Kay Coles James. Duties of the Secretary of the Commonwealth # Serving as the Keeper of the Seal of the Commonwe ...

. He served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, earning several medals.

Early life

Parris was born in Champaign, Illinois and educated in the

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

s there. He earned a B.S. at University of Illinois (1950), and an LL.B. at the George Washington University (1958) while working as a doorkeeper at the United States Senate. He was a U.S. Air Force F-84 Thunderjet

jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

pilot in the Korean War, and was shot down once and rescued. His military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross with

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...

, Air Medal with clusters, Purple Heart,

Presidential Unit Citation (Korea) A Presidential Unit Citation is a unit citation awarded by the president of a state. Specific awards include: * Presidential Unit Citation (United States), awarded for actions on or after December 7, 1941, World War II * Vietnam Presidential Unit ...

, and

Presidential Unit Citation (United States) The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

. Following his discharge from the military, Parris worked briefly as an airline pilot, before starting

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1958, and set up a private law practice in Alexandria, Virginia. Parris was president of a

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

dealership in Woodbridge, Virginia and the Flying Circus Aerodrome, an

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

Politics

Parris was elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and served one term (1964–1967). In 1969, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and served from April 11, 1969, to November 21, 1972. During that time he made a controversial comment when he joked that the 14th Street Bridge between Virginia and Washington, DC was the "longest in the world" because it "stretches from Northern Virginia to Africa." Nonetheless, he was elected in 1972 to the United States House of Representatives, but lost his 1974 reelection bid to

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 ...

Herb Harris Herbert Benjamin Harris (April 24, 1913 – January 18, 1991) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he attended college at Northwestern University. He played four games in his MLB career, in 1936 with the Phi ...

in the post- Watergate scandal. However, in the 1980 House elections, he defeated Harris by 1,090 votes. He sought his party's nomination for the 1985 election of Governor of Virginia, but withdrew in May. In 1989, Parris again ran for Governor of Virginia. He lost in the Republican primary to former Attorney General

Marshall Coleman John Marshall Coleman (born June 8, 1942) is an American lawyer and Republican politician who served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly during the 1970s. He was the first Republican elected as Attorney General of Virginia since Recon ...

and former United States Senator

Paul S. Trible Paul Seward Trible Jr. (born December 29, 1946) is an American attorney, politician and academic administrator. Trible was the former president of Christopher Newport University until his retirement in 2021. He was a Republican politician from V ...

. He also served a term as

in the late 1970s. In the 93rd Congress, Parris was a member of the House Committee on Science and Technology, its subcommittees on Aeronautics and Space Technology, Science, Research, and Development and Energy. Economic woes and a federal budget stalemate contributed to his 1990 election loss to then Alexandria mayor James P. Moran Jr. Parris was also known for introducing a bill during his first term which prohibited the National Football League from imposing television blackouts of non-sold-out games. His position as the ranking Republican member of the House District Committee often put him at odds with the city government of the District of Columbia, and resulted in frequent quarreling with the mayor, Marion Barry. Parris thought about running for the United States Senate in 1982 after

Harry F. Byrd Jr. Harry Flood Byrd Jr. (December 20, 1914 – July 30, 2013) was an American orchardist, newspaper publisher and politician. He served in the Senate of Virginia and then represented Virginia in the United States Senate, succeeding his father, Harry ...

retired, but opted to run for reelection to the House after Harris sought to regain his old seat. He defeated Harris by 1,600 votes, spending $700,000 in Virginia's most expensive congressional campaign up to that point. He defeated

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Dick Saslaw Richard Lawrence Saslaw (born February 5, 1940) is an American politician serving as Majority Leader of the Senate of Virginia since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1976–80, then was elec ...

with somewhat less difficulty in 1984, and easily defeated underfunded Democrats in 1986 and 1988. However, in 1990, he lost to Alexandria mayor Jim Moran by seven points in what is still considered an upset. During the campaign, Parris, referring to the issue of the Gulf War, said, "The only three people I know who support Saddam Hussein's position are

Moammar Gadhafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spelling ...

, Yasser Arafat, and Jim Moran." Moran angrily responded by saying that Parris was "a deceitful, fatuous jerk", and that he wanted "to break his nose". Moran's well-financed campaign also focused on Parris' opposition to abortion. Moran upset Parris, winning by 7.1 percent. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

appointed him to a seven-year term as President of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation in 1991, weeks after he left Congress. He resigned four years later to run for a seat in the Virginia Senate. His primary residence after leaving Congress was in Melbourne, Florida; but he also owned property in Mathews County, Virginia.

Death

Stanford Parris died from

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

on March 27, 2010, at his home in

Mathews County Mathews County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,533. Its county seat is Mathews. Located on the Middle Peninsula, Mathews County is included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport ...

in eastern Virginia. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Upon the death of Parris, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said in a statement that Parris "played major leadership roles" in endeavors as varied as the establishment of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria to flood control and closing the District of Columbia's former Lorton Reformatory in Fairfax County, and that "He used his time on this Earth to help others, and to effectively advance the ideas and principles in which he believed."

Electoral history

! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % ! , - ,

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 Solar time, me ...

, , , , Stanford Parris , , Republican , , 60,446 , , 44.4 , , , Robert F. Horan , ,

Democratic 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 ...

, , 51,444 , , 37.7 , , , William Durland , , Independent , , 18,654 , , 13.7 , colspan=5, , - ,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, , , , Stanford Parris , , Republican , , 38,997 , , 42.3 , , ,

Herbert E. Harris Herbert Eugene Harris II (April 14, 1926 – December 24, 2014) was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia. His district included part of Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairf ...

, ,

, , 53,074 , , 57.6 , , colspan=5, , - ,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, , , , Stanford Parris , , Republican , , 95,624 , , 48.8 , , ,

, ,

, , 94,530 , , 48.2 , , , Deborah Frantz , , Independent , , 5,729 , , 3.0 , colspan=5, , - ,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, , , , Stanford Parris , , Republican , , 69,620 , , 49.7 , , ,

, ,

, , 68,071 , , 48.5 , , , Austin W. Morrill , , Independent , , 2,373 , , 1.6 , colspan=5, , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, , , , Stanford Parris , , Republican , , 125,015 , , 55.7 , , ,

Richard L. Saslaw Richard Lawrence Saslaw (born February 5, 1940) is an American politician serving as Majority Leader of the Senate of Virginia since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1976–80, then was ele ...

, ,

, , 97,250 , , 43.3 , , , Donald Carpenter , , Independent , , 1,814 , , 0.8 , colspan=5, , - ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, , , , Stanford Parris , , Republican , , 72,670 , , 61.7 , , , James H. Boren , ,

, , 44,965 , , 38.2 , , colspan=5, , - ,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, , , , Stanford Parris , , Republican , , 154,761 , , 62.3 , , , David G. Brickley , ,

, , 93,561 , , 37.6 , , colspan=5, , - ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, , , , Stanford Parris , , Republican , , 76,367 , , 44.6 , , , James Moran , ,

, , 88,745 , , 51.7 , , , Robert T. Murphy , , Independent , , 5,958 , , 3.5 , colspan=5,

References

External links

Lobbyist Profile

from the '' Washington Post''
Stanford Parris Papers 1964-1987
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parris, Stanford 1929 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American politicians American Episcopalians American automobile salespeople American lobbyists United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Politicians from Alexandria, Virginia People from Champaign, Illinois Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Air Force officers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Secretaries of the Commonwealth of Virginia Businesspeople from Alexandria, Virginia Virginia lawyers Members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Recipients of the Air Medal Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia George Washington University Law School alumni Commercial aviators Lawyers from Alexandria, Virginia