Charlie Wilson (Ohio politician)

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Charlie Wilson (Ohio politician) bigraphy, stories - American politician

Charlie Wilson (Ohio politician) : biography

18 January 1943 – 14 April 2013

Charles A. "Charlie" Wilson, Jr. (January 18, 1943 – April 14, 2013) was the former U.S. Representative for . He was a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the Ohio State Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives. On November 2, 2010, Wilson lost his bid for a third term in Congress after being defeated by Republican Bill Johnson by a 50–45% margin.

Personal life

Wilson had four sons and nine grandchildren. His son, Jason, served in the Ohio Senate.

On February 21, 2013, Wilson suffered a brain aneurysm while vacationing in West Palm Beach, Florida, and was put into a medically induced coma. In early March, he entered a rehabilitation facility in Florida and had been "doing much better". On April 13, Wilson was admitted to a hospital in Boynton Beach, Florida after feeling ill. He died on April 14 of complications from the earlier stroke. He was 70.

Ohio legislature

Wilson ran for Ohio’s 99th House District in 1996. He defeated William L. Thomas in the Democratic primary 54%–46%.http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Research/electResultsMain/1990-1999OfficialElectionResults/DemOhioReps031996.aspx He won the general election and re-election in 1998 (50%),http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=206781 2000 (68%),http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=201036 and 2002 (62%).http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=49437

In 2004, he ran for the Ohio Senate when incumbent Democrat Greg DiDonato of the 30th District decided to retire after redistricting. In the Democratic primary, he defeated State Representative Jerry Krupinski 67%–33%.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=70736 He won the general election with 67% of the vote.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=70737 When he decided to retire to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, his son Jason Wilson replaced him.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=431747

U.S. House of Representatives

Wilson had offices in: Canfield, Wellsville, Marietta, Bridgeport and Ironton, Ohio., House.gov, URL retrieved 25 July 2007

Elections

2006

In 2006, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Ted Strickland decided to retire to run for Governor of Ohio. Wilson decided to run for the open seat in Ohio’s 6th congressional district. Ohio state law requires that a candidate for Congress submit 50 valid signatures from constituents in his district to qualify for a place on the primary ballot. When Wilson’s signatures were verified by the Columbiana County Board of Elections, only 46 of the 93 signatures submitted could be verified as legal residents of the Ohio 6th. As such, for the Democratic primary on May 2, 2006, Charlie Wilson’s name did not appear on the ballot. Wilson’s campaign launched a massive effort, aided by the national party and organized labor, to ‘write-in’ Charlie Wilson’s name in the primary. The campaign was successful, with Wilson winning 66% of the Democratic vote against two opponents., sos.state.oh.us, URL retrieved 23 December 2007 Wilson defeated Republican State Representative Chuck Blasdel 62%–38%.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=207162

2008

Wilson defeated Republican Richard Stobbs 62%–33%.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=389951

2010

Wilson was defeated by Republican U.S. Air Force veteran Bill Johnson 50%–45%.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=507578 Following the 2010 campaign, Wilson was criticized for giving his staff large bonuses with taxpayer money as he was ending his term. Congressman Wilson’s staff payroll increased by 49.7% from the previous payroll quarter, indicating that his staff did indeed receive hefty taxpayer funded bonuses.Wilson staff’s exit bonuses called into question. Lisbon Morning Journal. http://www.morningjournalnews.com/page/content.detail/id/531229/Wilson-staff-s-exit-bonuses—called-into-question.html?nav=5006