Stephanie Tubbs Jones – Baby Boomer with a Flair

When I read of the death of Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and the unusual circumstances (there was clearly a mix-up in the news reports), all I could think of was the quote from Mark Twain, “rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Since I was born in Ohio and spent my early adult years in Cleveland, I remembered Tubbs Jones, who was Cuyahoga county prosecutor in the early 1990s.  Born in 1959, she was elected to Congress in 1998 and was serving her fourth term when she was felled by an aneurysm yesterday (August 20, 2008).

Tubbs Jones made history as the first African-American women elected to Congress in Ohio.   Her politics was determinedly Democratic, and she was a passionate supporter of Hillary Clinton.  She was to have been a super-delegate at the Democratic National Convention next week.

Dennis Kucinich, who was the very young mayor of Cleveland when I lived there, was very close to Tubbs Jones, and  he was visibly shaken about her death.  Tubbs had many firsts in the House of Representatives to her credit, including being the first black woman to serve on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Tubbs Jones is probably best known for her vocal stand against certifying the election of President Bush in 2005, because of “questionable election results” in Ohio.   She was also one of the few Representatives who voted in opposition to the Iraq war in 2003.

We need more people like Stephanie Tubbs Jones in Congress – people who aren’t afraid to speak their minds and stand up for what they believe.  She will be missed.