United States congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, representing Cleveland, Ohio died on August 20, 2008 following a brain aneurysm.
Jones was observed by police driving erratically on the evening of August 19, 2008. When police approached her car, they found her unresponsive. She was rushed to Huron Hospital in East Cleveland, where she remained overnight. She never regained consciousness. Jones died the following day, at 6:12pm EDT.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones leaves behind a son, Mervyn Leroy Jones II. Her husband of 27 years died in 2003.
Senator Barack Obama issued a statement: “Michelle and I are saddened to hear today’s news about Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones. She is a passionate and tireless advocate for the people of Cleveland and a devoted public servant for all Americans. We send our heartfelt prayers to Stephanie and her family at this very difficult time.”
The mayor of Cleveland released the following statement prior to Jones’ passing: “My thoughts and prayers are with Stephanie and her family. I have known the Congresswoman for my entire political career and for several years prior to taking public office. She has supported me professionally and has been a loyal friend. As a public servant, she has stood firm with, and for, so many of us and I am asking everyone to take a moment to pray that she makes a full recovery.”
From 1991 to 1999, she was the prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. She was both the first female and the first African American to hold this office.
Jones had served in the United States House of Representatives since 1999 and was currently the co-chair of the Democratic National Committee. She was the first African American woman to be elected to Congress from Ohio.
Backgrounder
Early life, education, and family
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Tubbs Jones graduated from the city’s public schools. She earned undergraduate degree from Case Western Reserve University, graduating with a degree in Social Work from the Flora Stone Mather College in 1971. In 1974, she earned a J.D. from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
On November 27, 1976, she married Mervyn L. Jones, Sr. Less than a year before they married, Mervyn Jones had been charged with aggravated murder and robbery. He eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser count of manslaughter and received “shock probation.”[7] The couple were married for 27 years until October 2, 2003, when Mervyn died. They had one son, Mervyn Leroy Jones, Jr. Tubbs Jones was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Political and legal career
Tubbs Jones was elected a judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court in 1981, and subsequently served on the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County from 1983 to 1991.
In 1990, she ran for Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio replacing Mary Cacioppo, the winner of the Democratic Primary, who withdrew for health reasons. She narrowly lost that race to Republican incumbent J. Craig Wright.
She then served as the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor from 1991 until resigning in early 1999 to take her seat in Congress. She was succeeded as prosecutor by William D. Mason.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1998, Tubbs Jones won the Democratic nomination for the 11th District after 30-year incumbent Louis Stokes announced his retirement. This all but assured her of election in the heavily Democratic, black-majority 11th. She was reelected four times with no substantive opposition.
Tubbs Jones was a co-chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. Some argue her actions angered the White House and her district suffered with the loss of federal jobs. Despite representing a heavily unionized district, she was a strong proponent of free trade. Tubbs Jones most recently took a lead role in the fight to pass the United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement in November 2007.
In 2004, she served as the chairwoman of the platform committee at the Democratic National Convention and as a member of the Ohio delegation. She strongly supported Sen. John Kerry in his campaign to become President of the United States. On January 6, 2005, she joined U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in objecting to the certification of the 2004 U.S. presidential election results for Ohio.
As the sponsor, she was one of the 31 who voted in the House to not count the electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 election.
In 2005, she came under fire from certain individuals after being named the congressperson with the fourth-highest total trips sponsored by lobbyists. She was selected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi as chairperson of the House Ethics Committee to watch over the standards of ethical conduct for members of the House. Tubbs Jones was popular in her district, and was routinely reelected against nominal Republican opposition. She received 83.44% of the vote in her final general election in 2006, against Republican Lindsey String. She faced no opposition in the 2008 Ohio Democratic primary.
Tubbs Jones appeared on The Colbert Report’s “Better Know a District” in an episode airing November 3, 2005.
Committee assignments, 110th Congress
* Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Chair)
* Ways and Means Committee
o Subcommittee on Health
o Subcommittee on Oversight
o Subcommittee on Social Security
On August 19, 2008, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones suffered an aneurysm while driving her car. Police had noticed erratic driving and identified the unconscious Tubbs Jones when the vehicle finally came to a stop in a field. She was taken to the intensive care unit of Huron Hospital, a satellite of the Cleveland Clinic, where she was put on life support. Due to hemorrhaging, she remained in unstable and critical condition.
Tubbs Jones died August 20 at 6:12 p.m. EDT of complications from the brain hemorrhage.
