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Steve Symms

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Steve Symms
United States Senator
fromIdaho
In office
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1993
Preceded byFrank Church
Succeeded byDirk Kempthorne
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromIdaho's1stdistrict
In office
January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1981
Preceded byJim McClure
Succeeded byLarry Craig
Personal details
Born
Steven Douglas Symms

(1938-04-23)April 23, 1938(age 86)
Nampa, Idaho,U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Frances Stockdale
​
​
(m.1959;div.1990)​
Loretta E. Mathes Fuller
​
​
(m.1992)​
Children4
Residence(s)Caldwell, Idaho,U.S.
EducationUniversity of Idaho(BA)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Marine Corps
Years of service1960–1963
RankFirst Lieutenant

Steven Douglas Symms(born April 23, 1938) is an Americanpoliticianand lobbyist who served as a four-termcongressman(1973–1981) and two-termU.S. Senator(1981–1993), representingIdaho.[1]He is a partner at Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms, alobbyingfirm inWashington, D.C.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Symms attended public schools inCanyon Countyand graduated fromCaldwell High Schoolin 1956. He studiedhorticulture[3]at theUniversity of IdahoinMoscow,where he was a reservecenteron thefootball team[4]and was a member ofSigma Nufraternity.[5]He graduated in 1960 with aB.S.inagriculture,then served in theUnited States Marine Corpsfor three years, after which he worked as a private pilot and apple farmer. From 1969 to 1972, he was co-editor of the college newspaper,TheIdaho Compass.[6]

Career[edit]

Congress[edit]

In1972,Symms ran forCongress,highlighting his career as an apple farmer by using the slogan "Take a bite out of big government!" He was elected to the open seat in theUnited States House of Representativesat age 34 and was re-elected three times. He ran for theUnited States Senatein1980.Aided by national funding,[7][8]he unseated four-termincumbentDemocratFrank Church,winning by less than one percent.[9]Symms was re-elected in1986,defeating DemocraticGovernorJohn V. Evansin another hard-fought and close election.[10]

Symms was one of several Republican senators who, in 1981, called into the White House to express discontent over the nomination ofSandra Day O'Connorto theSupreme Court;the opposition hinged over the issue of O'Connor's presumed unwillingness to overturnRoe v. Wade.[11]

In 1985, Symms was one of 4 Republican Senators who voted against a resolution condemning apartheid.[12]The four "no" votes came from Republican senators Jesse Helms, Barry Goldwater, Chic Hecht, and Steve Symms.[13]

During the1988 U.S. presidential election,Symms claimed in a radio interview that a photograph existed from the 1960s showingKitty Dukakis,the wife ofDemocraticpresidential candidateMichael Dukakis,burning an American flag to protest theVietnam War.Kitty Dukakis angrily denied the accusation as "totally false and beneath contempt," and Symms later admitted that he could not substantiate it.[14][15]Nevertheless, the claim became national news, as media outlets began searching for the photograph Symms said he had "heard" about.[16]The flag-burning story was one of several false rumors about Dukakis that circulated during the 1988 campaign. "Mr. Symms's comment was the third time in a few days that prominent Republicans have publicly aired allegations that the Democrats have swiftly rebutted,"The New York Timesreported.[14]

According to Salon magazine, during Symms' time in Washington, he "gained something of a sexual legend over his eight years in the House that grew larger once he was in the Senate; it was widely known among reporters that he was a big-time D.C. party animal and could be seen most evenings in the company of a woman other than his wife, Fran. She in fact was a kind, sweet woman who suffered terribly from arthritis and couldn't socialize much. Most of the state's political reporters knew about the situation but figured it was no one's business unless Symms made it an issue. However, when Fran finally had enough and divorced him, the emergent details of his philandering - and the ensuing shelled-out poll numbers - persuaded him to not pursue reelection in 1992."[17]

Symms was also one of the six senators who voted against theAmericans With Disabilities Act of 1990.[18]

Symms chose not to seek a third term in1992and was succeeded by the Republican mayor ofBoise,Dirk Kempthorne,a future two-term IdahogovernorandUnited States Secretary of the Interior.

Later career[edit]

After leaving the U.S. Senate in 1993,[19]Symms founded Symms, Lehn Associates, Inc., aconsultingfirm.[20]In January 1999, he partnered with John Haddow and formed Symms & Haddow Associates, alobbyingfirm. In January 2001, the firm joined forces with Romano Romani and former SenatorDennis DeConciniof Parry, Romani & DeConcini to form Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms.[2]

Personal life[edit]

Prior to his senior year at theUniversity of Idaho,Symms married Frances E. "Fran" Stockdale ofHelena, Montana,[21]in August 1959.[22]They had four children, a son and three daughters. Following his re-election in 1986, the couple separated,[23]and their divorce was finalized in 1990.[24]Although Symms declined to comment on the reason for the divorce,[25]he was dogged by rumors of infidelity during his 1980s campaigns, claims which were eventually substantiated by his former wife.[26][27]Symms married Loretta Mathes Fuller in 1992,[28]a former aide and later the Deputy Sergeant of Arms of the U.S. Senate.[29]

Symms is a cousin of formerOregoncongressmanDenny Smith.[30]

Elections[edit]

U.S. House elections(Idaho's 1st district): Results 1972–1978
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct
1972 Ed Williams 68,106 44% Steve Symms 85,270 56%
1974 J. Ray Cox 54,001 42% Steve Symms(inc.) 75,404 58%
1976 Ken Pursley 79,662 45% Steve Symms(inc.) 95,833 55%
1978 Roy Truby 57,972 40% Steve Symms(inc.) 86,680 60%
U.S. Senate elections in Idaho (Class III):Results 1980–1986
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
1980 Frank Church(inc.) 214,439 49% Steve Symms 218,701 50% Larry Fullmer Libertarian 6,507 1%
1986 John V. Evans 185,066 48% Steve Symms(inc.) 196,958 52%

References[edit]

Public DomainThis article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress

  1. ^"Idaho teachers attack Symms' voting record".Spokane Chronicle.October 14, 1986.RetrievedAugust 6,2014.
  2. ^ab"Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms".
  3. ^"Seniors".Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1960. p. 318.
  4. ^"Football".Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1960. p. 255.
  5. ^"Sigma Nu".Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1960. p. 219.
  6. ^"History, Art & Archives_Steven Douglas Symms".
  7. ^"Anti-Church committee goes national".Lewiston Morning Tribune.Associated Press. July 13, 1979. p. 5C.
  8. ^"Broadside fired at Symms".Spokesman-Review.Associated Press. August 8, 1980. p. 8.
  9. ^"Symms basks in the glow of hard-won Senate victory".Lewiston Morning Tribune.Associated Press. November 6, 1980. p. 6A.
  10. ^Kenyon, Quane (October 28, 1986)."No political truce in Idaho".Spokane Chronicle.Associated Press. p. A4.
  11. ^Greenburg, Jan Crawford. Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court.2007. Penguin Books. p. 222.
  12. ^Coker, Christopher (1986). The United States and South Africa, 1968–1985: Constructive Engagement and its Critics. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 0822306654.
  13. ^Baldwin, Tom (4 April 1985). "Tutu leads priests' march for arrested colleague". Arizona Daily Star. p. 9. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  14. ^ab "Story on Mrs. Dukakis Is Denied by Campaign".New York Times.1988-08-26.Retrieved2016-05-27.Michael Dukakis's Presidential campaign, responding to comments by Senator Steve Symms, an Idaho Republican, issued a statement Wednesday saying any suggestion that Kitty Dukakis had ever burned an American flag wastotally false and beneath contempt.
  15. ^ Susan Estrich(2004-09-04)."Lies move Democrats to dig up dirt".Myrtle Beach Sun.Archived fromthe originalon 2004-09-17.Retrieved2016-05-27.Or how about the one about Kitty Dukakis burning a flag at an anti-war demonstration, another out-and-out lie, which the Bush campaign denied having anything to do with, except that it turned out to have come from a United States senator via the Republican National Committee? Atwater later apologized to me for that, too, on his deathbed.
  16. ^ E.J. Dionne(1988-08-29)."Political Memo; Accentuating the Positive Can Lead to Nasty Campaign".New York Times.Retrieved2016-05-27.This campaign got very rough very early, and Kirk O'Donnell, a senior adviser to Mr. Dukakis, said it was shaping up to be among the most negative recent presidential contests. Pointing a finger at the Bush campaign, he said, 'There's no question that rumor has developed into a new art form in this campaign. He was referring to a recent statement by Senator Steve Symms, Republican of Idaho, who said that he understood there were pictures showing that Kitty Dukakis, the candidate's wife, had burned an American flag. Mrs. Dukakis angrily denied the accusation, and Mr. Symms later acknowledged that he had no proof. But it was on television before he drew back.
  17. ^Neiwert, David (September 1, 1998)"Lives of the Republicans: Part Two."Salon.com.(Retrieved September 29, 2010.)
  18. ^Holmes, Steven A. (1990-07-14)."Rights Bill for Disabled Is Sent to Bush".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2020-09-29.
  19. ^Boyle, Diane B. (1995).Senators of the United States: A Historical Bibliography: A compilation of works by and about members of the United States Senate 1789-1995.p. 321.
  20. ^"SYMMS, Steven Douglas - Biographical Information".bioguide.congress.gov.Retrieved2019-12-17.
  21. ^"Seniors".Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1959. p. 300.
  22. ^"Symms wants to divorce estranged wife".Idahonian.Moscow.Associated Press. December 6, 1989. p. 12A.
  23. ^Tribune, Elaine S. Povich, Chicago."SUMMER IS HERE, AND THE CAPITAL IS EMPTYING".chicagotribune.com.Retrieved2018-11-20.{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^Dennis, Anita (June 13, 1991)."Fran Symms picks up pieces after divorce".Idahonian.Moscow.Twin Falls Tribune. p. 1A.
  25. ^"Idaho Senator Separates From His Wife".AP NEWS.Retrieved2018-11-20.
  26. ^Tribune, Elaine S. Povich, Chicago."SUMMER IS HERE, AND THE CAPITAL IS EMPTYING".chicagotribune.com.Retrieved2020-09-29.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^"SYMMS WEIGHS SENATE RETIREMENT AS HIS PERSONAL TROUBLES MOUNT".Deseret News.1991-07-07.Retrieved2020-09-29.
  28. ^"Mathes Family in America, 538: Loretta Aileen Mathes Fuller".Genealogy.com.RetrievedMarch 1,2013.
  29. ^Official Congressional Directory, Volume 103.United States. Congress. 1993. p. 614.
  30. ^"SMITH, Dennis Alan (Denny) - Biographical Information".bioguide.congress.gov.Retrieved2019-12-17.

External links[edit]

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by United States House of Representatives,Idaho First Congressional District
January 3, 1973–January 3, 1981 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican Partynominee,U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Idaho
1980(won),1986(won) 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from Idaho
January 3, 1981–January 5, 1993
Served alongside:Jim McClure,Larry Craig 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence(ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Senator Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Senator 		Succeeded byas Former US Senator
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