Stanford Parris

Stanford Parris
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's8thdistrict
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1991
Preceded by	Herbert Harris
Succeeded by	Jim Moran
In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975
Preceded by	William L. Scott
Succeeded by	Herbert Harris
Member of theVirginia House of Delegates from the 20th district
In office April 11, 1969 – November 21, 1972
Preceded by	Guy Farley
Succeeded by	Lucas Phillips
Member of theFairfax County Board of Supervisorsfrom the Mason District
In office 1964–1967
Preceded by	Anne A. Wilkins
Succeeded by	Harold O. Miller
Personal details
Born	Stanford Elmer Parris (1929-09-09)September 9, 1929 Champaign, Illinois,U.S.
Died	March 27, 2010(2010-03-27)(aged 80) Mathews County, Virginia,U.S.
Political party	Republican
Residence(s)	Alexandria, Virginia,U.S.
Alma mater	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign George Washington University
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1950–1954
Rank	First lieutenant
Battles/wars	Korean War
Awards	Dist. Flying Cross Purple Heart Air Medal

Stanford Elmer Parris(September 9, 1929 – March 27, 2010) was anAmericanlawyerandRepublicanpolitician. He representedVirginia's 8th congressional districtin theUnited States House of Representativesfor six two year terms. He served in theFairfax County Board of Supervisors,Virginia House of Delegates,and also asVirginia Secretary of the Commonwealth.He served in theUnited States Air Forceduring theKorean War,earning several medals.

Early life

Parris was born inChampaign, Illinoisand educated in thepublic schoolsthere. He earned aB.S.atUniversity of Illinois(1950), and anLL.B.at theGeorge Washington University(1958) while working as a doorkeeper at theUnited States Senate.He was aU.S. Air ForceF-84 Thunderjetjetfighter aircraftpilotin theKorean War,and was shot down once and rescued.His military decorations include theDistinguished Flying Crosswithcluster,Air Medalwith clusters,Purple Heart,Presidential Unit Citation (Korea),andPresidential Unit Citation (United States).Following hisdischarge from the military,Parris worked briefly as anairline pilot,before startinglaw school.He wasadmitted to the barin 1958, and set up a private law practice inAlexandria, Virginia.Parris was president of aChryslerdealership inWoodbridge, Virginiaand the Flying Circus Aerodrome, anair show.

Politics

See also:Virginia's 8th congressional district

Parris was elected to theFairfax County Board of Supervisorsand served one term (1964–1967). In 1969, he was elected to theVirginia House of Delegatesand 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, hewas elected in 1972to theUnited States House of Representatives,but lost his1974 reelection bidtoDemocratHerb Harrisin the post-Watergate scandal.However, in the1980 House elections,he defeated Harris by 1,090 votes. He sought his party's nomination for the 1985 election ofGovernor of Virginia,but withdrew in May.In 1989, Parris again ran forGovernor of Virginia.He lost in theRepublicanprimary to former Attorney GeneralMarshall Colemanand former United States SenatorPaul S. Trible.He also served a term asVirginia Secretary of the Commonwealthin the late 1970s.

In the93rd Congress,Parris was a member of theHouse Committee on Science and Technology,itssubcommitteesonAeronautics and Space Technology,Science, Research, and DevelopmentandEnergy.Economic woes and a federal budget stalemate contributed to his1990 election lossto then AlexandriamayorJames P. Moran Jr.Parris was also known for introducing a bill during his first term which prohibited theNational Football Leaguefrom imposing television blackouts of non-sold-out games. His position as the ranking Republican member of theHouse District Committeeoften put him at odds with the city government of theDistrict of Columbia,and resulted in frequent quarreling with the mayor,Marion Barry.

Parris thought about running for theUnited States Senatein 1982 afterHarry F. Byrd Jr.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 defeatedState SenatorDick Saslawwith somewhat less difficulty in 1984, and easily defeated underfunded Democrats in 1986 and 1988. However, in 1990, he lost toAlexandriamayorJim Moranby seven points in what is still considered an upset. During the campaign, Parris, referring to the issue of theGulf War,said, "The only three people I know who supportSaddam Hussein's position areMoammar Gadhafi,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.

PresidentGeorge H. W. Bushappointed him to a seven-year term as President of theSaint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporationin 1991, weeks after he left Congress. He resigned four years later to run for a seat in theVirginia Senate.His primary residence after leaving Congress was inMelbourne, Florida;but he also owned property inMathews County, Virginia.

Death

Stanford Parris died fromheart diseaseon March 27, 2010, at his home inMathews Countyin eastern Virginia. He was buried atArlington National Cemetery.

Following the death of Parris, Virginia GovernorBob McDonnellsaid in a statement that Parris "played major leadership roles" in endeavors as varied as the establishment of theTorpedo Factory Art Centerin Old Town Alexandria to flood control and closing the District of Columbia's formerLorton ReformatoryinFairfax County, Virginia,and that "He used his time on this Earth to help others, and to effectively advance the ideas and principles in which he believed."

External links

• United States Congress."Stanford Parris (id: P000080)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Lobbyist Profile
• Obituaryfrom theWashington Post
• Stanford Parris Papers 1964-1987
• AppearancesonC-SPAN