Gary A. Myers

Gary Arthur Myers (born August 16, 1937) is a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Gary A. Myers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 25th district
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Preceded by	Frank M. Clark
Succeeded by	Eugene Atkinson
Personal details
Born	(1937-08-16) August 16, 1937 Toronto, Ohio
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	University of Cincinnati University of Pittsburgh

Background

Gary Myers was born in Toronto, Ohio, and grew up in Evans City, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1960, and received his M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964. He pursued a professional career in mechanical and industrial engineering as a steel mill turn foreman. He served in the United States Air Force Reserve from 1961 to 1968. He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1972 for election to Congress.

Election

One day after returning home from work at Armco Steel Company, he and his wife Elaine talked about running for congress. The chances of him winning were slim due to the fact that he had no political experiences, little money, and was running in a heavy Democratic district but he was determined that the people of his district deserved a better choice.[1]

During his two terms in Congress, Gary A. Myers missed 51 of 2,801 roll call votes. He did better than the average median score of the time with a 1.8%. The median was an 8.0 percent.[2]

He was elected as a Republican to the 94th Congress in 1974, defeating incumbent Democratic Congressman Frank M. Clark, and re-elected to the 95th Congress from a very Democratic district. His victory in the Watergate year of 1974 over an incumbent Democrat was surprising. He chose not to be a candidate for reelection in 1978 and returned to work as a steel mill foreman.[3]

In office

During his terms in the House of Representatives he worked and sponsored many different committees. He sponsored the House Post Office committee where he worked on amending title 39, to prohibit franked mailing by Members of Congress and certain officers of the United States, other than mailings related to the closing of their official business, after such Members or officers have left office. He also worked on the House Ways and Means where he pushed the Automobile Efficiency Tax Incentive Act. Another bill he sponsored was a bill to prohibit the Consumer Product Safety Commission from restricting the sale or manufacture of firearms or ammunition with the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce.[4]

Retirement from politics

During the last few months of his second term he was contemplating whether to run for office again. After making up his mind and deciding to quit some colleagues and employees came up to ask him if this was the right decision. His wife Elaine worried that he would disappoint and let down his supporters and uprooting their children Michele, 13 and Mark, 11. In the end it came down to not being with his children as the job of congressman took too much of his time. He replied to everyone with "I'm more convinced than ever that I'm doing the right thing." The Myers family moved back to their home in Butler, Pennsylvania. A few months later, he was working back with Armco Steel Company, where he took a leave of absence for the years he was in Washington.[5] As of 2011, he is a resident of Sebastian, Florida.[1]

References

1. Whoriskey, Peter (December 26, 2011). "Congress gets richer as average American loses". Washington Post. Retrieved August 16, 2019 – via Bangor Daily News.
2. "Rep. Gary Myers" "Govtrack.us" 12/18/12
3. Barone, Michael; and Ujifusa, Grant. The Almanac of American Politics 1988', p. 1019. National Journal, 1987.
4. "Bill Summary and status Search Results"12/19/12
5. State News Service (November 20, 1978). "Quitting Was Right, Rep. Gary Myers says". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

• United States Congress. "Gary A. Myers (id: M001128)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Frank M. Clark	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 25th congressional district 1975-1979	Succeeded by Eugene Atkinson