clarence e. miller

Clarence E. Miller (born November 1, 1917) was a Republican Congressman from Ohio, serving January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1993. Born in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio, he attended the public schools there. Before entering politics he was an electrical engineer--he earned his degree through a correspondence school--for the power company. Appointed to fill a vacancy on the Lancaster city council in 1957, he won a term of his own in 1961. In 1963, he was elected mayor of Lancaster. During his tenure, he was active in the National League of Cities, the Mayors Association of Ohio, and the Ohio Municipal League. In 1966, the Tenth Congressional District elected him to the Ninetieth Congress and he was re-elected to twelve succeeding Congresses. His only tough race in thirteen elections was his first. Miller's Congressional career was colorless. In 1990, Roll Call, the newspaper covering Capitol Hill, declared him "Chairman of the Caucus of the Obscure" in a piece profiling the most unknown members. In the 1970s, he received a modicum of fame with his "5% Bill," consistently proposing amendments to spending bills to reduce them by five percent. After Ohio lost two seats in the 1990 reapportionment, Miller's district was merged with that of Bob McEwen of Hillsboro, another Republican. Miller had been expected to retire--which is why his district was eliminated--but he had a strong distaste for McEwen and decided to challenge him in the Republican primary. McEwen was caught up in the House Bank scandal. Initially he denied bouncing any checks, then he admitted maybe he had bounced a few, and then it was revealed to have been over a hundred. The primary was so close it forced a recount and a lawsuit. In the final count, McEwen won 33,194 votes to Miller's 32,908. McEwen, who had been pronounced "invincible" by Congressional Quarterly, lost the general election to Ted Strickland. Miller returned to Lancaster, where he still resides.

Clarence E. Miller

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