Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson Dies at 70
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, a Democrat who represented this state’s 6th district two terms, died at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in a Florida hospital where he had been re-admitted the day before.
Wilson suffered a stroke Feb. 21 while on vacation in Florida and apparently died of complications following that stroke. His family was at his side, several news reports said.
In a statement issued following his death, Wilson’s family said he “will be remembered for his boundless energy, his honest approach and his dedication to improving the lives of our future generations. …Throughout his extraordinary life, Congressman Wilson was motivated by a desire to serve his country and a passion for the cause most important to the constituents of southeast and eastern Ohio. Congressman Wilson served with honor, dignity and an unwavering sense of civic responsibility to the families of our region.”
Wilson ran for the 6th district seat in 2006 when the incumbent, Ted Strickland, ran for governor of Ohio and won. Wilson was re-elected in 2008 but in 2010 lost to Republican Bill Johnson, who had never held public office, 50% to 45%, when the GOP took control of the House. Wilson ran against Johnson in 2012 but lost.
His long political career included terms in the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate.
In a statement released by Johnson’s office Sunday evening, the congressman said, “Lee Ann and I were saddened to hear of the passing of former Congressman Charlie Wilson. Although Charlie and I were political opponents, we were never enemies. He served with honor in the Ohio Legislature and in Congress. We will be making a contribution to the scholarship fund named for him at Ohio University Eastern and we encourage others to do so.”
Wilson was born Jan. 18, 1943, in Dillonville, and graduated from Ohio University. He was an autoworker before attending and graduating from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science – his name is on the family-owned funeral home – and owned a furniture store before he was elected a state representative in 1996, re-elected in 1998 and 2000, and to the state senate in 2002.
When he sought the Democratic nomination to Strickland’s seat, his campaign circulated petitions endorsing his candidacy. A minimum of 50 valid signatures was required to run in the primary and 93 were collected.
The Columbiana County Board of Elections could verify only 46 signatures and disqualified him.
Wilson had the last laugh as the national Democratic Party Congressional Campaign Committee, with the help of organized labor, launched a write-in campaign and, with 66% of the vote, he trounced his two opponents in the Democratic primary and went on to win the general election with a 62% majority.
The office of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13 Ohio, who served with Wilson in the Ohio Senate and in Congress, issued this statement on Wilson’s death:
“Congressman Wilson was a respected leader in Washington and Ohio’s 6th District. He never stopped fighting for his constituents and was a man of great character.”