Editing Howard Metzenbaum

{{Short description|American politician and businessman (1917–2008)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Howard Metzenbaum 97th Congress 1981.jpg
| caption             = Metzenbaum in 1983
| jr/sr               = United States Senator
| state               = [[Ohio]]
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| term_start1         = December 29, 1976
| term_end1           = January 3, 1995
| preceded1           = [[Robert Taft Jr.]]
| succeeded1          = [[Mike DeWine]]
| term_start2         = January 4, 1974
| term_end2           = December 23, 1974
| appointed2          = [[John J. Gilligan]]
| preceded2           = [[William B. Saxbe]]
| succeeded2          = [[John Glenn]]
| office3             = Member of the [[Ohio Senate]]
| term_start3         = 1947
| term_end3           = 1951
| office4             = Member of the [[Ohio House of Representatives]]
| term_start4         = 1943
| term_end4           = 1947
| birth_name          = Howard Morton Metzenbaum
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1917|6|4}}
| birth_place         = [[Cleveland]], Ohio, U.S.
| resting_place       = [[Mayfield Cemetery]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2008|3|12|1917|6|4}}
| death_place         = [[Aventura, Florida]], U.S.
| alma_mater          = [[Ohio State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
| spouse              = {{marriage|Shirley Turoff|1947}}
| children            = 4, including [[Shelley H. Metzenbaum|Shelley]]
| name                = Howard Metzenbaum
}}

'''Howard Morton Metzenbaum''' (June 4, 1917{{spaced ndash}}March 12, 2008) was an American politician and businessman who served for almost 20&nbsp;years as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] member of the [[U.S.&nbsp;Senate]] from [[Ohio]] (1974, 1976–1995). He also served in the [[Ohio House of Representatives]] and [[Ohio Senate|Senate]] from 1943 to 1951.

==Early life and education==
Metzenbaum was born June 4, 1917, in [[Cleveland]], Ohio, to a poor family, the son of Anna (née&nbsp;Klafter) and Charles I. Metzenbaum.<ref name=Kroll>{{cite news|last=Kroll|first=John|title=Howard's End: Metzenbaum was true to form through his last days in the Senate|url=http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2008/03/howards_end_metzenbaum_was_tru.html|access-date=May 7, 2013|newspaper=The Plain Dealer|date=December 4, 1994}}</ref> His paternal grandparents were [[Jewish people|Jewish]] immigrants from [[Poland]] and France, and his maternal grandparents were [[Hungarian Jews]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wargs.com/political/metzenbaum.html |title=Ancestry of Howard Metzenbaum |publisher=Wargs.com |access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref> He attended [[Glenville High School]], where he ran [[Track and field|track]], while also working odd jobs after hours.<ref name=Kroll/> He graduated from [[Ohio State University]], receiving a [[bachelor's degree]] in 1939 and a [[Juris Doctor|law degree]] in 1941.<ref name=Brudney>{{cite web|last=Brudney|first=James J.|title=Memorial Service Honors Sen. Howard Metzenbaum '41|url=http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/alumni/newsletter/2008/september/metzenbaum.html|work=This Month @ Moritz|publisher=The Ohio State University|access-date=May 9, 2013|date=September 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130626181908/http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/alumni/newsletter/2008/september/metzenbaum.html|archive-date=June 26, 2013}}</ref> During the 1940s, he practiced law in Cleveland. After initially facing discrimination due to his Jewish heritage,{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} he found acceptance representing large labor unions, first with the [[Communications Workers of America]] and later the [[International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers|International Association of Machinists]].<ref name=Case>{{cite encyclopedia|title=METZENBAUM, HOWARD MORTON|url=http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=MHM|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History|publisher=Case Western University|access-date=May 9, 2013|date=July 24, 2012}}</ref>

==Business career==
Metzenbaum became independently wealthy through investments, particularly in real estate near what became the [[Cleveland Hopkins International Airport]], which Metzenbaum and his partner, [[Alva "Ted" Bonda]], correctly envisioned would make for extremely profitable, 24-hour, well-lit parking lots. The business expanded to become [[APCOA Parking|Airport Parking Company of America]]&nbsp;(APCOA), the world's largest parking lot company.<ref name="latimes" /> By 1970, he had sold his interest in APCOA Parking for US$20&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909179,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228221047/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909179,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 28, 2008|title=Upset Time: POLITICS|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=May 18, 1970|access-date=February 27, 2008}}</ref>

In the early 1970s, Metzenbaum also co-owned the ''[[Sun Newspapers]]'' chain of weeklies which covered the Cleveland suburbs, a venture undertaken after his first senatorial election defeat.<ref>[http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=SN "Sun Newspapers,"] ''Encyclopedia of Cleveland History,'' David D. VanTassel, ed., 1997. Retrieved March 13, 2008</ref>

==Political career==

===Ohio legislature===
Metzenbaum served in the [[Ohio House of Representatives]] from 1943 to 1947. He then served in the [[Ohio Senate]] from 1947 to 1951.<ref name=Case/>

In 1958, he served as the campaign manager for future U.S.&nbsp;Senator [[Stephen M. Young]], who, in a major upset, narrowly unseated incumbent Senator [[John Bricker]], the Republican Party's 1944 vice presidential nominee. He returned to assist Young in his successful reelection campaign in 1964.<ref name=Case/>

===U.S. Senate===
[[File:John Glenn Low Res.jpg|thumb|upright|John Glenn, former rival and later ally to Metzenbaum]]
In 1970, Metzenbaum ran for the Senate seat vacated by Young, who chose not to run for a third term. He beat [[astronaut]] [[John Glenn]] in the Democratic primary by a close 46%-45% margin, but narrowly lost to [[Robert Taft&nbsp;Jr.]] in the [[1970 United States Senate election in Ohio|general election]].

In [[1974 United States Senate election in Ohio|1974]], when Senator [[William B. Saxbe]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-OH) resigned from his seat to accept the nomination as [[U.S.&nbsp;attorney general]], [[Governor of Ohio|Governor]] [[John J. Gilligan]] appointed Metzenbaum to serve the remainder of Saxbe's term. Metzenbaum ran for election to the seat, but in a bitter Democratic primary, lost to Glenn, who subsequently won the general election by a landslide. In the primary, Metzenbaum contrasted his strong business background with Glenn's military and astronaut credentials, saying his opponent had "never worked for a living." [[John Glenn]] had served in the Marine Corps for 23 years. Glenn's reply came to be known as the "Gold Star Mothers" speech. He told Metzenbaum to go to a veterans' hospital and "look those men with mangled bodies in the eyes and tell them they didn't hold a job. You go with me to any Gold Star mother and you look her in the eye and tell her that her son did not hold a job". Many felt the "Gold Star Mothers" speech won the primary for Glenn, which he won by 54% to 46%.<ref name="latimes" />

In 1976, Metzenbaum sought a rematch against Taft. The race was close again, but this time he won, riding on [[Jimmy Carter]]'s coattails. Taft resigned the seat a few days before his term ended, allowing Metzenbaum to be sworn in a few days early and hence have a small edge in seniority over other senators newly elected in 1976. He was reelected in 1982, comfortably defeating Republican state Senator [[Paul Pfeifer]]. That same year, Metzenbaum's cousin, [[Harriett Woods]], ran against Metzenbaum's Republican colleague, [[John Danforth]], for Danforth's U.S. Senate seat in Missouri.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bumiller |first=Elisabeth |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/10/15/senate-showdown-in-the-show-me-state/d29dfc5c-e13c-4299-9e14-8c89dd6ac648/ |title=Senate Showdown In the Show-Me State |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 15, 1982 |accessdate=December 28, 2021}}</ref> Danforth defeated Woods by a margin of less than two percentage points.

In 1981 Metzenbaum was insulted on the floor of the Senate when Senator [[Ernest Hollings]] of [[South Carolina]] called him the "senator from [[B'nai B'rith]]".<ref name=Shanahan>{{cite news|last=Shanahan|first=Mike|title=Prayer Issue Sparks Fiery Senate Debate|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19811114&id=WIEgAAAAIBAJ&pg=4386,5306629|access-date=May 6, 2013|newspaper=The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)|date=November 14, 1981}}</ref> Some interpreted this as a slur on Metzenbaum's Jewish faith.<ref name=Shanahan/> Hollings later apologized to Metzenbaum and the remarks were stricken from the record.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hollings issues apology| url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1998/10/16/met_242041.shtml|agency=Associated Press|publisher=The Augusta Chronicle|access-date=May 6, 2013|date=October 16, 1998}}</ref>

On December 2, 1981, Metzenbaum was one of four senators to vote against<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/03/The-90-4-vote-by-which-the-Senate-approved-the/2840376203600/|title=The 90-4 vote by which the Senate approved the...|date=December 3, 1981|publisher=UPI}}</ref> an amendment to President Reagan's MX missiles proposal that would divert the silo system by $334 million as well as earmark further research for other methods that would allow giant missiles to be based. The vote was seen as a rebuff of the Reagan administration.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/03/us/senators-reject-plan-for-placing-mx-missile-in-silos.html|title=SENATORS REJECT PLAN FOR PLACING MX MISSILE IN SILOS|first=Steven V.|last=Roberts|date=December 3, 1981|work=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1981/1204/120455.html|title=Reagan scorns Senate rejection of silo-based MX missile plan|first=Stephen|last=Webbe|publisher=The Christian Science Monitor|date=December 4, 1981}}</ref>

In the late&nbsp;1970s and early&nbsp;1980s, Glenn and Metzenbaum had strained relations. There was a thaw in 1983 when Metzenbaum endorsed Glenn for president.

In 1988 Metzenbaum was opposed by [[Mayor of Cleveland|Cleveland mayor]] [[George Voinovich]]. Voinovich accused Metzenbaum of being soft on [[child pornography]].<ref name=Clements>{{cite news|last=Clements|first=Chase|title=TV ad on child-porn legislation stirs up U.S. Senate race in Ohio|url=http://newnbsp;1980s,|access-date=May 6, 2013|newspaper=Toledo Blade|date=September 8, 1988}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=Miller>{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Robert E.|title=Metzenbaum Far Ahead Of Challenging Cleveland Mayor|url=https://apnews.com/a8f2cd0012d55c3972c515c731cc9db7|access-date=May 6, 2013|newspaper=Associated Press|date=October 20, 1988}}</ref> Voinovich's charges were criticized by many, including Glenn, who recorded a statement for television refuting Voinovich's charges.<ref name=CSMonitor>{{cite news|title=In Ohio's Senate race, the low road crosses the campaign trail. Negative TV ads roil Metzenbaum-Voinovich race but fail to stir voters|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/1988/1006/asleez.html/(page)/2|access-date=May 6, 2013|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|date=October 6, 1988}}</ref> Metzenbaum won the election by 57% to 43%, even as [[George H.&nbsp;W. Bush]] won Ohio's electoral votes by roughly 11&nbsp;percentage points.<ref name=Hallett>{{cite news|last=Hallett|first=Joe|title=Metzenbaum scores a big victory over Voinovich|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19881109&id=ikRPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6514,2512317|access-date=May 6, 2013|newspaper=Toledo Blade|date=November 9, 1988}}</ref> Ten years later, Voinovich [[United States Senate election in Ohio, 1998|was elected]] to Glenn's U.S. Senate seat after Glenn's retirement.

===Issues===
Metzenbaum did not run for reelection in 1994. His son-in-law [[Joel Hyatt]] was nominated by the Democrats to replace him, but Hyatt lost to [[lieutenant governor of Ohio|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Mike DeWine]], who had been elected as Voinovich's running mate in 1990.

While in the Senate, Metzenbaum was a powerful [[American liberalism|liberal]]. He was known as "Senator&nbsp;No" (a nickname shared by Republican [[Jesse Helms]] of [[North Carolina]]) and "Headline Howard" and a "headline hog"<ref name="latimes">{{Cite news | title = Howard M. Metzenbaum, 1917-2008: Ohio Senator was a champion of labor and master of rules | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | pages = B9 | date = March 13, 2008 | url = https://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-metzenbaum13mar13,0,7830134.story }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sullivan|first1=Patricia|title=Ohio Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum, 90; Fought Special-Interest Bills, Tax Breaks|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031204487.html|access-date=October 14, 2014|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 14, 2008}}</ref><ref name=Sullivan>{{cite news |title=Ohio Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum, 90; Fought Special-Interest Bills, Tax Breaks |author=Sullivan, Patricia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031204487.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630140407/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2008-03-14/politics/36818156_1_universal-health-care-senate-nutrition-labels |url-status=live |archive-date=June 30, 2013 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 14, 2008 |access-date=May 10, 2013}}</ref> due to his ability to [[filibuster]] bills by offering scores of amendments as well as blocking hidden [[Advocacy group|special-interest]] legislation.<ref name=Sullivan/> Metzenbaum took a particular interest in [[antitrust]] and [[consumer protection]] issues, often threatening to repeal the [[Toolson v. New York Yankees#Baseball antitrust exemption|antitrust law exemption]] given to [[Major League Baseball]]. Since his retirement, the issue has gone largely unaddressed. Metzenbaum became well known for his service on the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]], particularly because of his efforts to keep stringent antitrust laws and his pro-choice stance on [[abortion debate|abortion]].

Metzenbaum was skeptical of corporations and agencies promoting [[aspartame]]. An allegation was that the [[G.&nbsp;D.&nbsp;Searle&nbsp;& Company]] was trying to bring aspartame to market and get it approved by the U.S.&nbsp;[[Food and Drug Administration]]&nbsp;(FDA) by submitting false data. Metzenbaum berated Searle's fabricated tests and also faulted the [[American Medical Association]]&nbsp;(AMA), whose ''[[Journal of the American Medical Association]]''&nbsp;(JAMA) reported, with some significant disclaimers, that aspartame was safe for most people. Of the report, Metzenbaum said, "I wish that this [JAMA] report could ease my concerns. It does not. It merely restates the FDA position, which relies solely on the Searle tests. As I have indicated these tests are under a cloud. In addition, the concerns raised recently by the scientists...were not even included in the report." In 1985, the U.S.&nbsp;Senate heard testimony relating to an amendment by Metzenbaum that would require the quantity of aspartame in a product to be labeled.

==Cleveland Stokers==
In January 1968 Metzenbaum and Bonda purchased the [[Cleveland Stokers]] soccer club from [[Cleveland Indians]] executives [[Vernon Stouffer]] and [[Gabe Paul]]. Under their leadership, the team played one year in the [[North American Soccer League (1968–1984)|North American Soccer League]], and even won their division, before departing the league due to differences in business philosophy with the other owners.

==Retirement==
After leaving the Senate in 1995, Metzenbaum served as the chairman of the [[Consumer Federation of America]]. He died at his home in [[Aventura, Florida]] on March 12, 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/14metzenbaum.html|title=Howard M. Metzenbaum, Who Battled Big Business as Ohio Senator, Dies at 90|first=Douglas|last=Martin|work=The New York Times |date=March 14, 2008|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> He is buried at [[Mayfield Cemetery]] in [[Cleveland Heights]], Ohio.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m000678 |title=METZENBAUM, Howard Morton - Biographical Information |publisher=Bioguide.congress.gov |access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>

Denying [[urban legend]]s to the contrary, Metzenbaum said he was never affiliated with the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]].<ref>Personal correspondence, January 5, 2006, from Harold S. Stern, Metzenbaum's law partner after 1953</ref> When the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee]] suggested in 1987 that he had "Communist sympathies", Chairman [[Rudy Boschwitz]] apologized for the smear.<ref>{{cite magazine
|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965168,00.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228221123/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965168,00.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=February 28, 2008
|title=American Notes: POLITICS
|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]
|date=August 10, 1987
|access-date=February 18, 2007}}</ref>

Metzenbaum's cousin James Metzenbaum was an Ohio attorney who wrote a text on [[zoning]] law and once ran for a seat on the [[Ohio Supreme Court]].

==Personal life==

Metzenbaum married Shirley Louise Turoff (1923–2019) on August 8, 1946. They had four daughters : Barbara, Susan, [[Shelley H. Metzenbaum|Shelley]], and Amy. Susan married [[Joel Hyatt]].

==Legacy==
[[File:Old Federal Building and Post Office, Cleveland.jpg|thumb|right|The Old Federal Building and Post Office, now Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse]]
Metzenbaum was behind several pieces of enacted legislation during his senatorial career. These included the [[Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act]], which required warning periods for large factory closures;<ref>{{cite web|title=Bill Summary & Status, 100th Congress (1987 - 1988), S.2527|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d100:S2527:|publisher=The Library of Congress|access-date=May 9, 2013}}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=29 USC Chapter 23 - WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING NOTIFICATION|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/chapter-23|work=Legal Information Institute|publisher=Cornell University Law School|access-date=May 9, 2013}}</ref> the [[Brady Law]], which established a waiting period for handgun purchases;<ref name="latimes" /><ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080313/ap_on_go_co/obit_metzenbaum_6;_ylt=AkHXbBSxqWsddnEox3.rE70E1vAI Associated Press, "Former Ohio Sen. Howard Metzenbaum dies", 13 Mar. 2008]. Retrieved March 13, 2008</ref> and the Howard M. Metzenbaum Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA) (U.S.&nbsp;Public Law 103-82), which prohibits federally subsidized [[adoption]] agencies from delaying or denying child placement on grounds of race or ethnicity.<ref>{{cite web|title=Multiethnic Placement Act: Submission of Recruitment Plans|url=http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/pi9523.pdf|work=Administration for Children and Families|publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services|access-date=May 9, 2013|date=October 11, 1995}}</ref>

On May 27, 1998, the Old Federal Building and Post Office in downtown Cleveland was renamed the [[Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse]] in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse|url=http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103474|publisher=U.S. General Services Administration|access-date=May 9, 2013}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* Metzenbaum was referenced in the ''[[Space Ghost Coast to Coast]]'' episode "Switcheroo". ''Space Ghost'' mentioned him as a guest whom his staff had forgotten to book.
* Metzenbaum had a cameo in the 1993 film ''[[Dave (film)|Dave]]''.
* Metzenbaum was referenced in numerous Cleveland-area advertisements.

==See also==
*[[List of Jewish members of the United States Congress]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Congbio|M000678}}
* {{C-SPAN|1782}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[List of United States Senators from Ohio|U.S. Senator]] from [[Ohio]]<br>([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 1]])|years=[[1970 United States Senate election in Ohio|1970]], [[1976 United States Senate election in Ohio|1976]], [[1982 United States Senate election in Ohio|1982]], [[1988 United States Senate election in Ohio|1988]]}}
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 years=1976–1995|
 after=[[Mike DeWine|R. Michael DeWine]]|
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzenbaum, Howard M.}}
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Democratic Party Ohio state senators]]
[[Category:Glenville High School alumni]]
[[Category:Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Politicians from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Jewish United States senators]]
[[Category:American people of French-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Ohio]]
[[Category:Politicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives]]
[[Category:Burials at Mayfield Cemetery]]
[[Category:People from Aventura, Florida]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]
[[Category:Jewish American people in Ohio politics]]
[[Category:Jewish American sports executives and administrators]]
[[Category:20th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly]]