James Prather Jontz was an American politician who represented the Indiana's 5th congressional district, comprising rural north central Indiana, centering on Kokomo and Logansport.
20 Facts About Jim Jontz
2.
Jim Jontz was previously a member of the Indiana General Assembly.
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Jim Jontz graduated at the age of 17 from North Central High School in Washington Township in Indianapolis.
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Jim Jontz began his collegiate studies at Williams College and transferred to Indiana University, where he graduated with honors in less than three years with a degree in geology.
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Jim Jontz was active in Crisis Biology and lobbied on behalf of a host of environmental causes while a student on the IU Bloomington campus.
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Jim Jontz obtained a Master's Degree in History from Butler University, and graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law during his third term as State Representative.
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Jim Jontz was reelected five more times in a heavily Republican district, even after the Republican-controlled legislature made it even more Republican on paper after the 1980 census.
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Jim Jontz was elected to the Indiana Senate in 1984, where he served for only two years before being elected to the US House.
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Jim Jontz was elected to Congress in 1986 after the retirement of 16-year incumbent Republican Bud Hillis.
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Jim Jontz was handily reelected in 1988, but faced much stiffer competition in 1990.
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Jim Jontz was a progressive Democrat, which seemingly made him an odd fit for his mostly rural north central Indiana district, centering on Kokomo and Logansport.
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Jim Jontz relied on two key strategies for his congressional elections.
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Secondly, Jim Jontz assembled a highly talented and dedicated staff of individuals to work with him, and later many of them-including Tom Sugar, Mike Busch, and Kathy Altman-held prominent government positions.
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Jim Jontz was narrowly defeated in 1992 by Steve Buyer, an Army officer, Persian Gulf War veteran, and lawyer making his first bid for office.
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Jim Jontz championed the preservation of the ancient forests in the Pacific Northwest, and worked to foster collaborations between organized labor and environmentalists.
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Jim Jontz lost to Lugar by more than 600,000 votes, and even lost his old congressional district.
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In 1999, Jim Jontz helped organize the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment.
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In 1998, Jim Jontz was elected president of Americans for Democratic Action.
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Jim Jontz was most recently the ADA president emeritus and served as a project coordinator for ADA's Working Families Win project.
20.
Jim Jontz died on April 14,2007, in Portland, following a lengthy battle with colon cancer.