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{{short description|American politician}}
'''Theodore S. Weiss''' ([[September 17]], [[1927]] - [[September 14]], [[1992]]) was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from [[New York]].
{{Infobox officeholder
|image name = Theodore S. Weiss 100th Congress 1987.jpg
|birth_date = September 17, 1927
|birth_place = Gáva, [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Kingdom of Hungary]] (now [[Gávavencsellő]], Hungary)
|death_date = {{death date and age|1992|9|14|1927|9|17}}
|death_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
|office = Member of the<br>[[U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[New York (state)|New York]]
|constituency = {{ushr|NY|20|20th district}} (1977–83)<br>{{ushr|NY|17|17th district}} (1983–92)
|term_start = January 3, 1977
|term_end = September 14, 1992
|preceded = [[Bella Abzug]]
|succeeded = [[Jerry Nadler]]
|office1 = Member of the [[New York City Council]]
|constituency1 = [[New York City's 25th City Council district|25th]] district (1962–65)<br>[[New York City's 3rd City Council district|3rd]] district (1966–73)<br>[[New York City's 4th City Council district|4th]] district (1974–76)
|term_start1 = January 1, 1974
|term_end1 = December 31, 1976
|preceded1 = Louis Okin
|succeeded1 = [[Ruth Messinger]]
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|allegiance= [[United States of America]]
|branch= [[United States Army]]
|serviceyears=1946 &ndash; 1947
|spouse = Sonya
|children = 2
}}
'''Theodore S. Weiss''' (September 17, 1927 – September 14, 1992) was an American [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] politician who served in the [[United States House of Representatives]] for [[New York (state)|New York]] from 1977 until his death in 1992.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|title=Rep. Ted Weiss, 64, Dies; Liberal Stalwart in House|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/15/us/rep-ted-weiss-64-dies-liberal-stalwart-in-house.html|author=Dao, James|date=September 15, 1992|page=D22|access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref>


==Background==
Weiss was born in [[Hungary]] and emigrated to the United States in [[1938]]. He served in the [[United States Army]] from [[1946]] until [[1947]]. He graduated from [[Syracuse University]] in [[1951]]. From [[1962]] until [[1977]] he was a member of the [[New York City Council]]. He was a delegate to the [[1972 Democratic National Convention]]. He was elected to Congress in [[1976]] and served from [[January 3]], [[1977]] until his death.
Weiss was born in 1927 in the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungarian]] village of Gáva (now [[Gávavencsellő]]) and emigrated to the United States in 1938. He grew up in [[South Amboy, New Jersey]]. After graduating from [[South Amboy Middle High School|H.G. Hoffman High School]] in South Amboy in 1946, Weiss served in the [[United States Army]] from 1946 to 1947. He graduated from [[Syracuse University]] in 1951 before earning his [[LL.B.]] from the institution's [[Syracuse University College of Law|College of Law]] in 1952. In 1953, Weiss became a [[Citizenship of the United States|naturalized citizen of the United States]].<ref name="Congress">{{cite web|url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=W000258|title=Weiss, Theodore S.|publisher=U.S. Congress|work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> Between 1955 and 1959, he was an assistant [[New York County District Attorney]], before leaving the position to return to private practice.<ref name=nyt/> He and his wife, Sonya, had two children.<ref name = nyt/>


==Political career==
{{NewYork-politician-stub}}
[[File:TedWeiss.jpg|thumb|left|Rep. Ted Weiss]]
From 1962 until 1976, Weiss was a member of the [[New York City Council]]. He was a delegate to the [[1972 Democratic National Convention]]. Weiss was elected to Congress in 1976, representing most of Manhattan's [[West Side (Manhattan)|West Side]], and served from January 3, 1977, until his death.<ref name="Congress"/> He served on the [[United States House Committee on Financial Services|House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs]], the [[United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform|House Committee on Government Operations]], and the [[House Committee on Foreign Affairs]]. In 1985, Weiss headed a committee that found 90 percent of the twenty to thirty thousand new drugs used on farm animals had not been approved by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] in violation of the [[Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act]]. They also found that the FDA failed to remove several drugs already known to be [[carcinogen]]s.<ref name=nyt/> He was a leader in the fight for more federal funding for the HIV/AIDS epidemic and held the first congressional hearing on the government's response to the AIDS epidemic in 1983.


In 1983, he and seven other representatives sponsored a resolution to [[Efforts to impeach Ronald Reagan|impeach Ronald Reagan]] over his sudden and unexpected [[invasion of Grenada]].<ref name=GeniusImpeachment/>
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{{USRep succession box |
Weiss was known for his avid support of liberal causes, including [[civil rights]], open government, union and workers rights, access to health care, removal of the embargo on Cuba, and the arts.<ref name=nyt/> Weiss was also instrumental in fighting against the U.S. Navy plan to station nuclear submarines in New York harbor and in blocking the proposed Westway highway plan, after decades of opposition.

==Death and aftermath==
On September 14, 1992, Weiss died from heart failure at [[Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center]].<ref name = nyt/> His death came three days before the primary election for the renumbered 8th district, which would have also been the date of his sixty-fifth birthday. Due to the Congressman's ailing health, five Democrats appeared on the ballot to challenge him. Nonetheless, Weiss posthumously won the primary by a huge margin. [[New York State Assembly|State Assemblyman]] [[Jerry Nadler]] was named to replace Weiss on the ballot. Nadler won a special election for the balance of Weiss' eighth term, and a regular election for a full two-year term, and still holds the seat {{as of|2024|lc=yes}}.<ref name=nyt/>

The [[Ted Weiss Federal Building]] in [[Lower Manhattan]], adjacent to the [[African Burial Ground National Monument]], was named in Weiss's honor in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nadler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=392180|title=Federal Building Will be Named for the Late Rep. Ted Weiss|publisher=Office of Congressman Jerry Nadler|date=April 29, 2003|access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Jewish members of the United States Congress]]
*[[List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=GeniusImpeachment>
{{cite news
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=b6U2GfqsDrcC&q=reagan
| title = The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism
| year = 2016
| work = [[The New Press]]
| author = John Nichols
| isbn = 9781595587350
| access-date = 2021-01-23
}}
</ref>
}}

==Sources==
{{CongBio|W000258}}
*{{C-SPAN|1547}}

{{s-start}}
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{{succession box|title=Member of the [[New York City Council]]<br>from the [[New York City's 25th City Council district|25th district]]|before=[[Louis Okin]]|years=1962–1965|after=[[Julius Moskowitz]] }}
{{succession box|title=Member of the [[New York City Council]]<br>from the [[New York City's 3rd City Council district|3rd district]]|before=''Newly created district''|years=1966–1973|after=[[Miriam Friedlander]] }}
{{succession box|title=Member of the [[New York City Council]]<br>from the [[New York City's 4th City Council district|4th district]]|before=[[Carter Burden]]|years=1974–1976|after=[[Ruth Messinger]] }}
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state=New York|
state=New York|
district=20 |
district=20 |
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before=[[Bella Abzug]] |
before=[[Bella Abzug]] |
after= [[Richard Ottinger]] |
after= [[Richard Ottinger]] |
years=1977&ndash;1983
years=1977–1983
}}
}}
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state=New York|
state=New York|
district=17 |
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before=[[Guy V. Molinari]] |
before=[[Guy V. Molinari]] |
after= [[Jerrold Nadler]] |
after= [[Jerrold Nadler]] |
years=1983&ndash;1992
years=1983–1992
}}
}}
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{{USCongRep-start|congresses= 95th-102nd [[United States Congress]] |state=[[United States congressional delegations from New York|New York]]}}

{{USCongRep/NY/95}}
==Sources==
{{USCongRep/NY/96}}
*{{CongBio|W000258}}
{{USCongRep/NY/97}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Ted}}
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York|Weiss, Theodore S.]]
[[Category:1927 births|Weiss, Theodore S.]]
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths|Weiss, Theodore S.]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism]]
[[Category:Hungarian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Hungarian Jews]]
[[Category:Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:Syracuse University College of Law alumni]]
[[Category:New York City Council members]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:People from South Amboy, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New Jersey]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:New York (state) lawyers]]
[[Category:Politicians from Manhattan]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century New York (state) politicians]]
[[Category:Deaths from congestive heart failure]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]

Latest revision as of 01:51, 8 December 2024

Ted Weiss
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
January 3, 1977 – September 14, 1992
Preceded byBella Abzug
Succeeded byJerry Nadler
Constituency20th district (1977–83)
17th district (1983–92)
Member of the New York City Council
In office
January 1, 1974 – December 31, 1976
Preceded byLouis Okin
Succeeded byRuth Messinger
Constituency25th district (1962–65)
3rd district (1966–73)
4th district (1974–76)
Personal details
BornSeptember 17, 1927
Gáva, Kingdom of Hungary (now Gávavencsellő, Hungary)
DiedSeptember 14, 1992(1992-09-14) (aged 64)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSonya
Children2
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1946 – 1947

Theodore S. Weiss (September 17, 1927 – September 14, 1992) was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for New York from 1977 until his death in 1992.[1]

Background

[edit]

Weiss was born in 1927 in the Hungarian village of Gáva (now Gávavencsellő) and emigrated to the United States in 1938. He grew up in South Amboy, New Jersey. After graduating from H.G. Hoffman High School in South Amboy in 1946, Weiss served in the United States Army from 1946 to 1947. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1951 before earning his LL.B. from the institution's College of Law in 1952. In 1953, Weiss became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[2] Between 1955 and 1959, he was an assistant New York County District Attorney, before leaving the position to return to private practice.[1] He and his wife, Sonya, had two children.[1]

Political career

[edit]
Rep. Ted Weiss

From 1962 until 1976, Weiss was a member of the New York City Council. He was a delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention. Weiss was elected to Congress in 1976, representing most of Manhattan's West Side, and served from January 3, 1977, until his death.[2] He served on the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, the House Committee on Government Operations, and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. In 1985, Weiss headed a committee that found 90 percent of the twenty to thirty thousand new drugs used on farm animals had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. They also found that the FDA failed to remove several drugs already known to be carcinogens.[1] He was a leader in the fight for more federal funding for the HIV/AIDS epidemic and held the first congressional hearing on the government's response to the AIDS epidemic in 1983.

In 1983, he and seven other representatives sponsored a resolution to impeach Ronald Reagan over his sudden and unexpected invasion of Grenada.[3]

Weiss was known for his avid support of liberal causes, including civil rights, open government, union and workers rights, access to health care, removal of the embargo on Cuba, and the arts.[1] Weiss was also instrumental in fighting against the U.S. Navy plan to station nuclear submarines in New York harbor and in blocking the proposed Westway highway plan, after decades of opposition.

Death and aftermath

[edit]

On September 14, 1992, Weiss died from heart failure at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.[1] His death came three days before the primary election for the renumbered 8th district, which would have also been the date of his sixty-fifth birthday. Due to the Congressman's ailing health, five Democrats appeared on the ballot to challenge him. Nonetheless, Weiss posthumously won the primary by a huge margin. State Assemblyman Jerry Nadler was named to replace Weiss on the ballot. Nadler won a special election for the balance of Weiss' eighth term, and a regular election for a full two-year term, and still holds the seat as of 2024.[1]

The Ted Weiss Federal Building in Lower Manhattan, adjacent to the African Burial Ground National Monument, was named in Weiss's honor in 2003.[4]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Dao, James (September 15, 1992). "Rep. Ted Weiss, 64, Dies; Liberal Stalwart in House". The New York Times. p. D22. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Weiss, Theodore S." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. U.S. Congress. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  3. ^ John Nichols (2016). "The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism". The New Press. ISBN 9781595587350. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  4. ^ "Federal Building Will be Named for the Late Rep. Ted Weiss". Office of Congressman Jerry Nadler. April 29, 2003. Retrieved September 20, 2020.

Sources

[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Member of the New York City Council
from the 25th district
1962–1965 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Newly created district
 Member of the New York City Council
from the 3rd district
1966–1973 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the New York City Council
from the 4th district
1974–1976 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 20th congressional district
1977–1983 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 17th congressional district
1983–1992 		Succeeded by
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