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==Life and career==
==Life and career==
Born in [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], Levitas graduated in 1948 from [[Henry W. Grady High School]] there. He attended [[Emory University]] in Atlanta, where he was a member of the secret honor society [[D.V.S. Senior Honor Society|D.V.S.]] In 1956, he earned a [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[Emory University School of Law]]. A [[Rhodes scholar]], he received a Master of Laws degree in 1958 from [[University of Oxford]] in [[England]].
Born in [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], Levitas graduated in 1948 from [[Henry W. Grady High School]] there. He attended [[Emory University]] in Atlanta, where he was a member of the secret honor society [[D.V.S. Senior Honor Society|D.V.S.]] In 1956, he earned a [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[Emory University School of Law]]. A [[Rhodes scholar]], he received a Master of Laws degree in 1958 from [[University of Oxford]] in [[England]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.ajc.com/news/obituaries/elliott-levitas-georgias-first-jewish-congressman-dies-at-91/5EWDGJGD5BE23N5X3ARHS5D5VQ/ | date=December 18, 2022 | author=Ron Sirmans | title=Elliott Levitas, Georgia’s first Jewish congressman, dies at 91 | newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]}}</ref>


He conducted additional study in law at the [[University of Michigan]] from 1954 to 1955. He was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1955 and commenced practice in Atlanta.
He conducted additional study in law at the [[University of Michigan]] from 1954 to 1955. He was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1955 and commenced practice in Atlanta.


He was active in the local Jewish community in Atlanta and with the [[Anti-Defamation League]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.ajc.com/news/obituaries/elliott-levitas-georgias-first-jewish-congressman-dies-at-91/5EWDGJGD5BE23N5X3ARHS5D5VQ/ | date=December 18, 2022 | author=Ron Sirmans | title=Elliott Levitas, Georgia’s first Jewish congressman, dies at 91 | newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]}}</ref>
He was active in the local Jewish community in Atlanta and with the [[Anti-Defamation League]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.ajc.com/news/obituaries/elliott-levitas-georgias-first-jewish-congressman-dies-at-91/5EWDGJGD5BE23N5X3ARHS5D5VQ/ | date=December 18, 2022 | author=Ron Sirmans | title=Elliott Levitas, Georgia’s first Jewish congressman, dies at 91 | newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]}}</ref>

He was in the [[United States Air Force]] from 1955 to 1958.
He was in the [[United States Air Force]] from 1955 to 1958.


Line 54: Line 55:


==== State legislature ====
==== State legislature ====
Levitas was elected to the [[Georgia House of Representatives]] in 1964 and served from 1965 to 1974. Early in his first term, he gained notoriety for voting in support of civil rights activist [[Julian Bond]], who was in a contested battle to be assume his seat following his election to the the legislature. Levitas was one of only five white legislators to vote in support of seating Bond.
Levitas was elected to the [[Georgia House of Representatives]] in 1964 and served from 1965 to 1974. Early in his first term, he gained notoriety for voting in support of civil rights activist [[Julian Bond]], who was in a contested battle to be assume his seat following his election to the the legislature. Levitas was one of only five white legislators to vote in support of seating Bond.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.ajc.com/news/obituaries/elliott-levitas-georgias-first-jewish-congressman-dies-at-91/5EWDGJGD5BE23N5X3ARHS5D5VQ/ | date=December 18, 2022 | author=Ron Sirmans | title=Elliott Levitas, Georgia’s first Jewish congressman, dies at 91 | newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]}}</ref>


In his second term in the state House, he was one of thirty Democrats who voted for the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Howard Callaway]], rather than the Democratic nominee, [[Lester Maddox]], a [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregationist]] from Atlanta, in the disputed [[1966 Georgia gubernatorial election|1966 gubernatorial race]]. The legislature, however, chose Maddox to resolve the deadlock though Callaway had led the balloting in the general election by some three thousand votes.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "The Frustration of Opportunity: Georgia Republicans and the Election of 1966", ''[[Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South]]'', XXI (Winter 1987-1988), p. 47</ref>
In his second term in the state House, he was one of thirty Democrats who voted for the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Howard Callaway]], rather than the Democratic nominee, [[Lester Maddox]], a [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregationist]] from Atlanta, in the disputed [[1966 Georgia gubernatorial election|1966 gubernatorial race]]. The legislature, however, chose Maddox to resolve the deadlock though Callaway had led the balloting in the general election by some three thousand votes.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "The Frustration of Opportunity: Georgia Republicans and the Election of 1966", ''[[Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South]]'', XXI (Winter 1987-1988), p. 47</ref>

Revision as of 00:13, 21 December 2022

Elliott H. Levitas
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 4th district
In office
January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985
Preceded byBenjamin B. Blackburn
Succeeded byPat Swindall
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office
1965 – January 1975
Preceded bymulti-member district
Succeeded byJohn Hawkins
Constituency118th district, Post 4 (1965-1969)
77th district, Post 4 (1969-1973)
50th district (1973-1975)
Personal details
Born
Elliott Harris Levitas

(1930-12-26)December 26, 1930
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
DiedDecember 16, 2022(2022-12-16) (aged 91)
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Atlanta, Georgia
EducationEmory University (BA, JD)
University of Oxford (LLM)
ProfessionAttorney
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Air Force
Years of service1955-1958

Elliott Harris Levitas (December 26, 1930 – December 16, 2022)[1] was an American politician and lawyer from Georgia. He was a former U.S. Representative from Georgia's 4th congressional district, serving five consecutive terms from 1975 to 1985.

He was the first Jewish congressman elected in Georgia.[2]

Life and career

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Levitas graduated in 1948 from Henry W. Grady High School there. He attended Emory University in Atlanta, where he was a member of the secret honor society D.V.S. In 1956, he earned a Juris Doctor from the Emory University School of Law. A Rhodes scholar, he received a Master of Laws degree in 1958 from University of Oxford in England.[3]

He conducted additional study in law at the University of Michigan from 1954 to 1955. He was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1955 and commenced practice in Atlanta.

He was active in the local Jewish community in Atlanta and with the Anti-Defamation League.[4]

He was in the United States Air Force from 1955 to 1958.

Political career

Levitas was a delegate to the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which nominated the Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert H. Humphrey ticket, the first Democratic slate to lose the electoral votes of Georgia since the Reconstruction era.

State legislature

Levitas was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1964 and served from 1965 to 1974. Early in his first term, he gained notoriety for voting in support of civil rights activist Julian Bond, who was in a contested battle to be assume his seat following his election to the the legislature. Levitas was one of only five white legislators to vote in support of seating Bond.[5]

In his second term in the state House, he was one of thirty Democrats who voted for the Republican Howard Callaway, rather than the Democratic nominee, Lester Maddox, a segregationist from Atlanta, in the disputed 1966 gubernatorial race. The legislature, however, chose Maddox to resolve the deadlock though Callaway had led the balloting in the general election by some three thousand votes.[6]

In all, Levitas would serve five terms in the legislature.[7]

Tenure in Congress

Levitas was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-fourth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985). Levitas represented a district dominated by DeKalb County, northeast of Atlanta. For four terms prior to his election, Benjamin B. Blackburn, a Republican, represented the area.

Elected in the famous Watergate class of 1974, he quickly established himself as a champion of causes related to the environment, eventually rising to the chairmanship of the committee with oversight on such matters.[8]

He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninety-ninth Congress in 1984, losing to Republican Pat Swindall amid Ronald Reagan carrying the district in a landslide.

Later career

After Congress, he was a partner with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton.[9] His most notable case, Cobell v. Norton, involved a lawsuit of the Blackfeet tribe against the U.S. Government over the amount owed to the tribe for land that had been taken and used for various industrial purposes. The successful $3.4 billion verdict was at the time the largest ever class-action award against the U.S. government.[10]

Death and burial

He died on December 16, 2022, at the age of 91. He is buried at Arlington Memorial Park near Atlanta.

Legacy

Each year, his alma mater, Emory University, issues an award in Levitas’s honor to the outstanding graduating senior political science major.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Elliott Levitas". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  2. ^ Ron Sirmans (December 18, 2022). "Elliott Levitas, Georgia's first Jewish congressman, dies at 91". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  3. ^ Ron Sirmans (December 18, 2022). "Elliott Levitas, Georgia's first Jewish congressman, dies at 91". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  4. ^ Ron Sirmans (December 18, 2022). "Elliott Levitas, Georgia's first Jewish congressman, dies at 91". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  5. ^ Ron Sirmans (December 18, 2022). "Elliott Levitas, Georgia's first Jewish congressman, dies at 91". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  6. ^ Billy Hathorn, "The Frustration of Opportunity: Georgia Republicans and the Election of 1966", Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South, XXI (Winter 1987-1988), p. 47
  7. ^ Ron Sirmans (December 18, 2022). "Elliott Levitas, Georgia's first Jewish congressman, dies at 91". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  8. ^ Ron Sirmans (December 18, 2022). "Elliott Levitas, Georgia's first Jewish congressman, dies at 91". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  9. ^ Elliott H. Levitas - Retired
  10. ^ Ron Sirmans (December 18, 2022). "Elliott Levitas, Georgia's first Jewish congressman, dies at 91". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  11. ^ Ron Sirmans (December 18, 2022). "Elliott Levitas, Georgia's first Jewish congressman, dies at 91". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 4th congressional district
January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985 		Succeeded by

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

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