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James Claude Wright, Jr. (born 1922), usually known as Jim Wright, is a former U.S. Congressman from Texas who served thirty-four years in the U.S. House and was the Speaker of the House from 1987 to 1989.
Jim was born in Forth Worth, Texas on December 22, 1922. He attended Fort Worth and Dallas public schools, then studied at Weatherford College and the University of Texas. In December of 1941 he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, and after training was commissioned as a pilot in 1942. He earned a Distinguished Flying Cross during combat in the South Pacific during World War II.
After the war he made his home in Weatherford, Texas where he joined partners in forming a Trade Show exhibition and marketing firm. He also joined the Democratic Party. In 1946 he won his first election, to the Texas State House of Representatives, where he seved from 1947 to 1949. He was Mayor of Weatherford from 1950-1954, serving as President of the League of Texas Municipalities in 1953.
In 1954, Weatherford first sent him to the U.S. Congress. He would be re-elected fourteen times, gradually rising in prominence in the party and in Congress. In January, 1986 he was elected the Speaker of the House, and in 1988 he chaired the Party's Convention that nominated Michael Dukakis for President.
Ethics investigation and resignation
Wright became the target of an inquiry by the House Ethics Committee. Their report in early 1989 implied that he had used bulk purchases of a vanity book "Reflections of a Public Man" to earn speaking fees in excess of the allowed maximum, and that his wife, Betty, was given a job and perks to avoid the limit on gifts. Faced with an increasing loss of effectiveness, he offered to resign on May 31, 1989. The following week he was replaced as Speaker, and on June 30th he resigned from Congress.
The incident itself was controversial and was a part of the increasing partisan infighting that has plagued the Congress since then. The original charges were filed by Newt Gingrich in 1988, and their effect propelled Newt's own career advancement to Minority Whip. They may have originally been part of a response to Democratic efforts that had forced Edwin Meese's resignation as attorney general or the rejection of Senator Tower 's nomination as Secretary of Defense.
Wright retired from public service, and currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
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