Gene Snyder

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For the baseball player, see Gene Snyder (baseball).
Gene Snyder
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 4th district
In office
January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1987
Preceded byFrank Chelf
Succeeded byJim Bunning
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 3rd district
In office
January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1965
Preceded byFrank W. Burke
Succeeded byCharles R. Farnsley
Personal details
Born
Marion Eugene Snyder

(1928-01-26)January 26, 1928
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedFebruary 16, 2007(2007-02-16) (aged 79)
Naples, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of Louisville
Jefferson School of Law
OccupationAttorney

Marion Eugene Snyder (January 26, 1928 – February 16, 2007[1]) was an American politician elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from two different districts in his native Kentucky.

Background

Snyder was born in Louisville and attended public schools there, having graduated from duPont Manual High School. He studied at the University of Louisville and graduated from the Jefferson School of Law. He began a career as a lawyer in Louisville in 1950. In 1954, he became the city attorney in Jeffersontown, a post that he held for some four years. Snyder was elected as the magistrate for the first district of Jefferson County in the fall of 1957 and was re-elected in 1961. He also had several business interests in farming, real estate, insurance, and construction.

Political life

Snyder was elected to the House of Representatives from Kentucky's 3rd congressional district, based in Louisville, in 1962. He was one of the few Republicans to vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964,[2] although he later voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.[3] A Barry M. Goldwater supporter, he was unseated in 1964 after only one term by former Louisville Mayor Charlie Farnsley, amid the gigantic Lyndon B. Johnson-Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic landslide that year.

Snyder then moved to nearby Oldham County, which was in the neighboring 4th District, and prepared for a run against 11-term incumbent Frank Chelf in 1966. The 4th by that time was rapidly trending Republican because of an influx of new residents from Cincinnati; it had absorbed most of the Kentucky side of the Cincinnati metro area in the 1960s round of redistricting. He took full advantage of this trend and defeated Chelf by almost eight points. He was re-elected eight times from this district with almost no difficulty. In 1984, however, Democrat Pat Mulloy ran a surprisingly strong campaign and almost unseated Snyder; only Ronald Reagan's landslide win in Kentucky (by almost twenty points) helped Snyder remain in office. Rather than face Mulloy again, Snyder chose not to seek an 11th term in 1986. The seat then went to the Republican Jim Bunning, who in 1983 had been the unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial nominee against Martha Layne Collins.

In 1982, Congressman Snyder secured federal funds to build a beltway around Louisville. For this reason, a portion of I-265 was named for him[4] in 1986.[5] The federal courthouse building in Louisville and a general aviation airport near Falmouth, Kentucky (K62) also bear his name.

Snyder died in Naples, Florida in 2007.[6]

References

  1. ^ Will Graves (2007-02-19). "Former Congressman Gene Snyder dies at 79". The Advocate-Messenger. Danville, Kentucky. p. A2.
  2. ^ "H.R. 7152. PASSAGE".
  3. ^ "TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE 8 ACTIVITIES PROTECTED UNDER THIS BILL MUST BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO INCUR THE BILL'S PENALTIES".
  4. ^ "Louisville Roadways - What's in a Name?". Louisville Life. KET. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13.
  5. ^ Daniel Rubin (August 18, 1986). "Few people are using correct designation for renamed freeway". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. B1.
  6. ^ "SNYDER, Marion Gene - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 3rd congressional district
1963–1965 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 4th congressional district
1967–1987 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Ranking Member of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee
1981–1983 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Ranking Member of the House Public Works and Transportation Committee
1983–1987 		Succeeded by
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