Chuck Graham
{{Short description|American politician (1965–2020)}}
{{for|the member of the North Carolina General Assembly|Charles Graham (American politician)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image =
| name = Chuck Graham
| state_senate1 = Missouri
| district1 = 19th
| term_start1 = January 2005
| term_end1 = January 2009
| predecessor1 = Ken Jacob{{cite web | url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=178660 | title=Our Campaigns - MO State Senate 19 Race - Nov 02, 2004 }}
| successor1 = Kurt Schaefer
| state_house2 = Missouri
| district2 = 24th
| term_start2 = January 1997
| term_end2 = January 2005
| predecessor2 = Jim Pauley{{cite web | url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=254268 | title=Our Campaigns - MO State House 024 Race - Nov 05, 1996 }}
| successor2 = Ed Robb{{cite web | url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=25626 | title=Our Campaigns - MO State House 024 Race - Nov 05, 2002 }}
| party = Democratic
| spouse =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1965|02|24}}
| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, United States
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|05|19|1965|02|24}}
| death_place =
| alma_mater = University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (BS)
| residence =
}}
Charles Graham (February 24, 1965 – May 19, 2020) was an American politician in the Democratic Party who represented the 19th Senate District in the Missouri General Assembly, which includes the city of Columbia, Missouri, where he lived.
Biography
Graham was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1987 with a B.S. in journalism.[http://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/11494/charles-graham Votesmart.com.-Charles "Chunk" Graham]
He was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1996, and served there through 2005. He was first elected to the Missouri State Senate in 2004, and served as the party's Assistant Minority Floor Leader. He had been mentioned as a possible candidate in the 2006 United States Senate election, but dropped out in support of then-State Auditor Claire McCaskill.
He served on the following committees:
- Education
- Gubernatorial Appointments
- Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence
- Pensions, Veterans' Affairs and General Laws
In 1998, Graham proposed a bill which would have permitted death row prisoners awaiting execution to donate organs (kidneys or bone marrow) in exchange for a commutation of their death sentence.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1347&dat=19980316&id=jvkSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Jv0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5666,5162297 |date=1998-03-16 |accessdate=2009-11-09 |agency=Associated Press (AP) |last1=Strait |first1=Jason |newspaper=The Ledger |location=Lakeland, Florida |page=A10 |title=Oregon Inmate Donation Proposed }}{{cite web|url=http://record.wustl.edu/archive/1998/04-09-98/articles/analysis.html |title=Proposed organ donation by death row inmates medically risky, coerced and immoral, expert says |date=1998-04-09 |accessdate=2009-11-09 |author=Lowell, Jeffrey A. |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511000050/http://record.wustl.edu/archive/1998/04-09-98/articles/analysis.html |archivedate=2009-05-11 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.bioethics.iu.edu/body.cfm?id=79|title=Death Row Organ Donation|accessdate=2009-11-09|publisher=Indiana University|author=Meslin, Eric M.|archive-date=September 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904014754/http://bioethics.iu.edu/body.cfm?id=79|url-status=dead}} He was a strong supporter of stem-cell research.
On October 20, 2007, Graham was arrested by the Columbia Police Department on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after rear-ending a vehicle near his home in Southwest Columbia. His license was subsequently suspended.{{cite web |url=http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Oct/20071024News043.asp |title=Text of Columbia Police Department report |accessdate=2008-09-12 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829124624/http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Oct/20071024News043.asp |archivedate=2008-08-29 }}
Graham was a paraplegic after he had an automobile accident at age 16. He received national attention during a 2008 televised campaign rally in Columbia. Then vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden asked him to stand up and was apparently unaware of his paralysis. When Biden realized that Graham could not stand up, he asked for the crowd to stand up for him.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRV5Y1JCGRI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/SRV5Y1JCGRI |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Biden Gaffe: Asks a Gentleman in a Wheelchair to Stand Up|last=jimmydean31432|date=9 September 2008|publisher=|accessdate=31 October 2017|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}
On November 4, 2008, Graham lost his seat after being defeated in the general election by Republican Kurt Schaefer. After the 2008 election, he announced that he had no future plans to run for public office.
Graham died on May 19, 2020, at the age of 55.{{Cite web |url=https://www.komu.com/news/chuck-graham-former-state-senator-dies |title=Chuck Graham, former state senator, dies at 55 |access-date=May 20, 2020 |archive-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521143243/https://www.komu.com/news/chuck-graham-former-state-senator-dies |url-status=dead }}
References
- Official Manual, State of Missouri, 2005-2006. Jefferson City, MO: Secretary of State.
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130203003721/http://www.statesurge.com/members/1506 Chuck Graham's Current Legislation]}}
- [http://www.senate.mo.gov/05info/members/mem19.htm Senate Member Information - Chuck Graham, D-19]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305150931/http://missouricures.com/news_032805ct.php Chicago Tribune Article]
- [https://archive.today/20130119142337/http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/10/21/sen-chuck-graham-arrested-suspicion-driving-while-/ Sen. Chuck Graham arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated]
- [http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Nov/20081105News003.asp Schaefer upsets Graham]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Chuck}}
Category:Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives
Category:Democratic Party Missouri state senators
Category:Politicians from Columbia, Missouri
Category:Politicians from St. Louis
Category:University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Media alumni
Category:Politicians with paraplegia
Category:American politicians with disabilities
Category:21st-century members of the Missouri General Assembly
Category:20th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly