Samuel S. Stratton

Samuel S. Stratton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 32nd, 35th, 29th, 28th, 23rd district
In office January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by	Bernard W. Kearney R. Walter Riehlman Daniel E. Button Hamilton Fish IV Peter A. Peyser
Succeeded by	Alexander Pirnie James M. Hanley Carleton J. King Matthew F. McHugh Michael R. McNulty
Mayor of Schenectady, New York
In office 1956–1959
Personal details
Born	September 27, 1916 Yonkers, New York
Died	September 13, 1990 (aged 73) Rockville, Maryland
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Children	Brian U. Stratton
Alma mater	University of Rochester Haverford College Harvard University
Awards	Bronze Star
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	World War II

Samuel Studdiford Stratton (September 27, 1916 – September 13, 1990) was a U.S. Representative, representing New York for almost 30 years from 1959 to 1989.

Early life

Stratton was born in Yonkers, New York and his family moved to Schenectady, New York while he was an infant. He attended school in Schenectady, Rochester, New York, and Blair Academy in New Jersey. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester in 1937, was a captain of the swim team, and joined Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Upsilon. He received a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy from Haverford College in 1938, and a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Harvard University in 1940. Stratton was executive secretary to Massachusetts Congressman Thomas H. Eliot from 1940 to 1942.

Military

In mid-1942, Stratton joined the United States Naval Reserve. He served as ensign in the South West Pacific Area as a combat intelligence officer on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur. Twice awarded the Bronze Star with a Valor device, Stratton interrogated Tomoyuki Yamashita, who was later executed for his part in the Manila massacre.

Politics

After World War II, Stratton returned to Schenectady and was elected to the city council in 1949. During the Korean War, Stratton was recalled to active duty, serving as an instructor in Washington, D.C. from 1951 to 1953, and attaining the rank of captain. Stratton again returned to Schenectady and was re-elected to the city council from 1953 to 1956. In 1955, he was elected mayor of Schenectady as a conservative Democrat. For a period of time while he was Mayor, he supplemented his meager salary by working for Channel 6 WRGB, the General Electric television station in Schenectady, as well as other local television and radio stations.

In 1958, Stratton was elected to the U.S. Congress. He made a name for himself in multiple elections by appealing to conservative voters and supporting defense spending in his district, which included General Electric and the Watervliet Arsenal. In the early 1960s, the Republicans, who controlled the New York State Senate, tried to draw Stratton's district out from under him. They placed him in a district that snaked from the Capital District suburbs all the way west across Upstate as far as Auburn, including along the way some of the most conservative territory in upstate New York. In spite of this attempt to make his district unwinnable for him, Stratton remained popular with the voters and was consistently re-elected. The state legislature finally gave up in the 1970s round of redistricting and placed him in a more compact district centered on the Capital District.

Stratton was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 1964, hoping to challenge incumbent Kenneth Keating, but he was defeated by Robert F. Kennedy, who would go on to win the election. Stratton was reelected to the House fourteen times before finally bowing out of public life at age 72. For most of his tenure, he was a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. He was a proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment and also introduced a bill, as a rider to the 1975 defense appropriation bill, which mandated the admission of women to the service academies.

Stratton lived in Potomac, Maryland after his retirement until his death in Rockville, Maryland at age 73. After his death, both the Air National Guard base in Schenectady and the Veterans Administration hospital in Albany, New York were named in his honor. Samuel Stratton was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

His son, Brian U. Stratton, was elected mayor of Schenectady in 2003. With the expected retirement of the elder Stratton's successor in Congress, Michael McNulty, there was speculation the younger Stratton would run for his father's old House seat in the 2008 election, but he chose to remain mayor.

See also

• United States Congressional Delegations from New York

References

• United States Congress. "Samuel S. Stratton (id: S000997)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-19

External links

• "Samuel S. Stratton". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-19.