Bart Gordon

Early life, education, and early political career

Gordon was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he has lived all of his life. His father and grandfathers were farmers, and his mother was a teacher in the Rutherford County schools. He served in the United States Army Reserve in 1971 and 1972. He graduated cum laude from Middle Tennessee State University in 1971, where he was student body president, and earned a law degree from the University of Tennessee in 1973. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. He then entered private practice in Murfreesboro.

Active in Democratic politics early on, he was briefly executive director of the Tennessee Democratic Party in 1979 and state party chairman from 1981 to 1983.

Elections

When 6th District Congressman Al Gore announced in 1983 that he would run for the United States Senate in 1984, Gordon stepped down as state party chairman to run for the seat. He initially faced a hard-fought race against the brother of the publisher of Nashville's former conservative newspaper, the Nashville Banner. However, he won handily in November 1984, riding Gore's coattails in the midst of Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in that year's presidential election. Gordon is regarded as a moderate. He has favored the repeal of the inheritance tax and the "marriage tax penalty".

Gordon was re-elected by huge margins until 1994, when his Republican opponent was attorney Steve Gill, a former basketball player at the University of Tennessee who is now a radio talk show host. Gordon only won by one percentage point, but managed to defeat Gill more handily in 1996. Gordon was re-elected in 1998 and 2000 by margins similar to those he scored in the 1980s and early 1990s. He faced no significant opposition in 2002, 2004 and 2006 and was unopposed in 2008. This is largely because the 2002 reapportionment by the Democratic-controlled Tennessee General Assembly removed Williamson County, a wealthy and heavily Republican suburban area south of Nashville, from the Sixth District and added it to the already heavily Republican Seventh District. Ironically, that district is now represented by Marsha Blackburn, who in 1992 was Gordon's first well-financed Republican opponent since his initial 1984 race.

Tenure

During his tenure in Congress, Gordon "helped pass the COMPETES Act and the 2007 Energy Bill." In March 2007 it was reported that Rep. Gordon, chairman of the U.S.House science committee, said that NASA is headed for "a train wreck" if the space agency isn't better funded to finish building the international space station and develop the next-generation spacecraft.

In December 2008, Gordon came under fire from Tennessee conservatives for failing to vote on the auto bailout, stating that his failure to vote was due to a "technical glitch" in the voting system. In March 2010, Gordon announced that he will vote in favor of the Senate Health Care bill.

Gordon has been the fastest runner of foot races in Congress for 20 years. Most recently, he defeated Congressman Aaron Schock, 33 years his younger at the Capital Challenge Charity Race.

Gordon voted against the Affordable Health Care for America Act in November 2009 but voted for both the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 in March 2010.

In April 2009, Gordon voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Committee assignments

Post-congressional career

Gordon is currently a partner in the global law firm K&L Gates and is a distinguished fellow at the Council on Competitiveness. He was appointed by President Obama to the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel, the panel traveled to the Antarctic in December 2011 and put out the report “More and Better Science in Antarctica Through Increased Logistical Effectiveness” in July 2012. He is a member of the Brookings Leadership Advisory Board and is a project member for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences' New Models for U.S. Science and Technology Policy. He is a Board Member of the U.S Association of Former Members of Congress, and the Middle Tennessee State University Foundation and he is on the Board of Counselors for the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.

In 2012 Gordon was bestowed the insignia of Officer in the French Legion of Honor. He delivered the commencement keynote address and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in May 2012. In May 2013 he received the first honorary doctorate given by his alma mater Middle Tennessee State University.