Nationality American Role U.S. representative Children Brian Stratton Name Samuel Stratton Battles and wars World War II | Awards Bronze Star Medal Political party Democratic Party Democratic Party | |
 | ||
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 Alma mater University of Rochester
Haverford College
Harvard University Died September 13, 1990, Rockville, Maryland, United States Education Haverford College, Harvard University, University of Rochester | ||
Service/branch United States Navy | ||
Samuel Studdiford Stratton (September 27, 1916 – September 13, 1990) was a Democratic political figure in Upstate New York. He is notable for his service as Mayor of Schenectady, and his 30-year career as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Contents
Born in Yonkers, New York as the son of a Presbyterian clergyman, Stratton was a graduate of the University of Rochester, Haverford College, and Harvard University. He worked for two years on the staff of a Massachusetts Congressman, and then served in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war, he worked as an on air personality for television and radio stations in Schenectady, and served on the city council. He was recalled to active military duty for the Korean War, and served in Washington, DC.
After returning to Schenectady, he was reelected to the city council in 1953. In 1955 he was elected mayor. In 1958, Stratton ran successfully for Congress; he was reelected fourteen times, and served from 1959 to 1989. After unsuccessful attempts to run for higher office, and surviving efforts by the New York State Legislature to remove him through unfavorable redistricting, Stratton settled into a long career as a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. In addition to paying attention to local defense concerns, including manufacturing contracts for General Electric and the Watervliet Arsenal, Stratton took a lead role on other military-related issues, including admitting women to the service academies.
Stratton did not run for reelection in 1988, and retired to his home in Maryland. He died in Maryland in 1990, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Early life
Stratton was born in Yonkers, New York, the son of the Reverend Paul Stratton (1876-1942) and Ethel Irene Russell (1883-1970). 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. Commissioned an ensign, he served 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. He began serving as a member of Schenectady's Municipal Housing Authority in 1950, and remained with the Authority until 1955, including holding the position of chairman in 1951.
During the Korean War, Stratton was recalled to active duty, serving as an instructor at the Naval Intelligence School 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 salary by working as an on air announcer, newscaster, and commentator on politics and current events for WRGB, the NBC television affiliate in Schenectady, as well as other local television and radio stations. His television career included appearances as the character Sagebrush Sam, which involved dressing as a cowboy and playing a harmonica. From 1957 to 1958, Stratton was also a financial services representative with the First Albany Corporation.
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.
For his first two terms, Stratton represented a relatively compact district centered around Schenectady. In the early 1960s, the Republican-controlled legislature tried to draw Stratton's district out from under him. Stratton's home in Amsterdam was drawn into 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 rural and conservative territory in central New York. On paper, this district seemed unwinnable for a Democrat, even a conservative Democrat like Stratton. However, Stratton was reelected in 1962 with 54 percent of the vote. He quickly became popular with the voters in this mostly rural district, and went on to win another four terms by well over 60 percent of the vote. The state legislature finally gave up in the 1970s round of redistricting, and placed his home into a heavily Democratic seat including the heart of the Capital District. He easily defeated Republican incumbent Daniel Button, and was reelected seven more times without serious difficulty, retiring in 1989 at the age of 72.
In 1962, Stratton was a candidate for Governor of New York; Robert M. Morgenthau won the Democratic nomination, but lost the general election to incumbent Nelson A. Rockefeller. 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. For most of Stratton's tenure, he was a senior member of the Armed Services Committee.
He was a proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment, and also introduced successful legislation, as a rider to the 1975 defense appropriations bill, which mandated the admission of women to the service academies.
Retirement and death
Stratton lived in Potomac, Maryland after his retirement until his death in Gaithersburg, Maryland at age 73. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 7A, Grave 58.
Legacy
After his death, both the Air National Guard base in Scotia, New York and the Veterans Affairs hospital in Albany, New York were named in his honor.
Family
In 1947, Stratton was married to Joan Harris (1921-2009). They were the parents of five children: daughters, Lisa, Debra, and Kim; and sons, Kevin and Brian.
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.