Ohio U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor was found dead in his apartment Wednesday, a Republican leadership aide said.
The aide said the body of the 68-year-old Republican was found by staff members who went to his apartment after he failed to show up for work. There was no immediate word on the cause of his death. Gillmor's office did not respond to a reporter's call.
Gillmor, who represented Ohio's 5th District in the Bowling Green area of the state, was first elected to Congress in 1988.
The aide spoke on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement.
Minority Leader John Boehner, of West Chester, Ohio, mourned Gillmor’s passing in a written statement.
"Congressman Paul Gillmor was a good friend and a trusted colleague who served his constituents with honor for nearly two decades. Born, raised, and educated in our home state of Ohio, Paul never lost sight of the reason he came to Congress-to serve this great institution and his constituents with dedication and distinction," he said.
Before Gillmor went to Washington, he served in the Ohio Legislature for 22 years.
on Capitol Hill, Gillmor served on the Financial Services Committee and was the top Republican on the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, according to his official House Web site. He was also a member of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises and the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.
Gillmor had lately taken up the cause of Manuel Bartsch, an 18-year-old Gilboa, Ohio, teenager who was arrested in late 2005 and remains detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Bartsch is awaiting deportation for violating a 90-day visa, which Gillmor said he had used to enter the country as a 10-year-old German immigrant.
In January, Gillmor introduced a private relief bill to the the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law to grant legal permanent resident status to Bartsch.
"Bartsch was the victim of an immigration system which had lost its way," Gillmor said Aug. 3.
Gillmor was in his eighth term and served as a Deputy Minority Whip. Colleagues regarded him as a solid conservative voter on most issues. He was part of a bipartisan task force on ethics and congressional mailing practices. And, in 1994, he authored an article for the Harvard Journal on Legislation on "Reconstruction of Federalism: A Constitutional Amendment to Prohibit Unfunded Mandates."
He is survived by his wife and five children.
Ohio Congressman Gillmor Found Dead -
05-21-2008
