Jim Graham Popular Books

Jim Graham Biography & Facts

James McMillan Nielson Graham (August 26, 1945 – June 11, 2017) was a Scottish-born American politician and a member of the Council of the District of Columbia. As a Democrat he represented Ward 1 in Washington, D.C. from 1999 until 2015. Life and education Graham was born on August 26, 1945, in Wishaw, Scotland. Graham's parents, neither of whom had high school degrees, settled in Hyattsville, Maryland, after immigrating to the United States from Scotland.A graduate of Michigan State University where he was a student politician and vice president of the National Student Association, Graham received a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center. Graham worked as a clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren and held a staff attorney position with the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (chaired by Senator Abe Ribicoff, D-Connecticut). Graham served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and George Washington University, as well as supervising instructor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Graham was licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and before the U.S. Supreme Court.Prior to taking a seat on the city council, Graham was executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, a nonprofit organization providing services to people in Washington who have HIV and AIDS. Graham was a recovering alcoholic and came out as gay after leaving federal employment. He was the second openly gay elected official in D.C., after David Catania. Gay community In October 1979, Graham joined Whitman-Walker Clinic's board. He helped the clinic survive its initial funding crises and in April 1981 became president of the board. Within three years, he became the executive director, leading the clinic's response to AIDS for 15 years (1984–1999). Under his leadership the clinic became a leading HIV/AIDS institution, with more than 1,200 volunteers, 270 full-time employees, and satellite operations in Southeast Washington, Maryland and Virginia. When Graham left Whitman-Walker in January 1999, it had become one of the most comprehensive community based medical organizations responding to HIV/AIDS in the country. In 1984, dismayed by the quality of legal support, Graham himself undertook the legal aid counseling of those with AIDS for 18 months: "I went to dying people to straighten out their legal affairs ... in addition to other duties. It carried me right into the trenches; it created the whole experience. I vividly remember going to the bedsides, the horrible circumstances. ... It was extremely emotional." In an oral history for the Rainbow History Project, Graham commented, "We've had one of the greatest epidemics of all time and this was the history, the history of the community banding together and helping itself. It was a phenomenal story." He says of the time, "It was the most difficult period that I've ever been through, there's no question." Public service Graham was first elected in 1998 and won reelection in 2002, 2006, and 2010 but was defeated in his bid for a fifth term in the Democratic primary election on April 1, 2014, by a margin of 41 percent to 59 percent for challenger Brianne Nadeau.Graham served as chairman of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's board of directors twice—once in 2003 and again in 2009. In 1999 and 2007, Graham donated a large collection of his personal and professional papers to the George Washington University. The collection is under the care of GWU's Special Collections Research Center, located in the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library.Committees Graham served as a member of the following committees on the D.C. Council: Committee on Human Services (Chair) Committee of the Whole Committee on Business, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Committee on Transportation and the Environment Committee on Workforce and Community AffairsDeath Graham died June 11, 2017, at George Washington University Hospital from complications related to an infection and from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Organizations D.C. AIDS Task Force (member since 1983) AIDS Action Council (previous Board member) National Lesbian and Gay Health Foundation (previous Board member) Coalition for Consumers Health and Safety Washington AIDS Partnership (previous Advisory Committee member) Concerned Citizens on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Inc. (previous Advisory Board member) National AIDS Network (previous Treasurer and Board member) Rock Hard DC Strip Club Criticism In early 2005, Graham was accused (allegedly by Washington businessman Sinclair Skinner) of driving historically African-American businesses from the neighborhoods of Columbia Heights, Shaw, and the U Street corridor. The Washington City Paper reported on the accusation: In early 2005, just as the Club U issue was heating up, posters portraying Graham as a reptile holding a pitchfork labeled "Grahamzilla" appeared on light poles and street signs around the ward. Another set of posters depicted Graham standing on a porch partying with young white men at the Graham "plantation." The latter included an illustration showing "Graham opponents" hanging from a gallows. The posters stretched the limits of political speech and disappeared quickly after they were put up. On September 24, 2009, Graham's Chief of Staff, Ted Loza, was arrested by the FBI and charged with two counts of accepting bribes. The indictment alleges that Loza accepted two payments and promised to promote the legislation and policies concerning D.C. taxi cabs that the alleged briber wanted. Graham was the chairman of the committee that oversees taxi cab regulation, but voluntarily gave up oversight of cabs after Loza's arrest. The District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Government Accountability found substantial evidence that Graham asked a developer to withdraw its bid for a real estate project so that another firm, who had donated to Graham, could win the bid. In exchange, Graham offered to support the firm's bid for a lottery contract, violating the District employees code of conduct. The District Council also reprimanded Graham for his inappropriate actions. Graham described his actions as political horsetrading rather than anything illegal or unethical. Election results 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 References External links Media related to Jim Graham at Wikimedia Commons Official website Metro - About Metro - Biographies WMATA biography Guide to the Jim Graham Papers, 1973-2006, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University Archived 17 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Discover the Jim Graham popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jim Graham books.

Best Seller Jim Graham Books of 2024

  • Dombey and Son synopsis, comments

    Dombey and Son

    Charles Dickens

    'The earth was made for Dombey and Son to trade in, and the sun and moon were made to give them light'Dombey and Son is both a firm and a family and the ambiguous connection betwee...

  • The Devil Himself synopsis, comments

    The Devil Himself

    Peter Farris

    For Fans of Brian Panowich and Ron Rash. Southern Noir at its finest, The Devil Himself, sizzles with pageburning suspense and bewitching characters. Deep in the forest o...

  • Outback Court Reporter synopsis, comments

    Outback Court Reporter

    Jamelle Wells

    One of Australia's most experienced court reporters goes on a judicial road trip. Outback Court Reporter is a sometimes funny, sometimes tragic look at the comings and goings on in...

  • Shepherds for Sale synopsis, comments

    Shepherds for Sale

    Megan Basham

    “This may just be the single most important book on modern Evangelicalism in the recent years. It is bold, clear, and very wellresearched.”John MacArthurIn this rigorously reported...

  • They Were Soldiers synopsis, comments

    They Were Soldiers

    Joseph L. Galloway & Marvin J. Wolf

    They Were Soldiers showcases the inspiring true stories of 49 Vietnam veterans who returned home from the "lost war" to enrich America's present and future...

  • Birdie Down synopsis, comments

    Birdie Down

    Jim Graham

    The third generation residents of the resourcerich New Worlds are seeking to throw off the yolk of corporate rule. ExResource War veteran, Sebastian Scatkiewicz and his colleague, ...

  • An Improbable Journey synopsis, comments

    An Improbable Journey

    Charles G. Lubar

    An insider’s view on blockbuster dealmaking and part cultural tour de force, An Improbable Journey is a oneofakind, deeply textured account of how some of the greatest artists of a...

  • The Island of Doctor Moreau synopsis, comments

    The Island of Doctor Moreau

    H.G. Wells

    'That black figure, with its eyes of fire, struck down through all my adult thoughts and feelings, and for a moment the forgotten horrors of childhood came back to my mind'Adrift i...

  • Barnaby Rudge synopsis, comments

    Barnaby Rudge

    Charles Dickens & John Bowen

    'One of Dickens's most neglected, but most rewarding, novels' Peter AckroydSet against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780, Barnaby Rudge is a story of mystery and suspense wh...

  • Cambodia Noir synopsis, comments

    Cambodia Noir

    Nick Seeley

    A “sinuous, shattering thriller” (Booklist, starred review) with a heartstopping conclusion about a mysterious American woman who disappears in to the Cambodian underworld, and the...

  • The Evangelicals synopsis, comments

    The Evangelicals

    Frances FitzGerald

    Winner of the 2017 National Book Critics Circle Award National Book Award Finalist Time magazine Top 10 Nonfiction Book of the Year New York Times Notable Book Publishers Wee...

  • Career Paths For The 21st Century synopsis, comments

    Career Paths For The 21st Century

    David Oates & Jim Durcan

    The turbulent changes in corporate culture mean that upwardly mobile managers need more than ever to carve out their own career paths. They must take charge of their personal devel...

  • Anthems We Love synopsis, comments

    Anthems We Love

    Steve Baltin

    "Anthems We Love is not just a tale of artistic adventure, it's also a manual for artists and fans alike. There is no formula. Just these inspiring stories of the heart ....

  • The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories synopsis, comments

    The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories

    Malcolm Bradbury

    This anthology is in many was a ‘best of the best’, containing gems from thirtyfour of Britain's outstanding contemporary writers. It is a book to dip into, to read from cover to c...