Jay Rockefeller, the last member of his family’s political dynasty and its only Democrat to hold major elected office, has died at 89.
He died on Thursday night at his home in Washington, DC, according to Mary Stewart, vice president for external affairs at WETA, the public broadcasting station where his wife Sharon serves as president and CEO.
Rockefeller came from one of America’s richest families but spent half a century in public service in West Virginia, one of its poorest states. He arrived in 1964 as a worker in the Volunteers in Service to America anti-poverty program, and was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates as a Democrat in 1966. He later served as the state’s secretary of state and then as governor for two terms, from 1977 to 1985.
He won a US Senate seat in 1984 and served 30 years in the Senate, winning five terms before retiring in 2015.
In the Senate, he chaired the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and also headed the Veterans’ Affairs and Intelligence committees. He authored the 1997 legislation that created the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which helps poor families whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid. He later said he regretted his 2002 vote to authorize the war in Iraq.
Tributes followed from West Virginia leaders. Governor Patrick Morrisey said Rockefeller helped shape the state and left a lasting mark on generations of West Virginians. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who won his Senate seat when he retired in 2014, called him “a true gentleman” who treated her with respect, kindness and encouragement.
Source: CNN
