PD Tribute of Roger Tracy
Cleveland
Plain Dealer, EDITORIAL PAGE COLUMN, Sunday, September 30, 2007
Columbus Republican Roger W. Tracy dies after a lifetime in Ohio's political arena
By Thomas Suddes
Plain Dealer Columnist
Journalism's most dangerous words are "first," "last," "most" and "least." But Columbus Republican Roger W. Tracy, who died last week at age 69, could have starred in Reader's Digest's one-time feature, "The Most Unforgettable Character I've Met."
Mr. Tracy, Republicans' 1970 and 1974 nominee for state auditor, was tax commissioner in Gov. George V. Voinovich's 1991-99 Cabinet. Earlier, Mr. Tracy had been an Ohio House member and a Franklin County (Columbus) auditor and commissioner.
Mr. Tracy also figured in some of Ohio's more titanic political feuds, not only inside his own party, but also with Democrats, notably a political dynasty that rivaled his own, the Ferguson family.
Mr. Tracy; his late father, Roger W. Tracy Sr.; and his late grandfather, Joseph T. Tracy, held public office in Ohio from just after World War I until this era's Mr. Tracy - a member of the State Personnel Board of Review - died on Wednesday.
Joseph Tracy was elected state auditor in 1920, and was re-elected every four years until Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 Democratic landslide. The Democrat who ousted him, on his fourth try for statewide office, was Joseph T. "Jumpin' Joe" Ferguson, from the Perry County hamlet of Shawnee. The ensuing Ferguson-Tracy duel became the equivalent, in Ohio politics, of the Hatfields and McCoys.
In 1940, Mr. Ferguson (his "foreign policy" was "beat Michigan") fended off a re-election challenge from Joseph Tracy. Then, in 1944 and 1948, Mr. Ferguson also defeated Mr. Tracy's son - Roger Tracy Sr. - when the younger Mr. Tracy also ran for auditor.
The senior Roger Tracy was elected state treasurer in 1950, a job he held until 1958, when he lost it to a Democrat - Jumpin' Joe Ferguson. In 1962, Roger Tracy Sr. finally won back his father's auditorship, but he died in 1964.
The political instinct endures among thoroughbreds, so it was no surprise that Roger W. Tracy, the Roger Tracy who died last week, ran for auditor in 1970 - against Joe Ferguson. He lost then, and again in 1974. The Democratic victor? Joe Ferguson's son, Thomas E. Ferguson, of suburban Columbus, who held the job through 1994.
In the 1980s, Mr. Tracy landed Franklin County offices. Then - depending on which version of the story you cotton to - he inherited, picked a fight with, or was picked on, by people who buy ink by the truckload - another dynasty, Central Ohio's Wolfe family, which owns the Columbus Dispatch and much, much else. That's the sort of battle few officeholders, and just about no Republican, can win.
Because politics was the Tracy family's business, and because Mr. Tracy himself had run statewide, he was witty, smart, (relentlessly) emphatic and extremely well-read. With gusto and zest, Mr. Tracy collected and shared an outstanding fund of Ohio political lore - and pithy insights.
With all due respect to Mr. Tracy, there will be as many laughs as tears as his mourners recall him, because his manner was legendary. You might not have agreed with Roger Tracy, but there was no doubting where he stood on a given issue or a given campaign on a given day. And when he pinned a word-play nickname on somebody, you knew someone had won an Oscar in his Academy of Disdain.
As a loyal ally or an implacable foe, Roger W. Tracy was larger than life. Like all of us, though, he couldn't dwarf mortality. But as Mr. Tracy's countless friends well know, the Reaper - now probably nicknamed something like "the Creeper" - is having to hear about it.
Columbus Republican Roger W. Tracy dies after a lifetime in Ohio's political arena
By Thomas Suddes
Plain Dealer Columnist
Journalism's most dangerous words are "first," "last," "most" and "least." But Columbus Republican Roger W. Tracy, who died last week at age 69, could have starred in Reader's Digest's one-time feature, "The Most Unforgettable Character I've Met."
Mr. Tracy, Republicans' 1970 and 1974 nominee for state auditor, was tax commissioner in Gov. George V. Voinovich's 1991-99 Cabinet. Earlier, Mr. Tracy had been an Ohio House member and a Franklin County (Columbus) auditor and commissioner.
Mr. Tracy also figured in some of Ohio's more titanic political feuds, not only inside his own party, but also with Democrats, notably a political dynasty that rivaled his own, the Ferguson family.
Mr. Tracy; his late father, Roger W. Tracy Sr.; and his late grandfather, Joseph T. Tracy, held public office in Ohio from just after World War I until this era's Mr. Tracy - a member of the State Personnel Board of Review - died on Wednesday.
Joseph Tracy was elected state auditor in 1920, and was re-elected every four years until Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 Democratic landslide. The Democrat who ousted him, on his fourth try for statewide office, was Joseph T. "Jumpin' Joe" Ferguson, from the Perry County hamlet of Shawnee. The ensuing Ferguson-Tracy duel became the equivalent, in Ohio politics, of the Hatfields and McCoys.
In 1940, Mr. Ferguson (his "foreign policy" was "beat Michigan") fended off a re-election challenge from Joseph Tracy. Then, in 1944 and 1948, Mr. Ferguson also defeated Mr. Tracy's son - Roger Tracy Sr. - when the younger Mr. Tracy also ran for auditor.
The senior Roger Tracy was elected state treasurer in 1950, a job he held until 1958, when he lost it to a Democrat - Jumpin' Joe Ferguson. In 1962, Roger Tracy Sr. finally won back his father's auditorship, but he died in 1964.
The political instinct endures among thoroughbreds, so it was no surprise that Roger W. Tracy, the Roger Tracy who died last week, ran for auditor in 1970 - against Joe Ferguson. He lost then, and again in 1974. The Democratic victor? Joe Ferguson's son, Thomas E. Ferguson, of suburban Columbus, who held the job through 1994.
In the 1980s, Mr. Tracy landed Franklin County offices. Then - depending on which version of the story you cotton to - he inherited, picked a fight with, or was picked on, by people who buy ink by the truckload - another dynasty, Central Ohio's Wolfe family, which owns the Columbus Dispatch and much, much else. That's the sort of battle few officeholders, and just about no Republican, can win.
Because politics was the Tracy family's business, and because Mr. Tracy himself had run statewide, he was witty, smart, (relentlessly) emphatic and extremely well-read. With gusto and zest, Mr. Tracy collected and shared an outstanding fund of Ohio political lore - and pithy insights.
With all due respect to Mr. Tracy, there will be as many laughs as tears as his mourners recall him, because his manner was legendary. You might not have agreed with Roger Tracy, but there was no doubting where he stood on a given issue or a given campaign on a given day. And when he pinned a word-play nickname on somebody, you knew someone had won an Oscar in his Academy of Disdain.
As a loyal ally or an implacable foe, Roger W. Tracy was larger than life. Like all of us, though, he couldn't dwarf mortality. But as Mr. Tracy's countless friends well know, the Reaper - now probably nicknamed something like "the Creeper" - is having to hear about it.
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