Daniel P. Gordon
Daniel P. Gordon Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from the 71st district | |
| In office January 4, 2011 – January 4, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | John J. Loughlin, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Dennis Canario |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 12, 1969 |
| Died | March 25, 2017 (aged 47)[1] |
| Party | Republican (until 2011) Libertarian (2011–2017) |
| Alma mater | Marine Corps Institute |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1987–1991 |
Daniel Peter Gordon Jr. (April 12, 1969 – March 25, 2017) was an American politician and construction contractor. Gordon was a Libertarian member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Gordon was elected as a Republican Representative in November 2010 for the 71st District, defeating Democratic candidate George S. Alzaibak.
In September 2011 he was expelled from the Republican caucus for allegedly making derogatory comments about other Republicans online.[2] Gordon changed his party affiliation from Republican to Libertarian, becoming the only Libertarian Party member in any United States legislature during that time.
Background
Gordon was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania. He served in the United States Marine Corps.[3]
Rhode Island House of Representatives
2010 Election
Gordon decided to run as a Republican for Rhode Island's 71st house district, based in Jamestown, Portsmouth, and Little Compton, when Republican State Representative John J. Loughlin, Jr. retired from that position to run for Rhode Island's 1st congressional district, which had been vacated by retiring Democrat U.S. Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.
Gordon became the Republican nominee and narrowly defeated Democratic nominee George Alzaibak 50.4–49.6%, a difference of just 47 votes.[4][5]
Controversies
In March 2011, he received media attention over a controversial comment on an online article reporting that Tiverton High School started the school's first Gay-Straight Alliance. His comment read "And this is why if I have anything to say about it, Tiverton will lose school funding to local charter schools. It doesn't matter if gay or straight, if sexual meet-up groups are being promoted in our schools rather than improving test scores, that school is failing. Is it really more important for our children to get 'sexed-up', than learning advanced math?". [6][7]
On September 16, 2011, Gordon was arrested on a Massachusetts warrant for failure to appear in court.[7] This arose from an incident in 2008 in which, allegedly, a Massachusetts state trooper attempted to stop Gordon for driving erratically and Gordon fled in his car, eventually being apprehended on a dead-end street. Gordon was charged with leaving the lane of travel, failing to stop for the police, driving an unregistered motor vehicle, and driving on a suspended license. He then failed to appear in court in 2008. These charges were dismissed after Gordon paid $1000 and spent a year on probation. [8][9]
2012 Election
Gordon ran for re-election in the November 6, 2012 election as a Libertarian, but failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot.[10] He ran as a write-in candidate, but lost the election to Democrat Dennis Canario by a wide margin, thus leaving no Libertarians in any state legislature in the country.[11]
Death
Gordon died on March 25, 2017.[3]
References
- ^ "Former R.I. Rep. Dan Gordon dies at age 47".
- ^ "Rep. Gordon expelled from GOP caucus". wpri.com. September 8, 2011. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ^ a b "Daniel Peter Gordon Jr. – View Obituary & Service Information". TheWoodMortuary.com.
- ^ "RI State House 71 Race". Our Campaigns. Nov 2, 2010. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "State of Rhode Island Election Results : Representative in General Assembly District 71". Ri.gov. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ Amaral, Keith (2011-03-28). "Tiverton High School Senior Starts School's First Gay-Straight Alliance – Schools – Tiverton-Little Compton, RI Patch". Tiverton.patch.com. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b McGee, Sandy (2011-09-18). "State Rep. Dan Gordon Arrested As 'Fugitive From Justice,' Held at ACI – Government – Portsmouth, RI Patch". Portsmouth.patch.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ O'Connor, Kevin. "Irascible RI Rep. Dan Gordon gets probation, fine on Mass. charges". wickedlocal.com. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "RI rep. to pay $1k in court fees; charge dropped". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ [1] Winger, Richard. "Incumbent Legislator Tries to Run for Re-election as a Libertarian"] Ballot Access News November 29, 2012 (Volume 28, Number 6)
- ^ "REPRESENTATIVE IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 71". RI.gov. State of Rhode Island. Retrieved 15 March 2026.