David Joyce (politician)
David Patrick Joyce is an American politician and former prosecutor who has served as the United States Representative for Ohio's 14th congressional district since 2013. An attorney, Joyce was previously the prosecutor of Geauga County, Ohio. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Early life & education
David Joyce was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Irish Catholic family. His father was a coal salesman. In high school, he played football, and considered joining the priesthood. In 1975, Joyce enrolled at the University of Dayton, a Catholic university in Dayton, Ohio, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1979, and later receiving his Juris Doctor.Legal career
From 1983 to 1984 he was a public defender for Cuyahoga County, Ohio and from 1985 to 1988 he was a public defender for Geauga County, Ohio.In 1989, Joyce was hired as an assistant county attorney in Lake County, Ohio. He assisted County Prosecutor Steven C. LaTourette in prosecuting serial murderer and cult leader Jeffrey Lundgren with the Kirtland cult killings.
By 2012, Joyce had been appointed as Prosecutor of Geauga County, Ohio. He had responsibility for prosecuting the Chardon High School shooting of six students, which took place on February 27, 2012. The defendant, Thomas "T.J." Lane, 17 years old at the time of the crime, was ultimately charged as an adult with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted murder, and one count of felonious assault. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2013 to three life sentences without parole.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
;2012In July 2012, U.S. Congressman Steve LaTourette of Ohio's 14th congressional district announced that he would be retiring in 2012, rather than seek re-election. The Republican governor appointed Joyce as the replacement nominee on the Republican ticket.
Joyce ran in the November general election against Democratic Party candidate Dale Virgil Blanchard, Libertarian David Macko and Green Party candidate Elaine Mastromatteo. Joyce won the election with 54% of the vote.
;2014
In February 2013, Roll Call reported that Steve Israel, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, had identified the 14th congressional district as one of the party's top four targets in 2014. The House Majority PAC made Joyce one of its top targets to oust in the 2014 elections.
In 2014, according to one news source, Joyce "survived a grueling primary against a Tea Party-backed candidate," before facing "an equally tough challenge from Michael Wager." Joyce won 63.3% of the vote, with Wager receiving 33% and independent David Macko winning 3.7%.
;2016
Joyce defeated Wager again, 62.6% to 37.4%.
;2018
In April 2017, Betsy Rader, a Democrat, announced that she would be running against Joyce in 2018. Rader is a lawyer who represents victims of employment discrimination. Rader said that she supported "much" of the Affordable Care Act, but said she needed to study health care more as an issue. Rader criticized Joyce for opposing an increase in the minimum wage and for wanting to withdraw federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
In October 2017, Darrell Scott, a pastor involved in President Donald Trump's political operation, and who served as CEO of the semi-official "National Diversity Coalition for Trump" organized by Trump's attorney Michael Cohen, said he would consider a primary challenge to Joyce.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- *Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- *Financial Services and General Government
- Republican Study Committee
Tenure
The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy ranked Joyce as the 29th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio.
In July 2017, Joyce said that political discourse in the U.S. had reached a "vitriolic" level. "I do know there's a level of frustration out there," he said. "But we need to work together. has gotten into this tug-of-war with the national media. Now we're six months into his presidency... and infrastructure improvements, tax changes and healthcare law are not getting covered. They are dealing with the Tweet du Jour... and certainly don't help."
Joyce is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus, Veterinary Medicine Caucus, Climate Solutions Caucus, and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.
;Health care
In July 2017, Joyce expressed the view that the only viable route to a consensus on health care was to take a bipartisan approach. While admitting that Obamacare was "going to fail" he said that the drafting of the GOP's then-current Senate health-care bill was "even worse than how the Affordable Care Act evolved" and that the GOP's House health-care bill "was too partisan" and that there "is nothing in this Senate bill, that is going to bring down the cost of healthcare."
;Jobs
In an August 2013 speech, Joyce said that part of the problem with the jobs issue was that there are "3 million jobs every month in this country that go unfilled." He noted that the Cleveland Plain Dealer had fact-checked this number and had "actually came up with a higher number than 3 million." The trouble, he explained, is that employers "can't find people to come to work sober, daily, drug-free and want to learn the necessary skills going forward to be able to do those jobs."
;Military and intelligence
In March 2016, Joyce emphasized his support for the military and intelligence communities. He noted his votes for the strengthening of the Visa Waiver Program in order to "ensure terrorists with Western passports don't enter our country," for restrictions on transferring Guantanamo detainees, and for enhancements in cybersecurity infrastructure. He said, in summary, that he was "committed to giving our soldiers and our intelligence community all of the resources they need to do the job."
;Immigration and terrorism
Also in March 2016, Joyce said that he had co-sponsored "several bills that ensured refugees underwent stricter scrutiny in order to prevent a Paris-style attack from happening in the United States."
;Transportation
In 2014, Joyce introduced the Safe Streets Act with Congresswoman Doris Matsui. The bill would nationalize transportation "design elements" so that streets would be designed with the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists in mind.
;Cannabis
Joyce has supported a number of congressional efforts to reform cannabis laws. He reintroduced the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment in 2018 to prohibit the Justice Department from spending funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws. He also introduced the STATES Act in 2018 to protect states from federal interference regarding both medical and recreational use. Also in 2018, Joyce signed on to cosponsor the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act. In January 2019, Joyce was named a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.