Clay Shaw obit

Former U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw dies at 74

 

He was not on the list.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Former U.S. Rep. E. Clay Shaw has died following a lengthy battle against lung cancer. He was 74.

Shaw’s family says in a statement that he died Tuesday night at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale.

Shaw, a Republican, spent 26 years in Washington with his terms spanning four presidents between 1981 and 2007.

As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Human Resources subcommittee, Shaw authored the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. He also led the effort to eliminate the Social Security Earnings Penalty on working seniors.

Shaw was born in Miami and was elected mayor of Fort Lauderdale in 1975.

He is survived by his wife Emilie, four children and 15 grandchildren. He will be buried in Cuba, Alabama.

Shaw was born in Miami, Florida. He graduated in 1957 from Miami Edison Senior High School. He received a bachelor's degree in business in 1961 from Stetson University in Florida, where he joined Sigma Nu fraternity, a master's degree in accounting in 1963 from the University of Alabama, and a law degree in 1966 from Stetson University School of Law. Shaw married the former Emilie Costar on August 22, 1960.

After graduating, Shaw practiced law and worked as a certified public accountant. In 1968, he became assistant city attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was chief city prosecutor from 1968 to 1969 and an associate municipal judge from 1969 to 1971.

Shaw was the city commissioner from 1971 to 1973 and vice mayor 1973 to 1975. He then served as mayor of Fort Lauderdale from 1975 to 1981. During his tenure as mayor, Shaw served on the advisory board and executive committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, was president of the National Conference of Republican Mayors, and was named special U.S. ambassador to Papua New Guinea by President Gerald Ford.

The Republican politician who served as mayor of Fort Lauderdale and represented South Florida in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 until 2007. He was defeated for re-election by Ron Klein in 2006.