Wheat, Alan, 1951-

<p>Alan Dupree Wheat (born October 16, 1951, San Antonio, Texas) is an American politician from the state of Missouri.</p>

<p>His father was James Wheat, an officer and civil engineer in the U.S. Air Force. His mother Emogene (Jean) Wheat was a teacher. Since his father served in the USAF, he grew up in air bases and went to schools in Wichita, Kansas, and Seville in Spain. In 1968, he graduated from Airline High School in Bossier City, Louisiana. Wheat was hired by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as an economist in 1972 after passing his B.A. in economics at Grinnell College, in Iowa. Between 1973 and 1975 he joined the Mid–America Regional Council in Kansas City for the same role. In 1975 he then became an aide to Mike White a Jackson County, Missouri, executive. In 1976, he won the election to the Missouri general assembly, at the age of 25 and stayed there until 1982.</p>

<p>When Congressman Richard Walker Bolling had to retire after the 1982 House of Representative election, Wheat won the Democratic primary by only 1,004 votes (11%). He went on to win the general election to succeed Bolling by beating Republican John Sharp with 58% of the votes.</p>

<p>After United States Senator John Danforth said he would not run for re-election in the 1994 election, Wheat chose to leave the House and instead run for Danforth's seat. Wheat lost the general election to former governor John Ashcroft. Karen McCarthy was elected to succeed him in the House.</p>

WHEAT, Alan Dupree, a Representative from Missouri; born in San Antonio, Bexar County, Tex., October 16, 1951; attended elementary schools in Wichita, Kans., and in Seville, Spain; graduated from Airline High School, Bossier City, La., 1968; B.A., Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, 1972; economist; legislative aide to county executive, Jackson County, Mo.; elected, Missouri general assembly, 1977-1982; delegate, Missouri State Democratic convention, 1978; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-eighth and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1983-January 3, 1995); was not a candidate for reelection in 1994, but was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate.

<p>Alan Wheat’s rare appointment as a freshman Member to the prestigious House Committee on Rules shaped his congressional career. “Rules gave me the opportunity to immediately start making an impact on the House of Representatives,” the Missouri Representative once remarked. “Perhaps not so much as a sponsor of legislation but being able to have an impact on legislation as it came through the committee.” During his six terms in Congress, Wheat used his position on the influential panel to skillfully represent a broad constituency in his majority–white Missouri district. Known for his ability to forge alliances between African–American and white groups, Wheat wielded considerable political clout by working within the institution to push through legislation important to his district and the Democratic Party.</p>

<p>Alan Dupree Wheat was born in San Antonio, Texas, on October 16, 1951, to James Wheat, an officer and civil engineer in the U.S. Air Force, and Emogene (Jean) Wheat, a teacher. Wheat grew up on military bases and attended schools in Wichita, Kansas, and Seville, Spain, before graduating from Airline High School in Bosier City, Louisiana, in 1968. After earning a B.A. in economics from Grinnell College, in Iowa, Wheat joined the Department of Housing and Urban Development as an economist in 1972. He worked in the same capacity for the Mid–America Regional Council in Kansas City from 1973 to 1975. Wheat then served as an aide to Jackson County, Missouri, executive Mike White in 1975 and 1976 and won election to the Missouri general assembly in 1976 at age 25. Wheat served three terms in the Missouri state legislature, where he chaired the urban affairs committee. On August 11, 1990, Wheat married Yolanda Townsend, a lawyer; the couple had two children: Christopher and Nicholas. Wheat also had another daughter, Alynda, from a previous relationship.</p>

<p>When longtime Missouri Representative Richard W. Bolling announced his retirement in August 1981, Wheat joined seven other candidates in the Democratic primary to represent the majority–white, predominantly Democratic district encompassing much of Kansas City, including the downtown area, and Independence, Missouri, hometown of President Harry S. Truman. The only African–American candidate in the crowded field, Wheat narrowly earned the Democratic nomination, with 31 percent of the vote. He went on to win the general election against Republican Missouri State Representative John Sharp, with 58 percent of the vote, by appealing to middle– and working–class voters with his criticism of President Ronald W. Reagan’s economic policies and his promise to continue the legislative agenda of Representative Bolling. Wheat became the first African–American Member to represent Kansas City and the second black Representative in Congress from Missouri.</p>