Stewart, Bennett M. (Bennett McVey), 1912-1988

<p>Bennett McVey Stewart (August 6, 1912 – April 26, 1988) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Illinois.</p>

<p>Stewart was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and baptized at Meridianville PB Church. He attended the public schools in Huntsville and Birmingham. He received a B.A. from Miles College in Birmingham in 1936. He worked as the assistant principal of Irondale High School in 1936. He was an associate professor of sociology at Miles College in 1938. He worked as an insurance executive in 1940, and as the Illinois director for an insurance company in 1950. He served as an inspector of the Chicago Building Department in 1968. He was a rehabilitation specialist for the Chicago Department of Urban Renewal in 1968. He was elected to the Chicago City Council as 21st Ward alderman in 1971, and was elected Democratic ward committeeman of the 21st Ward in 1972. He was reelected alderman in 1975 and reelected as ward committeeman in 1976. He was a delegate to the Illinois State Democratic conventions from 1971 to 1978. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1972 and 1976.</p>

<p>Stewart was elected as a Democrat to the 96th Congress. He failed in his bid for renomination in 1980; Harold Washington, the primary's winner, also won in the general election. Stewart then served as administrative assistant to Mayor Jane Byrne in Chicago from 1981 to 1983. He was a resident of Chicago until his death there at age 75.</p>

<p>Stewart was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He was survived by his wife, two sons, Bennett Jr., and Ronald, a daughter, Miriam Stewart Early, and four grandchildren.</p>

<p>Elected to succeed Representative Ralph Metcalfe after his sudden death shortly before the general election in 1978, Bennett McVey Stewart continued the tradition of African–American representation of Chicago’s South Side that began with the election of Oscar De Priest in 1928. A product of the once–powerful Chicago machine, Stewart never gained a solid footing in his district during his one term in the U.S. House. His re–election defeat in 1980 symbolized the waning influence of the local political organization and marked the end of a historic era of machine dominance in Chicago.</p>

<p>Bennett McVey Stewart was born in Huntsville, Alabama, on August 6, 1912, to Bennett Stewart and Cathleen Jones. He attended public schools in Huntsville and graduated from high school in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1936, Stewart received a B.A. from Miles College, in Birmingham, Alabama. While attending college, Stewart met his future wife, Pattye Crittenden. The couple married in 1938 and had three children: Bennett, Jr., Ronald, and Miriam. From 1936 to 1938 he served as assistant principal of Irondale High School in Birmingham. Stewart returned to Miles College as an associate professor of sociology from 1938 until 1940, when he joined an insurance company as an executive. In 1950 he became Illinois state director for the company, a position he held for 18 years. Stewart’s subsequent position—as an inspector with Chicago’s building department of urban renewal advising property owners on financing renovations—sparked his involvement with politics. Following a path similar to those of other influential African–American politicians in Chicago,Stewart won election to the Chicago city council as an alderman from the 21st Ward in 1971. A year later he was elected Democratic committeeman for the same ward; he held both offices until 1978.</p>

<p>When Representative Ralph Metcalfe died unexpectedly in October 1978, Stewart became a central figure in the power struggle that emerged to fill the vacant House seat. Desperate to regain control of the political scene in Chicago after the death of Mayor Richard J. Daley and the much–publicized falling–out between Metcalfe and the machine organization, the ward committeemen from the Chicago district named Stewart the Democratic candidate for the general election. Recognized as a party loyalist, Stewart resembled previous machine–backed candidates for Congress who had a clear allegiance to the Democratic city organization. Stewart’s candidacy was controversial among many constituents in the predominantly black urban district who had recently grown accustomed to a new style of representation that placed race above local party concerns. Although speculation surfaced that Metcalfe’s son would seek the Democratic nomination, or that black leaders would stage a write–in campaign to re–elect Metcalfe posthumously in order to force a special election, Stewart ultimately prevailed as the Democratic nominee. Stewart was originally slated to run against political novice and shoe salesman Jackie Brown, but Republican leaders, sensing the untested Stewart’s vulnerability, hoped to make a late substitution on the ballot. A. A. (Sammy) Rayner, a former alderman and perennial candidate for the congressional seat, filed suit when the Illinois state board of elections rejected a petition to replace Brown. Rayner eventually won his case, but Stewart proved victorious in the November election, defeating his Republican opponent with 58 percent of the vote. Despite Rayner’s claim of voting fraud, Stewart earned a spot in the 96th Congress (1979–1981) on January 3, 1979, and received a premier assignment on the Committee on Appropriations.</p>

STEWART, Bennett McVey, a Representative from Illinois; born in Huntsville, Madison County, Ala., August 6, 1912; attended the public schools in Huntsville and Birmingham; B.A., Miles College, Birmingham, 1936; assistant principal, Irondale High School, 1936; associate professor of sociology, Miles College, 1938; insurance executive, insurance company, 1940; Illinois director, insurance company, 1950; inspector, Chicago Building Department, 1968; rehabilitation specialist, Chicago Department of Urban Renewal, 1968; elected alderman, Chicago City Council, Twenty-first ward, 1971; elected Democratic ward committeeman, Twenty-first ward, 1972; reelected alderman, 1975; reelected ward committeeman, 1976; delegate, Illinois State Democratic conventions, 1971-1978; delegate, Democratic National Conventions, 1972-1976; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-sixth Congress (January 3, 1979-January 3, 1981); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1980 to the Ninety-seventh Congress; administrative assistant to Mayor Jane Byrne of Chicago, 1981-1983; was a resident of Chicago, Ill., until his death there on April 26, 1988.