Shamansky, Robert Norton, 1927-2011

<p>Shamansky, who’d graduated from Ohio State and Harvard Law School before the Army, threw himself into his profession, going to work in 1954 for Troy Feibel, Jim’s father. He also started to make money: His brother was in construction, a perfect fit for a real estate lawyer looking to buy and sell property. It was a lucrative partnership.</p>

<p>His entry into politics surprised no one, Jim Feibel says. Shamansky dared to take on longtime Republican congressman Sam Devine in 1966, though he had virtually no shot at the seat. He lost, but didn’t lose the taste for politics, Feibel says: “That was Bob.”</p>

<p>He came back for more in 1980 and in an upset for the ages defeated Devine, becoming the first Democrat to represent Columbus in Congress in 41 years. He did himself no favors in his term by taking on the tobacco lobby, but his real mistake, Feibel says, was endorsing someone other than Vern Riffe, then the most powerful man in the Statehouse, for governor.</p>

<p>Robert Norton Shamansky (April 18, 1927 – August 11, 2011) was an American Democratic politician and attorney from the state of Ohio. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for a single term from 1981 until 1983. "Shamansky's life was marked by hardship, Jewish pride and tilting at windmills".</p>

<p>Shamansky was born in 1927 in Columbus, the son of Sarah (Greenberg) and Harry Solomon Shamansky. He attended Bexley High School. He was a 1947 graduate of Ohio State University and a 1950 graduate of Harvard Law School. He was subsequently admitted to the bar in 1950. He was also a Special Agent in the United States Army's Counter Intelligence Corps from 1950 until 1952. He joined the Army as a private and was initially stationed in Georgia, followed by duty at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.</p>

<p>In 1966, Shamansky ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, he lost to Republican incumbent Samuel L. Devine.</p>

<p><b>RACES</b>
<ul>
<li>11/07/2006 OH District 12 Lost 42.70% (-14.60%)</li>
<li>05/02/2006 OH District 12- D Primary Won 43.39% (+12.54%)</li>
<li>11/02/1982 OH District 12 Lost 47.28% (-3.19%)</li>
<li>11/04/1980 OH District 12 Won 52.56% (+5.12%)</li>
<li>11/08/1966 OH District 12 Lost 35.83% (-28.34%)</li>
<li>05/03/1966 OH District 12 - D Primary Won 51.28% (+2.57%)</li>
</ul>
</p>

SHAMANSKY, Robert Norton, a Representative from Ohio; born in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, April 18, 1927; attended the public schools; B.A., Ohio State University, Columbus, 1947; LL.B., Harvard University, 1950; served in the United States Army Counter-Intelligence Corps, special agent, 1950-1952; admitted to Ohio bar in 1950 and commenced practice in Columbus; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1966 to the Ninetieth Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-seventh Congress (January 3, 1981-January 3, 1983); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1982 to the Ninety-eighth Congress; resumed the practice of law; died on August 13, 2011, in Bexley, Ohio.