Thomas B. Evans, Jr.

Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix =
name = Thomas B. Evans,
honorific-suffix = Jr.

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imagesize =
small

office = U.S. Representative from Delaware
term_start = January 3 1977
term_end = January 3 1983
predecessor = Pierre S. du Pont, IV
successor = Thomas R. Carper
birth_date = birth date and age|1931|11|5
birth_place = Nashville, Tennessee
death_date =
death_place =
spouse =
party = Republican
residence = Wilmington, Delaware
alma_mater = University of Virginia
occupation =
profession = lawyer
religion =

Thomas Beverley Evans, Jr. (born November 5 1931) is an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He is a member of the Republican Party, who served three terms as U. S. Representative from Delaware.

Early Life and Family

Evans was born November 5 1931 in Nashville, Tennessee, attended the public schools of Old Hickory, Tennessee and Seaford, Delaware, and graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Virginia in 1947. He then graduated from the University of Virginia in 1953, and the University of Virginia Law School in 1956.

Professional career

Evans was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1956, then engaged in the insurance and mortgage brokerage business in Wilmington, Delaware from 1957 until 1968. He served in the Delaware National Guard from 1956 until 1960, as clerk to the Chief Justice of Delaware Supreme Court in 1955, as director of the Delaware State Development Department from 1969 until 1970, and co-chairman and chief operating officer of the Republican National Committee from 1971 until 1973. He is presently a member of law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Washington, D.C. He also serves as Chairman of the Florida Coalition for Preservation, a not-for-profit organization formed in April 2007 to promote responsible growth and protect coastal barrier islands through the education of the public and other concerned groups.

United States Representative

Evans was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, defeating Democrat Samuel L. Shipley. He won election three times in all, also defeating Democrats Gary E. Hindes in 1978 and Robert L. Maxwell in 1980. During these three terms, he served in the Republican minority in the 95th, 96th, and 97th Congress. He came to the U.S. Congress already a personal friend of U.S. Senator Robert J. Dole, and later became a personal friend of United States President Ronald Reagan. He served on the U.S. House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs and the U.S House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. In all, Evans served from January 3 1977 until January 3 1983, during the administrations of U.S. Presidents James E. Carter and Ronald W. Reagan.

Evans was defeated in his attempt at a fourth term in 1982. This was due in large part to damage his reputation received resulting from a golfing trip scandal in 1980. At that time he was one of three members of the U. S. House of Representatives who went on a golfing trip to Florida. Joining them was Paula Parkinson, a blonde lobbyist in her twenties who later hinted strongly in print that her lobbying techniques could be unusually tactile. Other lawmakers on the trip, including future Vice President Dan Quayle, all escaped with minor injuries to their reputations. Ms. Parkinson had posed nude for "Playboy" magazine and later left Washington.

Public offices

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. U.S. Representatives take office January 3rd, and have a two year term.