Otis G. Pike

Otis G. Pike
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 1st district
In office January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1979
Preceded by	Stuyvesant Wainwright
Succeeded by	William Carney
Personal details
Born	August 31, 1921 (1921-08-31) (age 90) Riverhead, NY
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Doris O. Pike Barbe Bonjour
Residence	Vero Beach, Florida
Alma mater	Princeton University Columbia Law School

Otis Grey Pike (born August 31, 1921) is a retired Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.^[1]

Early life

Pike was born in Riverhead, New York. He served in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific as a Dive Bomber and Night Fighter pilot from 1942 until 1946. He graduated from Princeton University in 1946 and Columbia Law School in 1948.

Public office

Pike was first elected to public office in the Town of Riverhead as a Justice of the Peace then ran for Congress from the 1st Congressional District of New York in 1958, an election which he lost. Two years later, he was elected to Congress in 1960 and represented New York's 1st congressional district from January 3, 1961 until January 3, 1979. As a Democrat, it is interesting to note that the NY 1st Congressional District in that same election gave the Republican candidate for President, Richard Nixon, the highest percentage of votes of any Congressional District in the country. He was a member of the House Armed Services Committee and headed the Congressional Special Select Committee on Intelligence, the House version of the Senate Committee on Intelligence headed by Senator Frank Church. The House of Representatives voted 246-124 to direct that the Pike report not be released if not certified by the President not to contain classified information. However, the report was published by the Village Voice. In his final years in Congress, Pike served on the Ways and Means Committee.

During his nine terms in Congress, he was a proponent of pro-environmental legislation including the creation of the Fire Island National Seashore on Long Island, which now includes the Otis G. Pike Wilderness Area. In early 1965, at a student meeting at Suffolk County Community College, he said that only revolution would result in a change of government in South Africa. At the same meeting, he also stated that "politicians keep their ear so close to the ground that an ant can jump in" referring to their ability to know what their constituents are thinking. He decided not to seek a 10th term in 1978 and retired from Congress in January, 1979.

Post congress

After his retirement from Congress, Pike was a syndicated columnist for Newhouse Newspapers from 1979 to 1999.^[2]

Family

Pike has been married twice. In 1946 he married Doris Orth (1923–1996), with whom he had three children: Lois Pike Eyre, a graphic artist; Douglas Pike, a journalist and one-time congressional candidate;^[3] and Robert D. Pike (1953–2010), an attorney and entrepreneur. In 2002 Pike married Barbe Bonjour. They reside in Vero Beach, Florida, where he continues to practice his favorite hobby, boating.

Notes

1. ^ http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/pike.html
2. ^ PIKE, Otis Grey, (1921 - )
3. ^ http://voices.washingtonpost.com/politics/blog-network/2010/05/politicspa_pike_concedes_endor.html/

Sources

• Otis G. Pike at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Stuyvesant Wainwright	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 1st congressional district 1961–1979	Succeeded by William Carney

Persondata
Name	Pike, Otis G.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 31, 1921
Place of birth	Riverhead, NY
Date of death
Place of death