Former Congressman Bob Franks '73 Dies at Age 58

April 11, 2010

April 11, 2010, Greencastle, Ind. — "Former U.S. Rep Bob Franks, a longtime Republican strategist credited with engineering the resurgence of the GOP and nearly becoming governor, was remembered today by friends and colleagues as being a brilliant tactician and a natural candidate," reports the Newark Star-Ledger today. Franks, a 1973 graduate of DePauw and member of the University's Board of Visitors, died Friday night after battling an aggressive form of cancer. He was 58 years old.

"Bob was one of a kind," says Jon Corzine, a Democrat who defeated Franks in a 2000 U.S. Senate race and later as New Jersey governor partnered with the Republican, says Franks was"smart, compassionate and principled, he touched the lives of countless New Jerseyans. Everyone who knew him will miss his relentless optimism. Those of us who were on the other side of the political aisle always knew that we shared with Bob a common sense of humanity and decency. I'm proud to have called him a friend.''

Praising Franks for his willingness to work with the opposing party, former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean, a fellow Republican, notes, "Looking at today's political scene, there's nobody like him. He loved the sport of politics, but he also thought politics was there for better government."

"While we served together in Congress, Bob was a major force for an effective reform oriented team," says former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. "With his help in 1994, through the Contract with America, we gained the first House Republican majority in 40 years. In recent years we worked together on health care policy in effort to lower costs and keep jobs in New Jersey. Bob will be deeply missed by the many people he touched."

Robert D. Franks twice served as New Jersey's state Republican chairman and spent 14 years in the State Assembly before being elected to the 7th district Congressional seat in 1993, and subsequently served four terms in the House.  He lost a close Senate race to Corzine in 2000, receiving more votes than any Republican candidate running for statewide office in New Jersey in 28 years. He was serving as president of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey.

"It is fashionable to look down on politicians as venal and corrupt, without exception," writes the Newark Star-Ledger's Tom Moran. "I have always regarded this as nonsense. And when I argue the point, Bob Franks is my trump card. Everyone respected him. A state legislator, a Congressman, and GOP chairman, his integrity was somehow beyond dispute. And what a gentleman."

Articles can be found in the Star-Ledger, New York Times and Asbury Park Press.

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