Donald "Buz" Lukens
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Donald Edgar "Buz" Lukens (born February 11, 1931) in Middletown, Ohio, was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio.
Lukens was born in Harveysburg, Ohio. He attended schools in Harveysburg and graduated from high school in Waynesville, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree from Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) in 1954. After finishing college, Lukens joined the U.S. Air Force, reaching the rank of captain after six-and-a-half years of active duty. Remaining a member of the Air Force Reserve, in 1961 Lukens accepted a job as minority counsel for the Republican staff of the House Rules Committee.
In 1966, Lukens won a seat in the United States House of Representatives, defeating Democrat James H. Pelley. He began serving in the House in 1967 (90th Congress). In 1968, Lukens won re-election, defeating Democrat Lloyd D. Miller. Lukens chose not to run again for the House seat in 1970. Instead, he made a run for Governor of Ohio. However, Lukens lost the Republican primary to Roger Cloud, who went on to lose the general election to Democrat John J. Gilligan.
Lukens then was elected to the Ohio Senate, serving as a state senator from 1971 to 1986. In 1986, incumbent U.S. Rep. Thomas N. Kindness did not stand for re-election for his seat (Kindness unsuccessfully tried to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. John Glenn. Lukens ran to replace Kindness and defeated perennial Democratic candidate John W. Griffin. Lukens started serving this term in 1987 (101st Congress). In 1988, Lukens won re-election, defeating Griffin once again.
On February 1, 1989, an Ohio television station caught Lukens on camera at a Columbus, Ohio, McDonalds restaurant talking with the mother of a 16-year-old African-American girl. Lukens had been engaged in a sexual relationship with the girl while paying her mother. Refusing to resign from his seat, despite the demands of the Republican leadership, Lukens lost in the 1990 Republican primary to John A. Boehner. While serving out the remaining months of his term, an Capitol elevator operator accused him of fondling her. Lukens resigned from Congress on October 24, 1990, and was convicted of the misdemeanor of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
In 1995, he was charged with five counts of bribery and conspiracy related to actions he took while in Congress. He was convicted in March 1996 after a second trial.
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