Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-OH, Dies at 58

Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress, died Wednesday after a brain hemorrhage. She was 58.

Tubbs Jones was in her car about 9 PM Tuesday in Ohio when a police officer spotted her driving erratically. When the car stopped, the officer found Tubbs Jones unconscious but breathing. She was rushed to Huron Hospital in East Cleveland. She died at 6:12 PM, after suffering a brain hemorrhage caused by a burst aneurysm.

The five-term congresswoman represented the heavily Democratic 11th District and chaired the House Ethics Committee. She was the first black woman to serve on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, where she opposed President Bush’s tax cuts and his efforts to create personal accounts within Social Security.

"Stephanie Tubbs Jones was a gifted trailblazer with a spirit as big as the city she loved," Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern said in a statement. "Her incredible legacy will never fade from our memories."

Tubbs Jones, also a strong opponent of the Iraq war, voted in 2002 against authorizing the use of military force there. She was one of only 11 House members to oppose a resolution supporting U.S. troops in Iraq. After the 2004 election, she also made headlines for her claims in the House that electoral fraud and manipulation led to Bush’s re-election.

Tubbs Jones was a staunch supporter of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during the primaries and was supposed to be a superdelegate at next week’s Democratic National Convention. She said Barack Obama could not win the White House unless Clinton’s supporters rallied behind him, and that Obama should consider the former First Lady as a running mate.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports on the tributes pouring in from around Northeast Ohio and the United States for the prosecutor-turned-congresswoman.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, praised Tubbs Jones as a “tremendously vibrant presence in the halls of Congress.” 

“She believed in all the best things about our nation,” Pelosi said, “and was a tireless force for justice, equality and opportunity.”

Hillary and Bill Clinton said Tubbs Jones was "one of a kind" and "unwavering, indefatigable."

Obama called her "an extraordinary American and an outstanding public servant."

"It wasn’t enough for her just to break barriers in her own life," Obama said. "She was also determined to bring opportunity to all those who had been overlooked and left behind — and in Stephanie, they had a fearless friend and unyielding advocate."

"Our nation is grateful for her service," President Bush said, citing her work in "helping small businesses, improving local schools, expanding job opportunities for Ohioans, and ensuring that more of them have access to health care."