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Name: Edward Gaylord Grayson
Date of Birth: April 11th, 1943
Born: Honolulu, Hawaii
Residence: Stratford, Connecticut
Marital Status: Married (to Victoria Dempsey)
Political Party: Democrat
Religion: Roman Catholic
Education:
United States Air Force Academy, B.S., Mechanical Engineering
Professional History:
United States Air Force (1965-1977)
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, (1977-1990)
Connecticut State Senator for Senatorial District 21, (1984-1992)
United States Representative for Connecticut's District 4 (1992-1993)
Secretary of the Treasury (1995-1997)
United States Representative for Connecticut's District 4 (1997-2003)
Biography:
Edward Grayson was born to Lieutenant Paul Grayson (USN) and his wife Betty in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 11th, 1943. Although his father died near the end of the war, Edward's lack of a father during his formative years never detered him from improving his lot in life. After graduating from the Air Force Academy, Ted served with distiction in Vietnam as a F-100 and F-4 pilot, running Wild Weseal missions for several tours until the very end of the Vietnam War. After returning from war, Grayson returned stateside to the Connecticut area, his mother's childhood home, and was employed by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation as a test pilot for 13 years till his retirement in 1990.
A lifelong Democrat, Grayson was approached by the Connecticut Democratic Party to run for a vacant State Senate seat in his local district, which he won in a hard-fought election against the Republican candidate. As State Senator, he was known for his moderateness and willingness to work across the aisle with Republicans - a trait that earned him a reputation as the go-to guy when bi-partisan appeal was necessary. After several terms in office, Ted was once again urged to run for higher office; this time against 4th District Congressman Christopher Shays in 1990. Although losing the election to Shays, Grayson was undeterred and sooned geared up to challenge the incumbent Congressman again in 1992. With most pundants calling for Shays to win re-election, Grayson shocked the political world with his .01% victory over Shays in 1992. After serving half a term in Congress, Grayson unexpectedly developed a rare form of breast cancer and resigned his seat to undergo treatments to combat the cancer.
After successfully having his cancer go into remission in mid-1994, Grayson retired back to his home in Connecticut to spend more time with his family. One year later, President Clinton chose Grayson as his next Secretary of Treasury nominee after the resignation of Secretary Morey. After a tumultuous time as Treasury Secretary, Grayson had once again decided to fade into the limelight at the end of the Clinton administration, but was yet again called to run for office once more - again for his old seat in in the 4th District. Though not as difficult of a race as in 1992, now former Secretary Grayson worked hard and eventually defeated his opponent with a healthy 54% victory. After a quiet, if not uneventful, two terms in the House, Grayson decided to retire from politics, leaving Congress for the last time to return home to Connecticut.
Ted currently lives in Stratford, Connecticut with his wife of 18 years, Victoria, his daughter, Blair, and his son, Paul Jr.
