the retirement of 16-year incumbent Republican Bud Hillis. However, the Republican nominee, State Senator James Butcher, was wounded from a fractious Republican primary, allowing Jontz to win narrowly. He was handily reelected in 1988, but faced much stiffer competition in 1990. Jontz was a progressive Democrat, which seemingly made him an odd fit for his mostly rural north central Indiana district, centering on Kokomo and Logansport. He relied on two key strategies for his congressional elections. First, he embraced a very personal style of populist politics that included frequent appearances in every community in his district. Secondly, Jontz assembled a highly talented and dedicated staff of individuals to work with him, and later many of them-including Tom Sugar, Mike Busch, and Kathy Altman-held prominent government positions. Jontz was narrowly defeated in 1992 by Steve Buyer, an Army officer, Persian Gulf War veteran, and lawyer making his first bid for office. Committee assignments During his six-year tenure, he held committee memberships on the House Agriculture, Education and Labor, Veterans Affairs, and Select Committee on Aging. He also championed the preservation of the ancient forests in the Pacific Northwest, and worked to foster collaborations between organized labor and environmentalists. 1994 U.S. Senate election Jontz attempted to return to Washington in 1994 by challenging three-term Senator Dick Lugar. He lost to Lugar by more than 600,000 votes, and even lost his old congressional district. Post-congressional career Following his 1994 defeat, Jontz subsequently moved to Portland, Oregon in 1999, where he began working as Executive Director for the Western Ancient Forest Campaign. In 1999, Jontz helped organize the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment (ASJE). While with WAFC, Jontz built a grassroots organizing campaign which pushed aggressively to protect forests, remove federal subsidies that financed clearcutting, and preserve millions of acres of previously unprotected roadless areas in National Forests. During his tenure with WAFC, he travelled extensively around the country forming relationships with state and local forest protection groups. As a result, Jontz was revered by forest activists throughout North America. In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jontz participated in acts of civil disobedience — including blocking a logging road in the Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon — to raise awareness about the plight of ancient forests. These acts were hailed by forest advocates as further proof that Jontz was one of the greatest leaders of the modern environmental movement. In