Eric Minamyer

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Eric Minamyer

Eric Minamyer (born June 26, 1953) is an attorney who was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Congress to replace Rob Portman in the Second District of Ohio in the special primary held June 14, 2005 who finished in fifth in a field of eleven. Minamyer campaigned on defending the Second Amendment and his service in the Iraq War, noting he was the only candidate with military experience. He also advocated a balanced budget amendment and lower taxes and said he would work against recognition of same-sex marriage. Minamyer also called for a Constitutional amendment "guaranteeing the right to display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings and for public prayer" and noted he had begun a policy of opening trustee meetings with prayer.

Minamyer, a resident of Symmes Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, is Symmes Township trustee and a retired captain in the United States Navy. Minamyer was born in Salem, Ohio and received a BA in history from the University of Akron in 1975. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy but resigned because of a football injury. He earned his J.D. from American University in 1978 and his LL. M. from Georgetown University in 1982. He also graduated from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Academy, finishing first in his class.

Minamyer was an aide to Ohio Congressman Charles Whalen. He was an attorney in private practice with several firms before opening his own in 1997. Minamyer was a member of the board of education of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Hamilton County, Ohio from 1990 to 1996, resigning to take his seat on the Symmes Township Board of Trustees. He was re-elected a trustee in 1999 and 2003.

Minamyer was in the Naval Reserves from 1971 to 2004. When on active duty he served in the JAG Corps, "prosecuting murderers, rapists and child molesters as well as spouse abusers", as he wrote on his campaign site.

He and his wife, Debra L. Minamyer, have two daughters and three sons. Two of them are in the service on active duty, both in the Middle East.

[edit] Involvement in Ohio Special Election

During the Ohio Second Congressional District Election, 2005 Democrat Paul Hackett faced off against Republican Jean Schmidt. Minamyer falsely suggested that Hackett, an Iraq War veteran, wasn't actually in combat. Minamyer later retracted his statements and stopped writing on his blog until the election was over.