Jim Graham

Jim Graham
Like former Mayor Anthony A. Williams, Graham is known for his bow ties.
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 1
In office 1999–2015
Preceded by	Frank Smith
Succeeded by	Brianne Nadeau
Personal details
Born	(1945-08-26) August 26, 1945 (age 71) Wishaw, Scotland

Jim Graham (born August 26, 1945) is a Scottish-born American politician and a former member of the Council of the District of Columbia. He is a Democrat who represented Ward 1 in Washington, D.C. from 1999–2015.

Graham's parents, neither of whom had high school degrees, settled in Hyattsville, Maryland after immigrating to the United States from Scotland. A graduate of Michigan State University where he was a student politician and vice president of the National Student Association, Graham received a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center. He was a clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren and held a staff attorney position with the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (chaired by Senator Abe Ribicoff, D-Connecticut). He is experienced in private, agency and public interest law. Graham has served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and George Washington University, as well as supervising instructor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Graham is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to taking a seat on the city council, Graham was executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, a non-profit organization that provides services to AIDS and HIV patients in Washington. He is a recovering alcoholic and "came out" as gay after leaving federal employment.