Rob Simmons

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Rob Simmons

United States Representative from Connecticut's 2nd district
In office 2001-(term ends 2007)
Preceded by	Sam Gejdenson
Succeeded by	Incumbent₁

Born	February 11, 1943 New York City, New York
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Heidi Simmons
Religion	Episcopalian
₁Joe Courtney defeated Simmons in the 2006 elections and will replace him in the House on January 3, 2007.

Robert Ruhl Simmons (born February 11, 1943), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the 2nd Congressional District of Connecticut (map). He was defeated by Democratic challenger Joe Courtney in the 2006 elections by a razor-thin margin of about 90 votes.

Born in New York City, Simmons was educated at Haverford College and served in the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency. In the Army, after leaving active duty, he led the 434th Military Intelligence Detachment associated with Yale University, and in this capacity led the writing of the first-ever "Open Source Intelligence Guide for the Military Intelligence Officer." This achievement led to the nomination, and selection, of his unit as the best small unit in the U.S. Army Reserve, and his promotion to full Colonel.

Later he became a staff member for Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island, and then the Staff Director for the Senate Selection Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) then under the Chairmanship of Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), during which time he learned a great deal about Senate oversight of illegal intelligence activities. Leaving the Senate staff, he became both a teacher of political science at the college level, and a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives before entering the House, defeating ten-term Democratic incumbent Sam Gejdenson by only 3,000 votes. Despite being in the most Democratic GOP-held seat in the nation and being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as a possible pickup, Simmons fought off a challenge from Democrat Joe Courtney in 2002, winning 54%-46%.

In 2004, Simmons defeated Democrat Jim Sullivan, winning 54%-46%.

In 2005, the NRCC listed Simmons as one of their most vulnerable members and his seat was widely seen as a possible Democratic pickup in 2006. Courtney was once again the Democratic nominee in 2006 and the race was considered a toss-up.

On election night Simmons trailed his challenger, Joe Courtney, by 167 votes out of over 242,000 votes cast. This margin was small enough to trigger an automatic recount under Connecticut law. During this recount, elections officials discovered several errors in the original vote. The recount concluded on November 14th, giving Courtney a 91 vote victory over Simmons. [1] As Simmons fared far better than other vulnerable Republican incumbents it is speculated he may try for a political comeback in 2008, which he did not rule out in conceding the 2006 election to Courtney.

Simmons is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and has been involved in issues concerning the district's major defense presence at the Electric Boat submarine shipyard in Groton and the nearby Naval Submarine Base New London. In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) targeted the U.S. Navy's New London submarine base for closure. Simmons was among the many Connecticut politicians who urged the BRAC to reverse their proposal to close the base, which the BRAC did on August 24, 2005.

Simmons is also on the House Homeland Security Committee, and in his first assignment as a Chairman, as Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment, has broken with the conventional wisdom in Washington, and become the foremost proponent in Congress for giving all state and local authorities free open source software for sharing, collaborative work, and desktop analytics, modeled after STRONG ANGEL, the program to create the same free tools for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) who must share unclassified information with U.S. forces in the transition to and from hostilities. Simmons is also the champion for Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) on the Hill, and has sponsored hearings that have led to the draft Smart Nation Act that he developed in consultation with various OSINT authorities.

Simmons' views on OSINT and free/open source software are available online as the Forewords to two books by Robert David Steele, the first being INFORMATION OPERATIONS: All Information, All Languages, All the Time (OSS International Press, 2005) and THE SMART NATION ACT: Public Intelligence in the Public Interest (OSS International Press, 2006). Simmons also wrote the Foreword to the draft Special Operations Forces Open Source Intelligence Handbook sponsored by the John F. Kennedy School at Fort Bragg.

Simmons is a member of various liberal/moderate Republican organizations such as The Republican Main Street Partnership, Republicans for Choice, The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Environmental Protection and It's My Party Too. He was endorsed for re-election by Planned Parenthood.

Simmons is closely aligned with fellow Vietnam War veteran, Arizona Senator John McCain. McCain, visited Connecticut on November 3, 2000, just before the election, to campaign for Simmons, a factor in Simmons' upset victory that election. [2]

Simmons is married to the former Edith Heidi Paffard. They have a son and daughter.

[edit] External links

[edit] External links regarding his district

Connecticut Conservative Interview with Simmons

Preceded by: Sam Gejdenson	United States Representative for the 2nd Congressional District of Connecticut 2003-Present	Succeeded by: Incumbent