John E. Sweeney

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John Sweeney
John E. Sweeney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 20th district
In office
1999 - 2007
Preceded by Gerald B.H. Solomon
Succeeded by Kirsten Gillibrand
Born August 9, 1955
Troy, New York
Political party Republican
Spouse Gaia Sweeney
Religion Roman Catholic

John E. Sweeney (born August 9, 1955) is a former politician from the U.S. state of New York. A Republican, he represented New York's 20th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from January 1999 to January 2007. He was defeated for reelection in November 2006 by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.

Contents

[edit] Early life and education

Sweeney was born in Troy, New York. He graduated from Troy's Lansingburgh High School in 1973. He received an associate's degree from Hudson Valley Community College in 1978 and a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice from the Sage College of Albany in 1981. In 1991, he received a J.D. from Western New England College School of Law.

[edit] New York politics

Sweeney was the Executive Director & Chief Counsel of the New York Republican Party from 1992 to 1995, and New York State Commissioner of Labor under Governor George Pataki from 1995 to 1997.

[edit] Congressional career

[edit] Election to the U.S. House of Representatives

Sweeney was elected to the House in 1998, winning with 55 percent of the vote over Democrat Jean Bordewich. The seat became open when veteran Republican Representative Gerald B.H. Solomon retired. Solomon, who, along with Pataki was a strong supporter of Sweeney, appeared in advertisements for his successor and campaigned vigorously for him.[1]

Prior to the election, Sweeney moved from Cohoes, which is outside the district, to Speigletown, to run for the seat.[2]

[edit] Re-elections

In 2000, Sweeney defeated Democrat Kenneth McCallion, receiving 68 percent of the vote. In 2002, he defeated Frank Stoppenbach, getting 73 percent of the vote. In 2004, he defeated Doris F. Kelly, receiving 66 percent of the vote.

[edit] Political positions and actions

Sweeney is classified as a Libertarian Conservative by the non-partisan group On The Issues.[3]

In late 2006, he attempted to distance himself from his record of supporting the Bush Administration.[4] He votes in support of the positions of the Christian Coalition 69% of the time.

Sweeney opposes gun control. He has voted for prayer in public schools on numerous occasions and the National Education Association gives him only an 18% approval rating.[3]

Sweeney strongly supports escalations to the "War on Drugs". He sponsored legislations that would create mandatory drug testing for all federal employees, and legislations that would ban all research pertaining to legalization of drugs. [2] He consistently voted to use federal agents to arrest, prosecute, and imprison medical marijuana patients in states where voters or legislators have extended protections to patients.[5]

Sweeney supported human embryonic stem cell research. He voted for allowing federal funding for international abortion groups, but has also voted against similar funding.[6]

Sweeney voted for making it a federal crime to transport minors across state lines for an abortion. His record is 90% anti-abortion. [3]

He opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment, but supported a ban on adoptions by gays or other individuals who are not related by blood or marriage (HR 2587).

On economic matters, Sweeney supported free trade and tax cuts, as well as social security privatization.

Sweeney opposed environmental protections and was given a "D" grade by EANY for opposing GE dredging of PCB aka Polychlorinated biphenyl from the Hudson River.[3][7]

In 2001, Sweeney voted against a bill that would require increasing average fuel efficiency standards and offer incentives for alternative fuel vehicles. (Bill HR 4).

Sweeney received an "F" on the Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle class issues.

[edit] Campaign contributions

According to EMILY's List, Sweeney has taken more campaign contributions from special interests than any other of New York's 29 Representatives.[8]

Sweeney was also the seventh largest recipient of contributions from lobbyists out of all 435 House representatives in the 2006 election cycle. [3]

[edit] 2006 re-election campaign loss

Main article: New York 20th congressional district election, 2006

In August 2006, Sweeney's allies filed successful challenges against signatures on Libertarian challenger Eric Sundwall's ballot petitions, resulting in Sundwall's name being removed from the general election ballot.

Sweeney lost the general election on November 7, 2006 to Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand with 47% of the vote.

[edit] Controversies

In September 2006, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a left-leaning think tank, released its second annual report on members of Congress with ethics issues, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)". Sweeney was one of the 20. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from a ski trip to New York, the exchange of legislative assistance for campaign contributions and the hiring of his wife as a campaign fundraiser" [9]

[edit] Role in Florida recount in 2000

During the 2000 election, Sweeney helped to stop the third recount in Miami, [10] possibly leading to his nickname from President Bush, "Congressman Kickass." He led the charge in November 2000 on the Miami-Dade elections commissioners by urging the Bush supporters to "shut it down!"; they then banged on the election commission's doors and the commissioners stopped the third recount.[11] Sweeney used the words "thugs" to describe the Florida officials involved in the recount. He defended his possible commission of federal crimes in connection with the incident by stating his intent was only to stop the canvassing board's withdrawal from public view., and that his actions were "completely and absolutely legitimate."[12]

[edit] January 2001 automobile accident

On the night of January 23, 2001, around 10:00 p.m., Sweeney lost control of his 2001 Jeep Laredo and hit a utility pole on a rural upstate road, shutting down power to the homes of several residents and to the nearby Willard Mountain ski resort, stranding skiers aloft on the chairlifts. Sweeney was not charged or ticketed, and the state trooper on the scene refused the offer by a volunteer-fire-department chief to send a crew to the site to direct traffic (instead, a local resident did this, for an hour and a half, with downed and live electrical wires about). In early February, a local newspaper reported that Sweeney had been in a bar before the crash. Witnesses came forward to insist that Sweeney had only one or two glasses of wine. The newspaper noted that Sweeney was not given a sobriety test by the state trooper on the scene.[11]

[edit] 2001 trip to North Marianas Islands

In January of 2001, Sweeney traveled with Tony C. Rudy, an associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, to give a speech to the Saipan Chamber of Commerce in the Commonwealth of North Marianas Islands, home of numerous garment sweatshops. It is currently being investigated whether Sweeney violated congressional ethics by not revealing who paid for his trip [4].

Sweeney has asserted that the North Marianas Islands government paid for his trip, although the government has disputed this claim and denied paying for the trip.

[edit] Wife as fundraiser

On April 11, 2003, Sweeney began paying a company called Creative Consulting for fund-raising. The company had been founded a day earlier by Gaia (goes by the name Gayle) Ford. Between April 2003 and December 2003, Sweeney's campaign paid $42,570 to the firm. Sweeney proposed to Ford in September 2003 [13] and married her in 2004.

Sweeney spokeswoman Melissa Carlson said the congressman considers his wife "his best representative in the district when he's fund-raising." She said Ford, who had no previous fund-raising experience, receives a 10 percent commission on whatever she raises. Between January 2005 and April 2006, Ford was paid $30,879. Sweeney also has had a fundraising consultant on monthly retainer since June of 2004, who is paid $8,583 a month.

Ford also works for Powers & Company, the lobbying firm of former state GOP Chairman William Powers, Sweeney's longtime political ally and onetime boss.[14]

[edit] Congressional Winter Challenge

The Winter Challenge was started in 1998 by Sweeney's House predecessor, Gerald Solomon, with the declared purpose of showcasing the Olympic facilities at Lake Placid, New York to congressmen and their staffers in hopes of getting federal funds; Sweeney has hosted the annual event since 1999.

In January 2006, Sweeney, his wife, and about 60 other people spent a four-day weekend at the facilities, competing against each other in skating, downhill skiing and bobsledding events. The group included Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX), a close friend of Sweeney[15] and his wife; and aides to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Representative Randy Kuhl (R-NY), and Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI).[16][17] The weekend cost the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) $27,500 plus in-kind services it provided plus the costs of operating the Olympic venues for the competition (exact figures for the latter two were unavailable).[18] ORDA is a part of the New York State government.[19]

[edit] Issue of who decided who would be invited

In the fall of 2005, the House ethics panel told Sweeney in a letter that he should be careful to let the Olympics groups invite guests to avoid the appearance of an endorsement by the House.[16]. "Once the ORDA and the U.S. Olympic Committee — without your involvement — have issued an initial invitation to House members and staff to take part in the trip, you may send a follow-up to that invitation", the ethics panel, known formally as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, wrote to Sweeney.[19]

Invitations to the event officially come from ORDA and the U.S. Olympic Committee, a nonprofit group chartered by Congress. ORDA says the impetus for the event comes from the U.S. Olympic Committee. The U.S. Olympic Committee said it's really Sweeney's event.[16] Three committees of the NY State Assembly have launched investigations of the Challenge, focusing on whether public money was put to good use. ORDA President Ted Blazer, speaking at one such hearing, said Sweeney’s office helped assemble lists of possible invitees to the event.[19]

Documents show that at least eight members of Congress, all Republicans, were also invited to attend the 2006 event but declined.[19]

[edit] Issue of official business

The official invitation for the event read: "While this trip has proven itself to be an enjoyable one for delegation members in the past, it is, nevertheless, an official trip authorized by the House and Senate Ethics Committees . . . intended to provide an opportunity for Members of Congress and Congressional staff to inspect and evaluate the manner in which federal funds have been used to strengthen the area's tourism industry."[16]

Despite the House ethics rule requiring all travel paid by others to relate to members' official duties, and the ethic panel's letter that said that recreational activities must be "merely incidental to the trip", Sweeney has said that the panel said "it's perfectly appropriate for me to promote the event."[19]

[edit] Issue of lobbyists

The group attending the event included at least 15 registered lobbyists, including Pete Card, a former staffer of Sweeney's and the brother of former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, and Lisi Kaufman, a lobbyist for United Technologies Corporation, the sister of Andrew and Pete.[20][16][17] In his request to the House ethics committee, Sweeney did not ask about lobbyists.[21] A spokesman for ORDA said he does not know why the lobbyists were invited.[17]

Seven of the lobbyists had contributed a total of $12,400 to Sweeney's campaign in 2005.[22]

[edit] April 2006 fraternity party

On April 22, 2006, Sweeney reportedly appeared at a registered party at the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity of Union College. Witnesses reported that, after leaving a bar, he appeared to be intoxicated.[23] Photographs and videos captured some of the events.[24] Sweeney denied being drunk and denied drinking at the party. His spokeswoman pointed out that Sweeney had been advised not to drink alcohol because of medication for vasculitis. A friend of Sweeney who accompanied him to the party denied that Sweeney was drunk or slurring his words and that he drank only half of a glass of wine prior to the party.[25]

[edit] Domestic violence report

On October 31, 2006, the Albany Times Union reported that it had obtained a document stating that "[t]he wife of U.S. Rep. John Sweeney called police last December to complain her husband was 'knocking her around' and during a late-night argument at the couple's home." The responding officers filed a domestic incident report. The report states that Sweeney grabbed his wife "by the neck" and pushed her around the house. [26]

On November 2, 2006, the Albany Times Union reported that on October 31, John and Gaia Sweeney said they would give the New York State Police permission to release a report about the incident. They said that the report was inaccurate but have not denied the contents.[5]. On November 17, 2006, the Times Union reported that there were two versions of the domestic violence report that had been prepared by the state police, one lacking details, and that the original report had been removed from the standard files.[27]

[edit] Personal

Sweeney has three children from his first marriage. He lives in Clifton Park, New York with his second wife. He has been suffering significant health issues for some time, and is trying to quit smoking.[28][29]

Sweeney's father was the leader of a shirt-cutter's union in Troy.[30]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Jonathan P. Hicks, "New York's Congressional Freshmen Are New to the House, but Not to Politics", New York Times, November 7, 1998
  2. ^ Joseph Crowley, "New Faces in the Congress", New York Times, November 4, 1998
  3. ^ a b c d John Sweeney on the Issues. OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  4. ^ O'Brien, Tim (2006-06-11). Race is framed by ties to Bush. Albany Times-Union. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  5. ^ Hinchey-Rohrabacher Roll Call Vote, 2006. SafeAccessNow.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-01.
  6. ^ H.R. 4691: To prohibit certain abortion-related discrimination in governmental activities (Abortion Non-Discrimination Act of 2002). Library of Congress (2002-09-30). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  7. ^ Hudson River PCB Report Card. Environmental Advocates of New York (2003-02-05). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  8. ^ Insider News (Taking control in 2006). EMILY's List (2006-05-19). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  9. ^ CREW summary of ethics issues of Sweeney, September 2006
  10. ^ Robert Parry, "Bush's Conspiracy to Riot", Consortium for Independent Journalism, August 5, 2002
  11. ^ a b Michael Tomasky, "Pol Versus Pole", New York Magazine, March 19, 2001
  12. ^ Timothy Noah, "Sweeney and the Siege of Miami", Slate Magazine, November 28, 2000
  13. ^ [1] Newsday, September 18, 2003
  14. ^ Elizabeth Benjamin, "For politicians, family ties can include payroll: Sweeney's wife is among the ranks of relatives on legislators' staffs", Albany Times-Union, May 8, 2005
  15. ^ "Judy Holland, On the Hill, the sound of silence: John Sweeney, still reeling from re-election loss to Kirsten Gillibrand, fails to show for votes", Albany Times-Union, December 10, 2006
  16. ^ a b c d e Breidenbach, Michelle (2006-03-26). Congressmen, staff, lobbyists share a winter weekend on public's dime. Syracuse Post-Standard. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  17. ^ a b c Guess who came to dinner; guess who paid. Syracuse Post-Standard (2006-03-30). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  18. ^ Rauch, Ned P. (2006-07-11). Legitimacy of ORDA event questioned. PressRepublican.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  19. ^ a b c d e Schor, Elana (2006-07-18). State Assembly questions funding of Sweeney’s trips to Lake Placid. The Hill. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  20. ^ Karlin, Rick (2006-06-21). Capitol Confidential - Yes, There Will Be News In July. Albany Times-Union blog. Retrieved on 2006-07-23.
  21. ^ Benjamin, Elizabeth (2006-07-11). Capitol Confidential - ORDA/NYPA Et Al. Albany Times-Union blog. Retrieved on 2006-07-23.
  22. ^ Thompson, Maury (2006-04-03). Sweeney ski guests contributed $12,400 to his re-election campaign (web page Google cached). The Post-Star. Retrieved on 2006-07-23.
  23. ^ Tomlin, John (2006-04-27). Congressman Sweeney socializes with students. Concordiensis (Union College newspaper). Retrieved on 2006-07-23.
  24. ^ Benjamin, Elizabeth (2006-04-27). Capitol Confidential - Party Hearty. Albany Times-Union blog. Retrieved on 2006-07-23.
  25. ^ Kiel, Paul; Rood, Justin (2006-05-01). The Daily Muck - Grand Ole Partier?. TPM Muckraker. Retrieved on 2006-07-23.
  26. ^ Lyons, Brendan (2006-10-31). Congressman's wife called 911. Albany Times Union. Retrieved on 2006-10-31.
  27. ^ Lyons, Brendan J. (2006-11-17). Bid to 'lock up' Sweeney report described. Albany Times Union. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
  28. ^ Benjamin, Elizabeth (2006-03-30). Capitol Confidential - Circling Sweeney. Albany Times-Union blog. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  29. ^ Holland, Judy (2006-06-18). Sweeney urged to elect to kick smoking habit. Albany Times-Union. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  30. ^ James Dao, " Pataki Picks New Labor and Utility Chiefs", New York Times, January 7, 1995

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Gerald B.H. Solomon		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 22nd congressional district
1999–2003		 Succeeded by
Maurice D. Hinchey
Preceded by
Benjamin A. Gilman		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 20th congressional district
2003–2007		 Succeeded by
Kirsten Gillibrand
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../j/o/h/John_E._Sweeney_93d2.html"