Peter T. King
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| Peter King | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 5, 1993– |
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| Preceded by | Robert Mrazek |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | April 05, 1944 (age 63) New York City, New York |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Rosemarie Weidl |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Peter T. King (born April 5, 1944) is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of New York, currently the U.S. Representative for the state's 3rd Congressional District (map).
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[edit] Biography
King was born in New York, New York and grew up in Sunnyside, Queens. He is of Irish descent, with roots in Galway and Limerick. He graduated from Saint Francis College and Notre Dame Law School. King served in the National Guard from 1968 to 1973. King served as comptroller of Nassau County, New York from 1981 to 1993. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for New York Attorney General in 1986, losing to Robert Abrams. King was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992. The 3rd congressional district is made up of middle-class and upper-middle-class communities in eastern Nassau County, such as Hicksville, Levittown, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Farmingdale, Seaford, and Wantagh, as well as some South Shore Suffolk County towns like Amityville, Copiague, Lindenhurst, West Babylon, Babylon, and West Islip. The district also includes the cities of Long Beach and Glen Cove.
He resides in Seaford with his wife, Rosemary. He has two adult children and one grandchild. King's office is located in Massapequa Park. King is the author of the 2004 novel Vale of Tears.
[edit] Political career
Throughout his career, King has been one of the strongest and most outspoken supporters of the Irish Republican Army. During negotiations in 1998, King carried messages between the IRA and the British government. King was instrumental in convincing President Bill Clinton to grant a visa to Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams in 1994. Later that year, at Clinton's urging, King voted to support the federal Assault Weapons Ban. In 1998, King was one of only a few House Republicans to vote against the impeachment of Clinton.
King has thought about running for the United States Senate both in 2000 and 2004 (against Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer respectively) but decided against it both times. He was also mentioned by fellow conservatives as a possible candidate for Governor of New York or county executive of Nassau County.
King is the only Republican congressman left on Long Island, where Republicans once were the majority party. He has been reelected numerous times by large margins despite being a relatively conservative Republican in a district that has trended more moderate to progressive in recent elections. His conservatism is tempered by a "blue-collar appeal" which resonates with the district's many constituents of Irish and Italian descent. He won reelection in 2006 against Democratic challenger Dave Mejias, besting the Democrat by 56-44%.
King is a member of the United States House Committee on Homeland Security. An outspoken individual, he has been a strong advocate for more Homeland Security funding for New York City, although under his tenure as Chairman, New York has lost more funding from the Department of Homeland Security. He was also a strong critic of the Dubai Ports Deal. He made headlines in June 2006 when The New York Times revealed that the Bush administration was tracking financial data through SWIFT, an international banking network. King called on the justice department to investigate the paper for violations of the Espionage Act.
In 2007, King approved of President Bush's call for sending an additional 21,000 troops to Iraq and called anyone who disagreed with the decision "irresponsible."[citation needed]
[edit] Controversy
[edit] Criticism of Policies
In late August 2006, King endorsed racial profiling as a law enforcement tool. He proposed that people of "Middle Eastern and South Asian" descent go through additional security checks due to their ethnicity and religion, saying that all Muslims aren't terrorists but that all recent terrorists are Muslim (Newsday 8/17/2006). King came under fire from civil rights proponents, law enforcement officials, and Newsday's editorial and readers' opinion sections.
King has also been criticized for his staunch support to allow the government to eavesdrop on American citizens without court-authorized wiretaps, for his support for the Iraq war, and his claims that "Iraq is 95% safe". In February 2006, King said that things were blooming in Baghdad and that being in Baghdad was like "being in Manhattan".[1]
[edit] Allegations of Racism
When Congresswoman Maxine Waters appeared on Brian Williams' Meet the Press with King, she repeatedly accused him of racism. She told King not to forget that she knows "something about what you have done. I know how you used my pictures and used me in your campaign. Yeah, you're guilty of racism."[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official House site - U.S. Congressman Pete King
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Profiles:
Record:
Campaign Finance:
Criticism:
[edit] References
- ^ Maxine Waters Defends Ex-Klansman, Attacks GOP'er as Racist Free Republic
| Preceded by Robert J. Mrazek |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 3rd congressional district 1993– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Unknown |
Republican Nominee for New York State Attorney General 1986 |
Succeeded by Bernard C. Smith |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1944 births | Living people | Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York | Roman Catholic politicians | People from Queens | Irish-American politicians | Nassau County, New York politicians | Current members of the United States House of Representatives
