Steve Rothman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Steve Rothman | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 7, 1997– |
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| Preceded by | Robert Torricelli |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | October 14, 1952 (age 54) Englewood, New Jersey |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jennifer Beckenstein |
| Religion | Jewish |
Steven R. "Steve" Rothman (born October 14, 1952 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American Democratic Party politician, who is a member of the United States House of Representatives for New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District (map). First sworn into the United States Congress on January 3, 1997, he now is serving his fifth two-year term in office and serves as Assistant Minority Whip. Rothman also sits on the powerful Committee on Appropriations in the House. He attended Washington University Law School.
Before being elected into congress, Rothman served as Mayor of Englewood for two terms (1983-1989), a Bergen County Surrogate Court Judge (1993-1996), and practiced law as a private attorney while providing free legal services to the poor, disabled, and elderly (1978-1993). Rothman now lives in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
Rothman defeated Republican Kathleen Donovan to win election to Congress in New Jersey's 9th District in 1996, replacing Representative Robert Torricelli, who was elected to the Senate.
In Congress, Rothman has been a supporter of Israel and a Middle Eastern peace plan. Locally, Rothman helped secure money for improving transportation and relieving highway congestion, improving local homeland security, police and firefighting technology, improving education, providing relief to the unemployed, and sponsoring a bill to stop large airplanes from taking off at Teterboro Airport because of the excessive noise in residential areas. Rothman is also credited for saving the New Jersey Meadowlands from urban construction and securing millions of dollars for the protection and study of the environment and wildlife.
Rothman strongly opposes President George W. Bush's tax-cut]] plans, his health care issues, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil drilling plan, and various other Republican Party and Bush Administration backed plans. Rothman earned an F from the ideologically conservative National Taxpayers Union in 2004.[1]
Rothman received a "C" on the Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues.[2]
Rothman has a lifetime rating of 82.54% with Progressive Punch, which ranked him as the 162nd most Progressive member of Congress. [3] He is listed by Congress.org as the 107th most powerful person in the House of Representatives and the 104th most powerful Democrat. [4] According to the National Journal, Rothman has a composite liberal score of 82.[5]
Rothman was featured on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, in Stephen Colbert's part nine of the "Better Know A District" segment which highlighted Rothman and New Jersey's 9th District, and originally aired on January 12, 2006.
On August 18, 2006, Rothman married Jennifer Beckenstein, the community affairs coordinator at the Center for Food Action in Englewood, New Jersey. The couple met through JDate, an online dating website for Jewish singles.[6] Between them, Rothman and Beckenstein have five teenage children and two dogs, who plan to live in Rothman's home, which is being expanded to accommodate the blended family.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ National Taxpayers Union Rates Congress 108th Congress: 2nd Session, 2004, accessed June 22, 2004
- ^ Congress at the Midterm: Their 2005 Middle-Class Record, accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ Progressive Punch's Rating for Steve Rothman, accessed March 26, 2006
- ^ Congress.Org's Rating for Steve Rothman accessed March 26, 2006
- ^ National Journal Composite Ratings accessed March 26, 2006
- ^ Rothman ties the knot, The Hill, September 6, 2006
- ^ Biography of Congressman Steven Rothman, accessed December 13, 2006
[edit] External links
- Rothman's official Congress Website
- Votes Database from The Washington Post
- Total Raised and Spent - 2006 RACE: NEW JERSEY DISTRICT 9
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Robert Torricelli |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 9th congressional district 1997-Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
