Jeb Bradley

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Jeb Bradley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 1st district
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	John Sununu
Succeeded by	Carol Shea-Porter
Born	October 20, 1952 (1952-10-20) (age 55) Rumford, Maine
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Barbara Bradley
Religion	Episcopalian

Joseph E. "Jeb" Bradley (born October 20, 1952) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for the New Hampshire's 1st congressional district from 2003 to 2007.

Contents 1 Education and career prior to Congress 2 New Hampshire legislature 3 U.S. House of Representatives 3.1 2002 and 2004 elections 3.2 Political positions 3.3 Committees 4 2006 re-election campaign 5 2008 election campaign 6 Personal 7 Election history 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Education and career prior to Congress

Bradley was born in Rumford, Maine to Joanne and Joseph Edmund Bradley, Jr.^[1] He attended Tufts University, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts^[2] with a major in sociology.^[3] He once lived in Switzerland and worked as a street magician, returning in 1981 to New Hampshire, where he later opened an organic grocery called Evergrain Natural Foods.^[4] He and his wife sold the natural foods store in 1997. He also ran a painting business. Most recently, he managed real estate. He lost to Carol Shea-Porter in the 2006 elections.^[3]

[edit] New Hampshire legislature

Bradley was elected to the Wolfeboro Planning Board in 1986; three years later, he was named to the Budget Committee. He was a registered Democrat until that year, when he switched to the Republican party.^[3]

Bradley won a seat in the New Hampshire House in November 1990 and was re-elected five times. In the legislature, he sponsored the Clean Power Act, which set limits on power plant emissions. He was chairman of the Science, Technology and Energy Committee, as well as the Joint Committee on Ethics.^[5]

[edit] U.S. House of Representatives

[edit] 2002 and 2004 elections

Bradley was first elected to Congress in 2002, winning the Republican nomination in a field of eight candidates, for the seat left vacant when Republican incumbent John E. Sununu ran for the Senate. He defeated Democrat Martha Fuller Clark in the general election, winning with 58% of the vote.^[3] In 2004, Bradley defeated political newcomer Justin Nadeau of Portsmouth^[3] to win a second term, receiving 67% of the vote.^[6] Bradley outspent Nadeau 3 to 1.^[7]

Bradley's chief of staff, Debra J. Vanderbeek, ran his 2004 campaign. Tom Anfinson, the financial administrator in Bradley’s government office, said that Vanderbeek was paid 100 percent of her salary until the end of May 2004, 80 percent between June and September, and 50 percent between October and early November. Bradley’s re-election committee paid her $13,561 in salary for the campaign, which she failed to report as outside income to the Clerk of the House, plus $3,317 in reimbursements for un-itemized campaign expenses.^[8]

In that 2004 campaign, two of his children, Sebastian and Noel, were paid a total of almost $27,000 in salary and expenses. Both were recent high school graduates; their jobs were described as "field coordinators".^[9]

[edit] Political positions

Members of the media, colleagues and opponents described Bradley as a moderate in the Republican Party when he was elected in 2002.^[10][11] However, others point to areas and positions that might complicate this label. He supported the war in Iraq, Medicare Part D the prescription drug subsidy, reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, overseas abortion legislation, $5 billion dollar subsidy for the Chinese nuclear program, yet opposed President Bush's energy bill. He has cosponsored bills to loosen regulations on embryonic stem cell research.^{[citation needed]}

Bradley's current memberships include: Christine Todd Whitman's It's My Party Too!, The Republican Main Street Partnership, The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Choice and Republicans for Environmental Protection.

In 2004, Bradley said he opposed gay marriage, but was not sure he'd support amending the U.S. Constitution to bar it.^[12] Despite this, Bradley voted in favor of the 2006 "Same Sex Marriage Resolution",^[13] which would have amended the Constitutional requiring that marriage "shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman."^[14]

Bradley opposed an increase in the national minimum wage during his time in Congress.^[15]

Bradley, who has visited Iraq three times, has been a supporter of the Iraq War.^[16] In January 2006 he said "It is not possible to predict exactly when stability in Iraq will occur, but the progress is significant."^[17] In June 2006 he said that he did not support a specific timetable for withdrawing American troops from the country, but that he saw signs of progress that the United States would be able to leave "sooner rather than later".^[18] In August 2006 he said that Iraq needed a stable government and more security forces before the United States could set a withdrawal date.^[19] In October 2006 he said "I look at the fact that Iraq has become central to the war on terror", and "We have got to achieve stability in Iraq and prevent it from becoming a launching pad for terrorists."^[20]

Jeb Bradley's support for the war in Iraq is believed to have contributed to his loss in New Hampshire, a state where Democrats swept the state legislature and both U.S. House seats.

[edit] Committees

Bradley served on the Armed Services, Budget, Veterans' Affairs and Small Business committees.^[5]

[edit] 2006 re-election campaign

Bradley sought a third term in 2006. He defeated Michael Callis in the Republican primary on September 12, 2006, winning 87% of the vote.^[21] Bradley faced Democrat Carol Shea-Porter and Libertarian party candidate Dan Belforti in the November 2006 general election. In what was considered an upset, Bradley lost his bid for relection to Shea-Porter.

Bradley and Shea-Porter met October 24 for a debate sponsored by WMUR-TV and the New Hampshire Union Leader,^[22][23] and debated again on October 31.^[24]

[edit] 2008 election campaign

In January 2007 Bradley announced his intention to reclaim his former seat. He said he'd made up his mind a few days after his loss. [1]

[edit] Personal

Bradley currently resides in Wolfeboro, NH. He and his wife Barbara have four children: Jan, Ramona, Urs and Sebastian. An avid rock climber, Bradley has ascended all of New Hampshire's 48 4,000-foot peaks and is a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club's Four Thousand Footer Club.^[5]

Bradley has a portfolio of stocks and bonds worth of over $5 million. In October 2006 he said putting his personal investments in a blind trust may be a "good idea", and that he was going to look into that option.^[20]

[edit] Election history

Year	Office	Election		Subject	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%
2002	Congress, District 1	General		Jeb Bradley	Republican	128,993	63.34		Martha Fuller Clark	Democratic	85,426	38.48		Dan Belforti	Libertarian	7387	3.33
2004	Congress, District 1	General		Jeb Bradley	Republican	204,836	63.34		Justin Nadeau	Democratic	118,226	36.56
2006	Congress, District 1	General		Jeb Bradley	Republican	95,538	48.61		Carol Shea-Porter	Democratic	100,837	51.31

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Campaign Website

• Jeb Bradley at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
• Bradley's votes on the issues, Issues2000.org
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Jeb Bradley profile

Preceded by John E. Sununu

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 1st congressional district 2003–2007

Succeeded by Carol Shea-Porter