| David B. McKinley, PE | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Alan Mollohan |
| Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 3rd district |
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| In office 1981–1994 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | March 28, 1947 Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary |
| Residence | Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Alma mater | Purdue University |
| Occupation | Small business owner |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Website | http://mckinley.house.gov/ |
David B. McKinley (born March 28, 1947) is the U.S. Representative for West Virginia's 1st congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and Chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party.
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After graduating with his B.S. degree in engineering from Purdue University, McKinley worked as a civil engineer for 12 years until founding his own firm, McKinley and Associates, based in Wheeling. The 40-member firm has been involved in $1 billion in construction projects over the past 30 years. Many, if not most, of McKinley's projects have been government funded, which has made for an uneasy peace between McKinley and his 'tea-party' constituents.
McKinley has renovated structures of historic significance in West Virginia communities such as the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling. The venue for years was home to the legendary Jamboree, USA.[1]
McKinley represented the 3rd District in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1981 until 1994. He was a fiscal conservative, opposing virtually every state budget during his 14 years as a lawmaker.[2][3]
From 1990 to 1994, McKinley was chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party. As chairman, he was very critical of West Virginia's two Democratic senators. In 1991, he criticized U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller for running for president against President George H. W. Bush.[4] In 1994, he criticized U.S. Senator Robert Byrd for opposing a Balanced Budget Amendment.[5]
In 1996, McKinley ran for governor, losing in the primary to Cecil Underwood, a former governor who went on to win the general election that year.[6]
McKinley faced Democratic nominee State Senator Mike Oliverio for West Virginia's 1st congressional district, an open seat.[7] McKinley narrowly defeated Oliverio.[8]
McKinley has broken ranks with the Republican majority a few times in his short time in congress. In April 2011, McKinley was one of only four Republican members of congress to vote against Republican budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2012.[15] He explained "As it relates to the Medicare, I applaud what Paul Ryan was trying to do, because we need to have an adult conversation about it. The Congressional Budget Office determined that some of the out-of-pocket costs could double for seniors and that sent up a red flag for me that we need to look at it."[16]
In October 2011, he was the only Republican to vote against all three of the trade deals (Panama, Colombia, and South Korea) passed by congress.[17] He said “Free trade deals like NAFTA and CAFTA have been nothing more than broken promises that shipped our jobs overseas, and I won’t vote for any free trade agreements unless they’re fair to my constituents.”[18]
David McKinley is a seventh-generation resident of Wheeling, West Virginia and father of four children. He has six grandchildren. His wife, Mary, has been a critical care nurse for 39 years. She holds a master’s degree in nursing.[1]
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alan Mollohan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st congressional district January 3, 2011 – present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Billy Long R-Missouri |
United States Representatives by seniority 396th |
Succeeded by Tom Marino R-Pennsylvania |