| Michael Forbes | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 1st district |
|
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | George J. Hochbrueckner |
| Succeeded by | Felix Grucci |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 16, 1952 Riverhead, New York |
| Political party | Republican (until July 17, 1999) Democratic (since July 17, 1999) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Michael Patrick Forbes (b. July 16, 1952, Riverhead, New York) is a politician from the state of New York.
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Michael Patrick Forbes was born on 16 July 1952 in Riverhead, New York. Forbes graduated from the SUNY Albany. Forbes worked as an assistant for Republicans U.S. Sen. Al D'Amato and U.S. Rep. Connie Mack. Forbes was also heavily involved with Camp Agawam of Raymond, Maine.
In 1994, Forbes ran for the House of Representatives as a Republican. He defeated incumbent George Hochbrueckner by six percentage points. Forbes got a seat on the powerful Appropriations committee, unusual for a freshman representative, due to his ties with new House Speaker Newt Gingrich. In December 1996, Forbes announced he wasn't going to vote for Gingrich for speaker. Forbes voted for Rep. Jim Leach instead. Forbes supported the Clinton impeachment.
On July 17, 1999, Forbes switched to the Democratic Party. Forbes was promised financial support from House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt and Bill Clinton.
Forbes became a target for the Republican party and Democrats who had run against Forbes had become hostile to him. Forbes' only opponent was a 71-year-old librarian, Regina Seltzer. Seltzer won a court ruling halting state Democratic Party ads for Forbes.
In the primary election, Seltzer won the primary election by 35 votes. Seltzer was defeated by Republican Felix Grucci, who was then defeated in 2002 by Democrat Tim Bishop, who remains the incumbent. Forbes is married to Barbara Forbes and has four children: Sam, Max, Ted, and Abby.
In recent years Forbes has worked in public relations, opening his own firm. He also has blogged for the Huffington Post [1]
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George J. Hochbrueckner |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 1st congressional district January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 |
Succeeded by Felix Grucci |