Chris Carney
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| Chris Carney | |
| Image:Chris Carney.jpg
| |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Don Sherwood |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
| Born | March 2 1959 Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jennifer Carney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Christopher P. "Chris" Carney (born March 2, 1959) is a professor and Congressman of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. He is the first Democrat to represent the district since January 1961. The district, located in Northeastern Pennsylvania, includes Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties outside of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre (communities such as Clarks Summit and the Back Mountain towns of Trucksville and Shavertown) as well as all or most of Bradford, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Pike, Union, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming Counties.
Carney is also an associate professor of political science at Penn State Worthington-Scranton, where he has taught since 1992.
Carney got his bachelor's degree from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, received his masters from the University of Wyoming, and completed his Ph.D in political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their five children in Dimock Township in Susquehanna County.
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[edit] Congressional career
Carney serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security Committees.[1][2] In January 2007, Carney was named Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight, a surprising achievement for a freshman Congressman.[3][4]Carney also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Highways and Transit Subcommittee and he was named Vice Chairman of theEconomic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee.[5]
[edit] Military service
[edit] The Naval Reserve
A Lieutenant Commander in the United States Naval Reserve, Carney served multiple tours overseas and was activated for operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle. He was direct commissioned as an Ensign in 1995. He served as Senior Terrorism and Intelligence Advisor at the Pentagon.
He is the recipient of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three joint Service Achievement Medals, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. His awards also include the Naval Rifle Marksman ribbon and the Naval Pistol Expert Medal.
In September of 2007, Congressman Carney went on active duty with the Navy for his two weeks of service as a Lt. Commander in the reserves. On active duty, Carney will be working on the "Predator" project near Norfolk, VA.[23]
[edit] 2006 Congressional campaign
When Carney entered the race for the 10th, he was initially considered an underdog against Republican incumbent Don Sherwood. The 10th had been in Republican hands since 1961, and had been made even more Republican when the state legislature cut out heavily Democratic Scranton in an effort to protect Sherwood. The four-term incumbent had barely defeated Democrat Patrick Casey in his bid to succeed popular 36-year incumbent Joe McDade in 1998, and narrowly defeated Casey in a 2000 rematch. However, he hadn't faced major-party opposition since the 10th was redrawn.
However, revelations of Sherwood's five-year-long extramarital affair, along with allegations of abuse, severely hampered Sherwood's reelection chances in a district that has always been socially conservative. Carney also garnered the endorsement of 30 labor unions.[6] In the election, Carney defeated Sherwood, 53% to 47%.
Carney took moderate positions during his campaign. For example, while opposing proposals to privatize Social Security, he said he is open to the idea of adding private accounts in addition to (not at the expense of) traditional defined benefits.[7][8][9]. He supports federal investment in stem cell research[10], and is an advocate of universal healthcare[11]. He opposes gun control, does not favor abortion (but supports family planning and "comprehensive reproductive healthcare"), opposes gay marriage ,and opposes equal legal rights for homosexual Americans[12]. He supports estate tax reduction.[13][14]
During the campaign, Carney raised money with a wide-variety of supporters including Sen. Barack Obama, Sen Joe Biden[15], Rep. Jay Inslee[16], Rep. Jack Murtha[17], and Richard Perle, a leading Bush Administration advocate of war with Iraq who more recently has criticized the decision to go to war[18] Douglas Feith, another Pentagon hawk, congratulated Carney on Election Night.[19]
Carney did make change of direction in Iraq policy a cornerstone of his campaign, often choosing to decry the Bush Administration's failure to properly support the military or to properly plan for the war.[20] However, Carney is not enthusiastic about investigations of pre-war intelligence. “The more energy spent on answering Congressional investigations, the less time will be spent on winning the war,” he said.[21] From 2002 to 2004, Carney served as a counterterrorism analyst for the Bush administration, under Douglas Feith in the Office of Special Plans, developing links between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.[22]
On May 3, 2007, Carney voted with 166 Republicans against the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 , even though the Pennsylvania delegation (including 4 Republicans) voted 14-4 in favor.
[edit] 2008 Re-election Campaign
In his 2008 bid for re-election, Carney will likely face tough opposition on the Republican side from a host of would-be GOP nominees including Northumberland County official Don Ely, Luzerne County businessman Dan Meuser, Pike County Commissioner Harry Forbes, Luzerne County businessman Chris Hackett, Luzerne County businessman Paul Swiderski, or Lackawanna County Consultant and Fmr. GOP nominee for State Auditor Joe Peters.
Local chiropractor David Madeira, a prominent Luzerne County Republican has already announced that he will not run. U.S. Attorney Thomas Marino, considered a top contender for the Republican nomination to run against Carney next year, has also withdrawn his name, regarded as a huge political victory for Mr. Carney.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has said that Carney will be defeated in 2008 and is preparing TV spots and other advertisements to portray the Congressman as a close ally of liberal Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Simultaneously, the SEIU and DCCC have already run ads in the district praising his service in the House, including one commercial highlighting his vote for an increase in the federal minimum wage to $7.25 by 2009, a measure passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Bush on May 24, 2007.
In August 2007, the non-partisan Cook Political Report listed Carney's District as leaning Democratic in 2008, and according to the FEC Carney has raised over $500,000 towards his re-election in the first 6 months of 2007.
[edit] References
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- U.S. Representative Christopher P. Carney official House site
- Chris Carney at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Christopher Carney campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Chris Carney issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Chris Carney campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Christopher P. Carney (PA) profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Christopher Carney voting record
- Chris Carney For Congress official campaign site
- Securing America
- Band of Brothers
- VetPac
- Vote against Violence
- Carney enters race for Congress Robert L. Baker, Wyoming County Press Examiner, September 14, 2005
- Carney’s campaign color: green Roderick Random, The Times-Tribune, September 10, 2005
- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Don Sherwood | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district 2007–present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
Categories: Irish-American politicians | Living people | People from Cedar Rapids, Iowa | People from the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area | Pennsylvania State University faculty | United States Navy officers | University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni | University of Wyoming alumni | 1959 births | Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
