| Connie Mack | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Porter Goss |
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| Born | August 12, 1967 Fort Myers, Florida |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Bono Mack |
| Children | Addison Mack Connie Mack V |
| Residence | Fort Lauderdale, Florida (2000-2004) Fort Myers, Florida (2003-present) |
| Alma mater | University of Florida |
| Occupation | marketing executive |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV (born August 12, 1967, in Fort Myers, Florida), popularly known as Connie Mack IV, is a Republican politician from Florida, elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004, representing Florida's 14th congressional district. The district includes Fort Myers and Naples. He succeeded Porter Goss, who resigned to take the helm of the Central Intelligence Agency.
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Family history
Mack is the son of Connie Mack III, who represented the district from 1983 to 1989 (when it was numbered as the 13th District) before serving two terms in the Senate. He is a great-grandson of Connie Mack, the manager and owner of baseball's Philadelphia Athletics, and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is also a great-grandson of Morris Sheppard, U.S. Senator and Representative from Texas, and a step-great-grandson of Tom Connally, who was the Texas Junior Senator to Sheppard for 12 years (Sheppard's widow married Connally the year after Sheppard died).[1] Mack's great-great-grandfather was John Levi Sheppard, who was also a U.S. Representative from Texas. Mack is married to California Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack.
U.S. House of Representatives
Mack served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2003 representing the 91st district in Fort Lauderdale. In 2004, Mack moved to Fort Myers, where he'd grown up, and entered the Republican primary for the 14th District. He narrowly won a four-way primary, which was tantamount to election in this heavily Republican district. He breezed to victory in November and was reelected in 2006 and 2008 with relatively little difficulty, though by somewhat smaller margins than those scored by Goss and his father.
A staunch economic and social conservative, Mack is a vocal supporter of less federal spending and lower taxes. He is a signer of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge[2]. Additionally, he is an original co-sponsor of a constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget and has been one of the most outspoken opponents of federal bailouts and other examples of excessive government interference in the marketplace.
Mack also has been a prominent advocate for greater congressional oversight of government activities and has promoted reducing government intervention to increase individual freedom. Mack has taken high-profile stances on various national security issues, such as the USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization in 2005, President George W. Bush's domestic eavesdropping program in 2006 and FISA Reform in 2007.
Mack serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee, where he is the Ranking Republican on the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. In particular, Mack is an outspoken critic of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez[3], and was one of the most vocal critics of the creation of the pan-Latin American TV network teleSUR.[4] He is also a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus. Mack has focused on advancing issues important to his congressional district in Southwest Florida.[citation needed] As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mack helped secure over $81 million to expand Interstate 75 in Southwest Florida, a project of significant concern to the region. He has also championed a variety of regional environmental issues, including fighting for continued Everglades restoration projects, more peer-reviewed scientific research of Red Tide, and other initiatives to protect the sensitive shorelines of his coastal congressional district.[citation needed]
Election results
| Year | Republican | Votes | Pct | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Write-in votes | Pct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Connie Mack | 226,622 | 67.6% | Robert M. Neeld | 108,672 | 32.4% | |||||
| 2006 | Connie Mack (inc.) | 151,615 | 64.4% | Robert M. Neeld | 83,920 | 35.6% | 4 | 0.002% |
Committee assignments
References
- ^ http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Senate_Spouses.htm
- ^ Current Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers
- ^ RedState (http://www.crosstabs.org/stories/foreign_affairs/rep_mack_free_trade_is_key_to_combating_chavez)
- ^ Congressman works to counter socialist air time, on Connie Mack's HOR website (http://mack.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Articles.View&ContentRecord_id=108)
- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
External links
- Congressman Connie Mack, U.S. House site
- Connie Mack for Congress, Campaign site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Follow the Money — Connie Mack
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Porter Goss |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 14th congressional district January 3, 2005 – present |
Incumbent |
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