Mary Bono
| Mary Bono | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office April 7, 1998 |
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| Preceded by | Sonny Bono |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | October 24 1961 Cleveland, Ohio |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Sonny Bono (died 1998) Glenn Baxley (divorced 2005) Connie Mack IV {engaged} |
| Religion | Protestant |
Mary Whitaker Bono is an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1998, representing the 45th District of California (map) which includes most of central and eastern Riverside County. The district was previously the 44th District before the 2000s round of redistricting.
Personal life
She was born in Cleveland, Ohio but has lived in Southern California since 1963. She worked her way through the University of Southern California, graduating in 1984. Soon after leaving USC, she married singer-turned politician Sonny Bono and moved to Palm Springs.
Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident on 5 January 1998. Mary easily won the Republican nomination for the special election to succeed him, which is tantamount to election in the heavily Republican district. She took office on 7 April 1998. She won a full term in November and has been re-elected three times with no serious opposition. As of 2007, Bono was one of four representatives to be elected to their seats following the deaths of their husbands, along with Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), Lois Capps (D-CA), and Doris Matsui (D-CA).
She was married to Palm Springs businessman Glenn Baxley (2001 to 2005). She has a son, Chesare Elan Bono (born 1988), and a daughter, Chianna Maria Bono (born 1991) from her marriage to Sonny Bono. Mary Bono has been romantically linked to fellow Congressman Connie Mack IV from Florida for two years, and on September 7, 2007, Bono and Mack announced their engagement to the general public.
Congressional career
Unlike her husband, who was a loyal supporter of Newt Gingrich, Mary Bono has a moderate voting record. The 45th District leans slightly Republican with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of +3 Republican; it includes more Democratic Moreno Valley and parts of Palm Springs area as well as the very conservative Temecula Valley. She chose not to attend the 2004 Republican National Convention because she felt her district and state were not in strong contention and her objection to the platform's opposition to any legal benefits for same-sex couples as well as opposition to gays in the military. Her district includes the highest percentage of gays and lesbians of any district represented by a Republican. [1]. She is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership, The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Choice, The Wish List, and Christine Todd Whitman's It's My Party, Too. However, her voting records show that she has a pro-life voting record.[2]
Bono usually votes conservatively, following the Republican Party 89% of the time and President Bush 79% of the time, according to Congressional Quarterly. She has an 84% approval rating from the Christian Coalition.[3] In 1999, she voted in favor of the Largent amendment,[4] to ban adoption by same-sex couples in Washington, DC.[5] Bono has, however, voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment twice.
Sonny Bono was a member of the Church of Scientology (although he continued to state that he was a Roman Catholic on most official documents). The church has its large Gold Base headquarters in her district. Mary took courses in Scientology in 1989 and 1990, but she has since distanced herself from the organization and said that she does not believe in their tenets.[6]
Bono voted for a pay raise for members of Congress in 2005. In May 2006, she stated in a subcomittee hearing on the extension of copyright law that her regular $165,200 congressional salary was not enough to pay for her son Chesare's college expenses. She said that were it not for her late husband Sonny's royalties, she "could not afford college for [her] son." Along with college expenses, she had to pay for new cars for both her and Chesare. Chesare, Chez for short, planned to attend USC in the fall of 2006; the school estimates yearly expenses to be $46,966.[7] In 2006, it was reported that she had received $30,000 from the later-indicted Jack Abaramoff.[8][9] In her official 2005 filing, Bono stated that her income from royalties and dividends was between US$402,000 and US$3.3 million. [10]
Bono was a leading proponent of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act or so-called "Mickey Mouse Law", which extended the terms of copyright, a bill which the Church of Scientology supported so that they could keep access to their scriptures and OTIII documents.[11] Giving a speech on the floor of Congress in favor of the bill, Bono said:
Actually, Sonny wanted the term of copyright protection to last forever. I am informed by staff that such a change would violate the Constitution. . . . As you know, there is also [Motion Picture Association of America president] Jack Valenti's proposal for the term to last forever less one day. Perhaps the Committee may look at that next Congress.[12]
Led by her campaign team, Bono was reelected by 60.7% in 2006.[13][14]
References
- ^ http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/SameSexCouplesandGLBpopACS.pdf Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community Survey]|2.07 MiB}}. The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, UCLA School of Law October, 2006. Retrieved February 15, 2007
- ^ http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Mary_Bono.htm
- ^ http://www.cc.org/2004scorecard.pdf
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1999/roll346.xml
- ^ http://www.commondreams.org/pressreleases/july99/072999f.htm
- ^ Proud Mary Bono, George, August 1999
- ^ Bono Says She Doesn't Get Paid Enough Money, Roll Call, May 4, 2006
- ^ http://www.rollcall.com/issues/51_117/hoh/13175-1.html?type=pf
- ^ http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Congresswoman_Bono_widow_claims_Reps_cant_0504.html
- ^ http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050616/NEWS10/506160332/1024
- ^ Proud Mary Bono, George, August 1999
- ^ 144 Congressional Record H9952.
- ^ Bono Election Day Schedule
- ^ Election Results 2006 - California Secretary of State
External links
- U.S. Congresswoman Mary Bono official House site
- Mary Bono at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Mary Bono campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Mary Bono issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Mary Bono campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Mary Whitaker Bono (CA) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Mary Bono profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Mary Bono voting record
- Congresswoman Mary Bono official campaign site
| Preceded by Sonny Bono |
U.S. Representative from California's 44th Congressional
District 1998–2003 |
Succeeded by Ken Calvert |
| Preceded by Dana Rohrabacher |
U.S. Representative from California's 45th Congressional
District 2003–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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