Charles Bass

Charlie Bass
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Paul Hodes
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Richard Swett
Succeeded by	Paul Hodes
Member of the New Hampshire Senate of District 11
In office 1988–1992
Preceded by	Jean White
Succeeded by	David Wheeler
Personal details
Born	January 8, 1952 (1952-01-08) (age 59) Boston, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lisa Bass
Residence	Peterborough, New Hampshire
Alma mater	Dartmouth College
Religion	Episcopalian

Charles Foster "Charlie" Bass (born January 8, 1952) is the U.S. Representative for New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously held the seat from 1995 to 2007.^[1] He has followed the footsteps of his father, Perkins, who also represented the same New Hampshire district.

Early life and education

Bass was born in Boston to Katharine and Perkins Bass.^[2] His father served as a Republican U.S. Congressman from New Hampshire in the 1950s and 1960s. Bass's grandfather Robert Bass served as Republican governor of New Hampshire from 1911 to 1912, founded the Progressive Republican movement, and was a friend/confidant of President Teddy Roosevelt.

Charles Bass attended the Holderness School in Holderness, New Hampshire, where he was elected President of the school in his senior year. Bass graduated from Dartmouth College in 1974.

Early political career (1974–1993)

During 1974 Bass worked for Maine Republican U.S. Congressman William Cohen. From 1975 to 1979 Bass worked for Maine Republican U.S. Congressman David F. Emery. Bass served in the New Hampshire General Court from 1982 to 1988. In 1988, he ran for the New Hampshire Senate and defeated incumbent Jean White in the Republican primary.^[3] He served there until 1992. While in the State Senate, he represented Peterborough.^[4] He was a supporter of tort reform and some abortion rights.^[5]

U.S. House of Representatives

Tenure (1994-2006; 2011-present)

Bass was elected to Congress in 1994, where he served for twelve years.^[6] As part of the 1994 Republican Revolution, he signed Newt Gingrich's Contract With America.^[7]

Bass was among the first and most vocal congressmen to demand that Tom DeLay step aside as House Majority Leader in 2005 and led the petition that resulted in DeLay's removal from House leadership.^{[citation needed]}

Bass is a member of the Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Choice PAC, and Republicans for Environmental Protection. He is a Director and former head of The Republican Main Street Partnership, a coalition of centrist Republicans.^[8]

In November 2006, Bass was defeated for reelection by Paul Hodes. Bass's defeat helped return control of the House of Representatives to the Democratic Party, which had been in the minority since January 1995.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
  • Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Economy

Caucus Memberships

• Congressional Arts Caucus
• Congressional Biomass Caucus (co-chair)

Business career (2007–2009)

Bass is a business consultant to renewable energy companies. He has been on the Board of Managers of New England Wood Pellet, a producer of clean burning wood pellets, located in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, since January 2007.

In March 2006, the company publicly credited Bass with setting up a February 2006 meeting in New Hampshire between its president, Steven Walker, and Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman. In March 2007, Bass reported on his financial disclosure statement that he had bought shares in the company in January and November 2006. But in October 2010 he said that his initial purchase had been in January 2007, after he left office.^[9]

In 2009, Bass joined the Board of Directors of Laidlaw Biopower, LLC,^[10] a developer of biomass power plants in the northeastern United States.^[11]

2010 U.S. Congressional campaign

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire, 2010 #District 2

Incumbent Democrat Paul Hodes, who ousted Bass in 2006, decided to retire in 2010 to run for the U.S. Senate. Bass ran for his old seat and narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Ann McLane Kuster, Libertarian nominee Howard Wilson, and Independent candidate Tim vanBlommesteyn.

Electoral history

New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district: Results 1996–2006; 2010–^[12]

Year	Republican	Votes	Pct		Democrat	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1994	Charlie Bass	83,121	51.44		Richard Swett	74,243	45.95		John Lewicke	Libertarian	2,986	1.85		Linda Spitzfaden	Natural Law	1,223	0.76
1996	Charlie Bass	123,001	50.50		Arnie Arnesen	105,867	43.46		Carole Lamirande	Independent	10,757	4.42
1998	Charlie Bass	85,740	53.13		Mary Rauh	72,217	44.75		Paula Werme	Libertarian	3338	2.07
2000	Charlie Bass	152,581	56.19		Barney Brannen	110,367	40.64		Brian Christeson	Libertarian	3338	2.07		Roy Kendel	Constitution	2204	0.81
2002	Charlie Bass	125,804	56.81		Katrina Swett	90,479	40.86		Rosalie Babiarz	Libertarian	5,051	2.28
2004	Charlie Bass	191,188	58.25		Paul Hodes	125,280	38.17		Richard Kahn	Libertarian	11,311	3.45
2006	Charlie Bass	94,012	45.61		Paul Hodes	108,634	52.71		Ken Blevens	Libertarian	3,305	1.60
2010	Charlie Bass	108,630	48.35		Ann McLane Kuster	105,060	46.76		Howard L. Wilson	Libertarian	4,796	2.13		Tim vanBlommesteyn	Independent	6,195	2.76

Personal life

Bass currently resides in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

References

1. ^ http://www.wmur.com/politics/25615350/detail.html
2. ^ Ancestry.com
3. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hN4lAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1fkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6182,3583935&dq=charlie+bass+new+hampshire&hl=en
4. ^ Nyhan, David (September 15, 1992). "Past v. future in N.H". Boston Globe. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61848868.html?dids=61848868:61848868&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+15%2C+1992&author=David+Nyhan%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Past+v.+future+in+N.H.&pqatl=google. 
5. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KAogAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HWUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1739,6351520&dq=charlie+bass+new+hampshire&hl=en
6. ^ http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000220
7. ^ "Kuster ties Bass to Bush" (October 5, 2010) Concord Monitor
8. ^ "Board of Directors". Republican Main Street Partnership. http://www.republicanmainstreet.org/index.php/BoardMembers. Retrieved 2009-10-04. 
9. ^ Kevin Landrigan (October 14, 2010). "House candidate admits mistake on financial form". Nashua Telegraph. http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/newsstatenewengland/880172-227/house-candidate-admits-mistake-on-financial-form.html. 
10. ^ "Former NH Congressman Bass to Join Laidlaw’s Board". Laidlaw Energy. March 17, 2009. http://www.laidlawenergy.com/images/LLEG%20News%20Release%203-17-09.pdf. Retrieved 2009-010-04. 
11. ^ Aaron Blake (2009-09-30). "Former Rep. Bass opens committee for old seat". The Hill. http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/60943-former-rep-bass-opens-committee-for-old-seat. Retrieved 2009-10-04. 
12. ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html. 

External links

• Congressman Charles Bass official U.S. House site
• Bass for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Richard Swett	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district 1995–2007	Succeeded by Paul Hodes
Preceded by Paul Hodes	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district 2011––present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Joe Baca D-California	United States Representatives by seniority 163rd	Succeeded by Brian Bilbray R-California

Persondata
Name	Bass, Charles
Alternative names	Bass, Charles Foster; Bass, Charlie
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	January 8, 1952
Place of birth	Boston, Massachusetts
Date of death
Place of death