- Brad Ellsworth
Infobox_Congressman
name = Brad Ellsworth
date of birth = birth date and age|1958|09|11
place of birth =Jasper, Indiana
state =Indiana
district = 8th
term_start =January 4 2007
preceded =John Hostettler
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Democrat
religion =Roman Catholic
spouse = Beth Ellsworth
residence=Evansville, Indiana
alma_mater=Indiana State University
occupation= law enforcementJohn Bradley Ellsworthcite web | title=2007 Financial Disclosure Statement | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/congress/fin_dis/2006/e000289.pdf| date=2007-05-07 | publisher=
The Washington Post ] (bornSeptember 11 1958 ), usually known as Brad Ellsworth, is the Democratic congressman for ushr|Indiana|8|. The district is located in the southwestern portion of the state, and includesEvansville andTerre Haute .In 2006, he defeated the Republican incumbent,
John Hostettler .cite web | title=Democrats pick up key House seat in Indiana | url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/07/election.house/index.html| date=2006-11-07 | publisher=CNN ] He previously served as thesheriff ofVanderburgh County, Indiana .Early life and education
Ellsworth was born in
Jasper, Indiana and spent his early years inHuntingburg, Indiana . When he was still in grade school, his family moved to Evansville, where his father took a job as a crane operator inWarrick County 'sAlcoa plant.After graduation from William Henry Harrison High School in 1976, he attended
Indiana State University -Evansville (now theUniversity of Southern Indiana ) where he received a Bachelor's Degree inSociology , and was a Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternal member. Ellsworth worked in the paint and hardware department at Sears while in school to pay for his education. He later received a Masters Degree in Criminology fromIndiana State University .Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology also gave him anhonorary doctorate of humane letters at their 2008 commencement (coincidentally, his predecessor in IN-08,John Hostettler , received a bachelor's degree inmechanical engineering from RHIT in 1983.)Law enforcement
In 1982, Ellsworth began a career in the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's office. Over the next 23 years, he held every merit rank, and was twice decorated for heroism in the line of duty. While serving in the Department, Brad Ellsworth instituted the first Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program in the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation. He later attended and graduated from the
FBI National Academy.In 1998, Ellsworth ran for sheriff and won by a large margin. He was unopposed running for a second term. In 2005 he announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party's nomination for Indiana's 8th Congressional District, which was held by six-term incumbent John Hostettler.
U.S. House of Representatives
As of
June 30 2006 , Hostettler had raised $287,000 and had $195,000 on hand, compared to Ellsworth's $1,036,000 raised and $676,000 on hand. However, Hostettler had won campaigns in the past against opponents with more funding. In addition, theNational Republican Congressional Committee had spent $163,000 in his district as of mid-July 2006. (The DCCC, its counterpart, had spent $166,000 for Ellsworth as of that date.) [Thomas B. Langhorne, [http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/jul/17/hostettler-war-chest-a-little-light-pundit-says/ "Hostettler 'war chest' a little light, pundit says"] , "Evansville Courier & Press", July 17, 2006] [Maureen Groppe, [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060718/NEWS06/607180456/1006/NEWS01 "Indiana candidates raise big bucks for tight races: $1 million or more in war chest isn't unusual this competitive year, finance reports show"] , "Indianapolis Star", July 18, 2006]The
Cook Political Report , an independent non-partisan newsletter, listed the race as a toss-up as of mid-August. [ [http://www.cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_house_comp_aug17.pdf Competitive Race Chart] ,Cook Political Report , August 16, 2006] As of early September, the Rothenberg Political Report called Hostettler one of the three most endangered House incumbents in the country; Chris Cillizza, political analyst for "The Washington Post ", ranked Hostettler as the most vulnerable House incumbent in the nation; and Robert D. Novak, a syndicated columnist and editor of the Evans-Novak Political Report, also rated Hostettler's seat a likely win for Ellsworth. [Thomas B. Langhorne, [http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/sep/03/hostettler-inactivity-curious/ "Hostettler inactivity curious"] , "Evansville Courier & Press", September 3, 2006]In mid-October, an opinion poll commissioned by the "
Evansville Courier & Press " showed Ellsworth leading Hostettler, 55% to 32%. [Thomas B. Langhorne, [http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/oct/15/ellsworth-widens-lead-in-poll/ "Ellsworth widens lead in poll: ISU questions likely voters in 8th District follow-up survey"] , "Evansville Courier & Press", October 15, 2006]Hostettler debated Ellsworth on
October 23 ,2006 . The debate was at public television station WVUT atVincennes University , and involved theLeague of Women Voters . [ [http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/aug/30/hostettler-agrees-debate-date/ "Hostettler agrees to debate date"] , "Evansville Courier & Press", August 30, 2006]Ellsworth scored a landslide victory over Hostettler on
November 7 2006 . He took 61% of the vote to Hostettler's 39% – by far the most lopsided defeat for an incumbent in the 2006 election. Ellsworth's victory was the first of 30 seats that the Democrats took from the Republicans in the cycle.Committee assignments
*Committee on Agriculture
**Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research
**Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
*Committee on Armed Services
**Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
**Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities
*United States House Committee on Small Business
**Subcommittee on Finance and Tax
**Subcommittee on Rural and Urban EntrepreneurshipIssues and positions
Ellsworth is generally a conservative Democrat with a populist streak. He opposes
abortion andgun control . These stances are not unusual given the nature of his district. Although southern Indiana has historically leaned Democratic, the Democrats in this area tend to be somewhat more conservative on social issues than their counterparts in the rest of the nation. On economic issues, however, Ellsworth tends to vote more with his party.After his election to Congress, he joined the
Blue Dog Coalition .He was one of 16 Democrats who voted against providing federal funds for embryonic
stem cell research . [cite web | title=Final Vote Results for Roll Call 20 | publisher=Office of the Clerk. U.S. House of Representatives | url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll020.xml | accessdate=2007-02-20]Ellsworth was one of 10 pro-life House Democrats who wrote a letter condemning the
National Right to Life Committee for not supporting the extension of theState Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover more families. While Ellsworth voted against an earlier version of the bill, he joined the other nine signatories in voting for the final bill. [ [http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dems-lash-out-at-activist-group-on-abortion-issue-2007-10-17.html TheHill.com - Dems lash out at activist group on abortion issue ] ]Earmarking
Openly supporting and aggressively pursuing earmarks, in July 2007, Ellsworth designated $2 million to extend the John T. Myers lock chamber on the Ohio River and $750,000 for manufacturing and engineering equipment for the University of Southern Indiana. He also nabbed two projects: the construction of a campus perimeter road system at USI for $350,000 and a portion of University Parkway construction also at $350,000.
Smaller projects for which Ellsworth gained House approval include $200,000 to restore Evansville's Alhambra Theater, $135,000 for emergency warning sirens in Vanderburgh County and $75,000 to train utility workers at Ivy Tech Community College. [ Langhorne, Thomas B., "Is pork Protecting Ellsworth?" Evansville Courier and Press, July 29. 2007. ]
References
External links
* [http://ellsworth.house.gov/ U.S. Congressman Brad Ellsworth] "official House website"
* [http://www.ellsworthforcongress.com/ Brad Ellsworth for Congress] "official campaign website"
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