Alexander Treadwell

Alexander F. "Sandy" [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DEFDB153AF933A25750C0A9679C8B63 A Nice Guy in a Tough G.O.P. Job; New State Chairman Takes Challenge of Uniting Party in Stride - New York Times ] ] Treadwell (born March 25, 1946 London, England) is an American politician who is a longtime Republican Party political leader in New York. He is currently New York's National Committeeman on the Republican National Committee and is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 20th congressional district.

Life

He is the grandson of a founding executive of General Electric. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/us/politics/26recruit.html?ex=1196744400&en=b0e04103bad91e8d&ei=5070 Short of Funds, G.O.P. Recruits the Rich to Run - New York Times] ] His father was a brigadier in the British Army.

He was a sports journalist who wrote for Sports Illustrated, and a book on marathon running. He became active in the Republican Party in Essex County, New York. His service included being a committeeman, town chairman, the chairman of the county's Republican Party, and vice chairman of the state Republican Party under Chairman Bill Powers.

He is a cousin of Jane Forbes Clark, chairwoman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and is Vice President of the Cooperstown, New York and Manhattan based Clark Foundation.

He served in the Army National Guard.

New York Secretary of State

In 1995, Gov. George Pataki appointed Treadwell Secretary of State of New York. As Secretary, Treadwell was active in reorganizing the Department of State in order to streamline operations and improve efficiency. He reduced the agency's workforce without layoffs while holding the line on spending. He was also active in local government issues statewide. The Department of State, New York State's oldest agency, had 850 employees and an annual budget of $110 million during Treadwell's leadership.

Chairman of New York State Republican Party

In 2001, Pataki appointed Treadwell as the Chairman of the New York Republican Party. His tenure saw the re-election of a Republican mayor of New York City, the 2002 reelection of Pataki and Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue and the nomination of the state's first Latina candidate, Judge Dora Irizarry, who was the 2002 nominee for state attorney general. In 2004, Treadwell was the host state chairman of the Republican National Convention that nominated President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for re-election. The party also experienced losses during his tenure, including county executive seats in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, four state Senate seats, five state Assembly seats and two seats in Congress.

2004 US Senate Race

In 2004, Treadwell faced controversy after he supported Assemblyman Howard Mills as the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate against Senator Chuck Schumer over the would-be primary candidate Michael Benjamin. [http://web.archive.org/web/20040807054126/www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=222422&category=CAPITOL&BCCode=&newsdate=2/25/2004 Senate hopeful claims GOP bosses snubbed him] . "Albany Times-Union", February 25, 2004.] Benjamin publicly accused Treadwell and Governor George Pataki of trying to muscle him out of the senate race and undermine the democratic process. Mills, who was nominated after numerous other potential candidates turned the race down, would go on to lose in the largest landslide in state history.Conservative commentator George Marlin has since criticized Treadwell, labeling him a "liberal elitist." [http://streetcornerconservative.com/2007/12/02/sandy-treadwell-and-bill-weld-two-liberal-peas-in-a-pod-by-george-j-marlin/#more-132]

Congressional Candidacy

Treadwell stepped down as state chairman in 2004 to become national committeeman. In 2006 some speculated that he would challenge Republican Congressman John E. Sweeney for reelection, but he did not file to do so. In April 2007, he filed the necessary paperwork to run for Congress to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand who defeated Sweeney in the 2006 election. [ [http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/politics/?ArID=210136&SecID=285 Capital News 9 | 24 Hour Local News | POLITICS ] ] Treadwell signed Americans For Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge and is running on the promise that he will never vote to increase taxes on individuals or businesses. Per the Federal Election Commission Treadwell’s total personal spending on the race, as of December 31, 2007 to $627,207 [ [http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/01/08/news/latest/doc4783e29923eb0811235287.txt Treadwell contribution triggers 'Millionaire's Amendment' :: PostStar.com] ]

In January 2008 the Clifton Park Republican Committee endorsed Treadwell’s candidacy in the 20th Congressional District race. [ [http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/01/21/news/columns/politics/doc4794ba061e940895980595.txt Clifton Park GOP endorses Treadwell :: PostStar.com] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sandy_Treadwell SourceWatch Congresspedia — Sandy Treadwell]
* [http://sandytreadwell.com/ Sandy Treadwell for Congress] profile