Tim Mahoney

Infobox_Congressman
name = Tim Mahoney


date of birth = birth date and age|1956|08|15
place of birth = Aurora, Illinois
state = Florida
district = 16th
term_start = January 4, 2007
preceded = Mark Foley
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Democratic
religion = United Methodist
spouse = Terry Mahoney
children = Bailey Mahoney
residence=Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
occupation=computer executive, financial executive
alma_mater=West Virginia University, George Washington University

Timothy Edward "Tim" Mahoney (born August 15, 1956) is the U.S. Representative for ushr|Florida|16|. He was elected in November 2008 after his opponent, six-term Republican incumbent Mark Foley, resigned on September 29, 2006, after questions were raised about an email exchange with a Congressional page.

Early life and career

Mahoney was born in Aurora, Illinois. He grew up in Summit, New Jersey and graduated from Summit High School in 1974. He obtained a bachelors degree in computer science and business from West Virginia University in 1978 and an M.B.A from George Washington University in 1983.

Mahoney began his career in the computer business. After seven years, he achieved wealth when a company he was working for, Tecmar, which sold personal computer accessories, was sold. In 1986, he moved to Florida and became president of Rodime Systems, a division of Rodime Inc. Rodime Inc., for which Mahoney was also vice president of marketing and sales, manufactured disc drives that were packaged for the retail market by Rodime Systems. In 1995, Mahoney and business partner, Lenny Sokolow, started Union Atlantic, LLC, a venture capital firm. His inability to get the firm listed on vFinance.com, a fledgling matchmaking Web site for venture capitalists and cash-hungry entrepreneurs, led him and Sokolow to purchase the website in 1998, merging it with Union Atlantic.

Mahoney was chairman and chief operating officer of [http://www.vfinance.com/ vFinance,] Inc., which is located in Boca Raton. The vFinance website currently boasts 80,000 subscribers, but nearly 90 percent of the company's $25.8 million revenues now come from brokerage and trading activities, according to vFinance's annual report. The company has dropped from $8 per share in 2000 to 20 cents on September 26, 2006. The company has quadrupled its revenues in the past six years and increased its payroll from 21 employees to 197 during the same time.cite news | url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/nation/epaper/2006/09/30/s1a_mahoney_0930.html |title=Democrat in position to win firm GOP seat |author=Michael C. Bender |work=Palm Beach Post |date=September 30, 2006 ]

U.S. Congress

Mahoney had been a Republican for most of his life, but became a Democrat in 2004 after becoming disillusioned with the GOP.

2006 campaign

In the 2006 general election, Mahoney faced six-term Republican incumbent Mark Foley, . In 2006, 42% of the voters in this district were registered Republicans, and 36% were registered Democrats [http://election.dos.state.fl.us/voterreg/pdf/2006/z26GenCong.pdf] . George W. Bush won this district with 52% of the vote in the 2000 presidential election, and with 54% of the vote in the 2004 presidential election. One poll taken by Hamilton Beattie on September 12, 2006, had Foley leading Mahoney 48% to 35%. [http://www.pollingreport.com/sub/2006fl1.htm#16th] .

In the campaign, Mahoney sharply criticized the Bush administration for overspending, general mismanagement, and its policies in Iraq.cite news | url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-pnegron03oct03,0,520064.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines | title=Rep. Joe Negron wins state Republican Party's approval to replace Foley | publisher=Sun-Sentinel | date=October 3, 2006 | first=Joel | last=Hood | retrieved= October 3, 2006] In August, General Wesley Clark endorsed Mahoney. [ [http://www.timmahoneyforflorida.com/e3/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=107&Itemid=40] ]

On September 28, 2006, ABC News reported that Republican incumbent Mark Foley had sent email messages, from his personal AOL account, to a then-16-year-old former Congressional page, asking the page to send a photo of himself to Foley, among other things that were overtly sexual in nature. cite news | url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/sixteenyearold_.html | title=Sixteen-Year-Old Who Worked as Capitol Hill Page Concerned About E-mail Exchange with Congressman | publisher=ABC News | date=September 28, 2006 | first= | last= | retrieved= September 28, 2006] The next day, Foley resigned.cite news | url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20060929/pl_cq_politics/republicanrepfoleyresignsdropsreelectionbidinfla16_1 | title=Republican Rep. Foley Resigns, Drops Re-election Bid in Fla. 16 | publisher=St Petersburg Times | date=September 29, 2006 | first=Susan | last=Ferrechio | retrieved= September 29, 2006] The Republicans' hold on the seat went from "safe" to "shaky" overnight. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060930/ap_on_el_ho/congressman_e_mails_florida]

On October 2, 2006, the Florida Republican Party Executive Board selected state representative Joe Negron as Mahoney's new opponent. However, Negron's name did not appear on the ballot; he only received votes cast for Foley, whose name remained on the ballot by law. On election day, Mahoney narrowly defeated Negron by 1.8 percentage points. [ [http://election.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=11/7/2006&DATAMODE= Florida Department of State - Election Results ] ] While Negron carried most of the more conservative areas of the district near Fort Myers, Mahoney carried the two largest counties in the district, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties, by a combined margin of over 10,000 votes — far more than the actual margin of victory.

Mahoney is the first Democrat to represent the district since its creation in 1973 (it was the 10th District until 1983 and the 12th District until 1993).

Issues and positions

Mahoney is generally considered to be a moderate Democrat, especially by South Florida Democratic standards. He has taken the following policy stances:

* Homeland Security: Supports screening of all cargo containers entering American ports, and increased funding for first responders.

* Immigration: Supports increased border security.

* Seniors: Opposed to Social Security Privatization. Supports reforming Medicare’s Part D Prescription Drug Program.

* Environment: Advocate of preserving Florida Everglades from unregulated development. Supports Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project.

* Insurance: Supports guaranteed disaster insurance for high-risk areas. Advocate of national catastrophic fund on Financial Services Committee.

* Supported the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007.

He is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of Democratic congressmen (largely from the South) known for moderate to conservative stances, especially on social issues.

On September 29, 2008, Mahoney voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008cite web|title= Bailout Roll Call | url= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/29/bailout.rollcall.0929.pdf| date= 2008-09-29 Retrieved on September 29, 2008]

Committee assignments

*Committee on Financial Services
**Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
**Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
*Committee on Agriculture
**Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture
**Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry

Personal life

Mahoney has a home in Palm Beach Gardens (though he is described in the official House roll as "D-Venus") and a cattle ranch in southern Highlands County.cite news | url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/nation/epaper/2006/09/30/s1a_mahoney_0930.html | title=Democrat in position to win firm GOP seat | publisher=Palm Beach Post | date=September 30, 2006 | first=Michael | last=Bender | retrieved= October 2, 2006] He is married and has a daughter, Bailey. Currently his daughter is an honor student and a scholarship equestrian athlete. The Mahoneys are members of the Venus United Methodist Church in Venus, Florida. Mahoney describes himself as a born-again Christian.

References

External links

* [http://mahoney.house.gov/ U.S. Congressman Tim Mahoney] official House site
* [http://www.timmahoneyforflorida.com/ Tim Mahoney for Congress] official campaign site
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tim_Mahoney Profile] at SourceWatch Congresspedia
* [http://therealdemocratstory.com/tim.mahoney/ The Real Tim Mahoney] anti-Mahoney site