Jo Ann Emerson

Infobox_Congressman
name = Jo Ann Emerson


date of birth = birth date and age|1950|09|16
place of birth = Bethesda, Maryland
occupation= association executive
residence= Cape Girardeau, Missouri
alma_mater= Ohio Wesleyan University
state = Missouri
district = 8th
term_start = November 5, 1996
preceded = Bill Emerson
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Republican
religion = Presbyterian
spouse = Bill Emerson (1975-1996)
Ron Gladney (2000-present)

Jo Ann Emerson (born September 16, 1950) is a Republican politician from Missouri, currently serving her fifth term in the United States House of Representatives from ushr|Missouri|8| ( [http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/mo08_109.gifmap] ).

Biography

Emerson was born in Bethesda, Maryland and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University. She married then-lobbyist and future congressman Bill Emerson on June 22, 1975. He was 12 years her senior. They had two daughters; Jo Ann also has 4 stepdaughters Bill was elected to Congress in 1980 from Missouri's 10th Congressional District and, subsequent to redistricting, was re-elected in 1982 from the 8th District. He handily retained his seat through 1994, his final election, before succumbing to cancer on June 22, 1996. The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, which links Missouri to Illinois across the Mississippi River was dedicated to commemorate his efforts to obtain funding for its construction.

As of 2007, Emerson was one of four representatives to be elected to their seats following the deaths of their husbands, along with Mary Bono (R-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), and Doris Matsui (D-CA). Following Bill's death she married Ron Gladney in 2000. From this marriage she gained a stepdaughter and a stepson.

Political career

When her husband Bill died in 1996, his now-vacant congressional seat was going to be filled in a special election. Jo Ann made a decision to announce her candidacy, but Missouri state law prohibited her from filing in the Republican primary. In November, Jo Ann Emerson competed in two elections on the same day. She ran as an independent against Democrat Emily Firebaugh and Republican Richard Kline in the general election and as a Republican against Firebaugh in the special election to finish the last two months of her late husband's term. She won both elections easily and has been re-elected four times without serious difficulty. She is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from Missouri. She served the last two months of her husband's term as an independent before officially becoming a Republican in 1997. She was briefly the first independent elected to federal office in Missouri in 122 years. [cite book
author =
year =
title = Official Manual State of Missouri 2001–2002
publisher = Matt Blunt, Secretary of State
location =
id =
page = 117] In 2002, Emerson rejected calls for her to run for US Senate against fellow politician and widow Jean Carnahan.

On May 24, 2005, Emerson was one of 50 Republicans to vote in favor of overturning President Bush's ban on federal funding for stem cell research. She cast her Yea vote the day after her mother-in-law died from Alzheimer's Disease, one of the illnesses for which scientists believe they can create better treatments from stem cell research.

Mild controversy has surrounded a letter (dated February 15, 2006) sent to a constituent, Bill Jones, in response to an inquiry about congressional testimony given by oil executives. An unknown individual slipped in the sentence "I think you're an asshole" at the close of the letter. Congresswoman Emerson stated that "there is no excuse for this inappropriate letter having been sent and every apology has been made to the individual who received it." She denied any knowledge of this odd addition to the letter, and an investigation is currently underway. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5766832,00.html]

On July 12, 2007, Emerson was one of only four Republicans who voted to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by April 2008. [http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll624.xml]

Following Governor Matt Blunt's decision not to seek reelection, Emerson announced that she would consider a gubernatorial bid. However on January 26, 2008, she announced her decision to seek reelection to Congress.

Committee assignments

*Appropriations Committee
**Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
**Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
**Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
*Vice-president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
**Vice-chair of the Subcommittee on Democratic Governance
*Vice-chair of the Center Aisle Caucus
*Honorary and Life Trustee of Westminster College
*Co-chair of the Board of Directors for the Congressional Hunger Center
*Founding Member of the Bipartisan Congressional Retreat

See also

*United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/emerson/ U.S. Congressman Jo Ann Emerson] official site
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jo_Ann_Emerson Profile] at SourceWatch Congresspedia
* [http://www.joannemerson.com/ Jo Ann Emerson] official campaign site