Todd Russell Platts

Infobox_Congressman
name = Todd Russell Platts


width = 150
date of birth = birth date and age|1962|03|05
place of birth = York, Pennsylvania
residence= York, Pennsylvania
occupation= attorney
alma_mater= Shippensburg University, Pepperdine University
state = Pennsylvania
district = 19th
term_start = January 3, 2001
preceded = Bill Goodling
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Republican
spouse = Leslie Platts
religion = Episcopalian

Todd Russell Platts (b. March 5, 1962) is a politician from the state of Pennsylvania, currently representing the state's 19th Congressional district in the U.S. House since 2001.

Platts was born in York, Pennsylvania and he graduated from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and the Pepperdine University School of Law.

Platts began his career as an elected official when he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as a Republican in 1992. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, after narrowly winning a crowded Republican primary, and easily defeating college professor Jeff Sanders, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. He replaced Congressman William F. Goodling, who chose not to run for re-election that year.

As a Congressman, Platts has supported many of the President George W. Bush's initiatives, including the privatization of Social Security [http://www.house.gov/platts/pdfs/Spring2005_newsletter.pdf] , tax cuts, drilling in ANWR, the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, the Iraq War, and a ban on same-sex marriage [http://nationaljournal.com/pubs/almanac/2006/people/pa/rep_pa19.htm] .

He opposed any version of Bush's school voucher proposal, opposed offshore oil drilling, supported increasing governmentally regulated fuel efficiency standards for automobiles, voted for the Matthew Shepard Act a hate crimes prevention bill, and supported the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation. A full list of "ratings" of Platts' voting record by both conservative and liberal organizations may be found at Ref. [http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=BS028291] ; the National Journal political index describes him as having a moderate voting record despite the relatively conservative nature of his district [http://nationaljournal.com/pubs/almanac/2006/people/pa/rep_pa19.htm] (though the district does include some exurbs of Baltimore, Maryland). That journal gave him "conservative" ratings of 53% (economy), 65% (social issues) and 73% (foreign policy) in the 2004 congress. Platts' district went 64-36 for Bush in 2004.

He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem-cell research. Early in his political career, after his initial election to the Pennsylvania House, Platts was pro-choice. However, he later changed his views and became pro-life. He remains so to this day, and has a pro-life voting record as a Congressman, receiving a "zero percent" rating from NARAL.

Platts ran unopposed by the Democratic Party during the 2002 or 2004 elections, although in 2002 he faced opposition in the Republican primary. He faced York College professor and Decorated Vietnam Veteran Phil Avillo, Jr. the Democratic nominee, and Derf Maitland of the Green Party in the 2006 election. [http://www.politics1.com/pa.htm] . Platts won 64% of the vote to Avillo's 33% and Maitland's 3%. At approximately 11:09pm on Election Night (November 7, 2006), Avillo called Platts and conceded the election.

Platts was one of 25 Republicans to help pass the Hate Crimes Bill. Joining him were mostly other Republicans from Northeast states. Many conservative Democrats voted against the bill.

ee also

*United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2008#District 19

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/platts/ Congressman Todd Russell Platts] official U.S. House website
* [http://www.peopleforplatts.com/ Todd Platts for U.S. Congress] official campaign website
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Todd_Platts Profile] at SourceWatch Congresspedia