Bob Menendez

Robert Menendez
File:Menendez Headshot.jpg
Junior Senator, New Jersey
In office January 2006–
Preceded by	Jon Corzine
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2006)
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Separated

Robert Menendez (born January 1, 1954) is a Democratic leader from New Jersey. Since 2006, he has been the state's junior Senator, appointed by Jon Corzine to fill the seat made vacant by Corzine's resignation from the Senate to serve as Governor of New Jersey. He is one of only three Hispanics currently serving in the United States Senate. Before his appointment to the Senate, he had represented the state's 13th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from 1993-2006. He currently resides in Hoboken.

Personal life

Menendez was born in New York City to Cuban parents, but grew up in Union City, New Jersey, just outside Jersey City.

In 1971, at age 17, while attending Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, he launched a successful petition drive against his mentor, then-Union City Mayor William Musto, to reform the local school board. He was elected to the Union City Board of Education, and would later testify against Musto in court, which resulted in a prison sentence for Musto. After graduating with a B.A. from Saint Peter's, he attended Rutgers School of Law in Newark, from which he obained his law degree, and later became a lawyer in private practice.

A rising star in the New Jersey Democratic Party, he was elected mayor of Union City in 1986 and served until 1992. While serving as mayor, he also served in New Jersey Legislature (a very common practice for New Jersey mayors), serving in the General Assembly from 1987 until 1991 and in the New Jersey Senate from 1991 to 1993.

United States House of Representatives

In 1992, 14th District Congressman Frank Guarini retired after seven terms. Menendez won the Democratic nomination for the Jersey City-based district, which was renumbered the 13th after New Jersey lost a district in the 1990 Census, and was easily elected that November. He was reelected six times with no significant Republican opposition in the heavily Democratic, majority-Hispanic district. In 2003, he was elected chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, ranking him third in seniority behind House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland. He was elected to chair the Credentials Committee of the 2004 Democratic National Convention and was a speaker on the first day of the convention. During the 107th Congress, his nationally-recognized leadership earned him the chairmanship of both the Democratic Task Force on Education and the Democratic Task Force on Homeland Security. He had briefly been a candidate in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Bill Bradley in 1996, but he backed out and the seat was won by fellow Democrat Robert Torricelli.

Although he is often portrayed as the political boss of Hudson County, he strongly dislikes this appellation, particularly because, according to a close source quoted in the December 11, 2005 Union City Reporter, "there is no boss of Hudson County." [1] Menendez is also seen as one leader in a fractured political establishment tenuously united by peace agreements that permitted the county to generate a significant vote for Corzine in the 2005 gubernatorial race.

United States Senate

While several other names had been mentioned, Menendez was the early favorite among pundits in then Governor-elect Corzine's search to select a replacement to fill the vacancy that would be created when Corzine resigned from the Senate. Corzine's decision to appoint Menendez to his old seat garnered support from several Latino groups, including the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

Menendez was a controversial choice for the post due to alleged ties to the Hudson County Democratic machine. The New York Times has repeatedly reported about some of his shady relationships and editorialized against him. See the New York Times: "New Jersey's New Senator" December 9 2005.

Menendez is the first minority (a White Hispanic) to represent New Jersey in the Senate, and only the sixth Hispanic to serve in that body. He joins Republican Mel Martinez of Florida (also of Cuban descent) and Democrat Ken Salazar of Colorado (of Spanish/Hispano descent) as the only three Hispanics currently in the Senate.

He is on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Budget and Energy and Natural Resources committees.

In February of 2006, Senator Menendez co-sponsored legislation with New York Senator Hillary Clinton to make it illegal for foreign governments to buy U.S. port operations. The legislation was a direct response to Dubai Ports World's efforts to purchase Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) of the United Kingdom, which operates six major U. S. ports. Menendez stated, "Our ports are the front lines of the war on terrorism. They are both vulnerable targets for attack and venues for smuggling and human trafficking. We wouldn't turn the Border Patrol or the Customs Service over to a foreign government, and we can't afford to turn our ports over to one either."[2]

2006 Senate race

Main article: New Jersey U.S. Senate election, 2006

In the race to win the seat for which he is now the incumbent, Menendez is expected to face three-year Republican State Senator Thomas Kean, Jr., in the general election. (The filing deadline for the primary is April 10, 2006, and no one else had filed with less than three weeks left before that deadline.)

Some pundits believe that Menendez will have an uphill struggle defeating Kean and his supposedly spotless record. Kean also has name recognition as the son of former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean. But Menendez's proven fundraising record will help ensure that he has no trouble financing his campaign.

Early polling of the race has shown mixed results, with some showing Menendez slightly ahead [3] [4] and others showing Kean slightly ahead [5] [6].

According to a SurveyUSA poll for March, 2006, the state of New Jersey maintains the highest disapproval rating for George W. Bush of any other state in the country, with 70% disapproving and only 26% approving. This may become a significant factor in favor of Menendez. [7]

SurveyUSA has also put Menendez's first measured approval rating at 46% approval to 30% disapproval.[8]

Quotes

• Responding to statements by Thomas Kean Jr. that New Jersey must set its sights higher, "I wondered what he meant by that. Now that I see he invited Vice President Cheney to speak on his behalf, I understand."[9]

Trivia

• Menendez shares a birthday with Governor Jon Corzine.

References

• "Menendez on the Move" by Al Sullivan, Union City Reporter, December 11, 2005.

External links

• Senate website
• Campaign website
• United States Congress. "Bob Menendez (id: M000639)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

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