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Tom Reed (politician)

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Tom Reed
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 29th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 2, 2010
Preceded byEric Massa
Mayor of Corning, New York
In office
2008–2010
Preceded byFrank Coccho
Succeeded byRich Negri
Personal details
Born (1971-11-18) November 18, 1971 (age 53)
Joliet, Illinois
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJean Reed
ChildrenAutumn, Will
Residence(s)Corning, New York
Alma materAlfred University
Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law
OccupationAttorney, developer, politician
Websitereed.house.gov

Thomas W. Reed II (born November 18, 1971) is the U.S. Representative for New York's 29th congressional district, serving since winning both the special and general elections on November 2, 2010. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as the Mayor of Corning, New York.

Early life, education, and law career

The son of a career army officer, Reed is the youngest of 12 children and was raised in Corning, New York by his mother after his father died when he was 2 years old. Reed graduated from Horseheads High School in 1989, attended Alfred University, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1993 and earned a law degree from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law in 1996. While at Alfred he was a NCAA Division III All-American as a swimmer.

After receiving his law degree and being admitted to the bar he worked in Rochester for the firm of Gallo and Iacovangelo. After the death of his mother Reed moved his family to Corning, his hometown, in 1999, where he opened his own law firm, as well as several other small businesses.[1] Reed's law firm performs creditor's work, criminal defense and municipal corporate counseling.[2]

Mayor of Corning

In 2007, Reed defeated incumbent Democrat Mayor Frank Coccho, with 59% of the vote.[3] Reed ran on the Republican, Conservative, and Independence party lines. He served only one two-year term.

Corning is a small city in Western New York, that is home to one Fortune 500 company, Corning Incorporated.

2007 election for Mayor of Corning
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Reed 1,866 59
Democratic Frank Coccho (Inc.) 1,317 41
Write In Kirk Huttleston 1 0
Total votes 3,220 100.0

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Main article: New York's 29th congressional district elections, 2010
See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2010 § District 29*
See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2012 § District 23

District 29 was an open seat. Reed won against Democratic and Working Families nominee Matthew Zeller.[4]

On July 1, 2009 Reed announced his candidacy for Congress in 2010 in a seven stop tour.[5][6] He received the endorsement of the county Republican chairmen in all eight counties of the 29th Congressional district, the Monroe County Conservative Party and Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks.[7]

The previous Congressman, Democrat Eric Massa, narrowly won election over Republican then-incumbent Randy Kuhl with 51% of the vote in 2008. Massa was serving his first term, but announced he would not seek reelection in 2010, citing health concerns. Massa resigned after accusations surfaced of sexual harassment of a male staffer.[8] Massa's sudden retirement was expected to give Reed a major boost to his election bid.

On August 18, 2009 Reed reacted to statements by Massa in which Congressman Massa stated he would vote "adamantly against the interests" of his district for single payer health care [9] by stating, "This illustrates the differences between me and Eric Massa. I trust the intelligence of people from upstate New York. I trust the voters to know what they want from their doctors, how they want to take care of their families when it comes to health care. Eric Massa clearly thinks that he knows better." [10]

Reed is an advocate of term limits and has pledged not to serve for more than six two-year terms.[11]

Reed defeated Zeller by a 56%-44% margin in the election.

Reed faced Nate Shinagawa, a Democratic member of the Tompkins County legislature from Ithaca, in the 2012 general election, winning reelection 52%-48%.

Tenure

Reed voted for the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010, despite having numerous reservations.[12] He also voted in favor of repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, agreeing with some of the provisions but disagreeing with a majority of them.[13]

In 2011, Reed sponsored HR 1 which contains an amendment stripping non senior foreign service employees of Washington DC locality pay when they travel abroad. . http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110222/DEPARTMENTS08/102220301/

Reed proposed a resolution to install a clock with the estimated United States national debt, updated in real time, in the chamber of the House of Representatives.[14] Reed is a member of both the Conservative Republican Study Committee and the centrist Republican Main Street Partnership. Reed ranks as the third most conservative member of New York's congressional delegation, narrowly behind second-place Nan Hayworth, in a ranking devised by The Heritage Foundation.[15] He is said to be very well respected among Republican leadership and a liaison between the leadership and the class of freshman Republicans.[16][17]

Reed voted in favor of the Budget Control Act of 2011, despite having reservations over it.[18] He opposed the two-month extension of the Social Security payroll tax reduction, citing the fact that such an extension would have been awkward for businesses that operate on three-month intervals.[17]

Reed has placed a significant focus on eliminating waste and abuse of federal funds during his time in Congress.[19]

Committee assignments

Reed was initially named to the following committees:[20]

However, after 5 months in Congress, Reed was promoted to the United States House Committee on Rules, a rare achievement for a freshman. Reed left the Judiciary Committee and took a leave of absence from the Transportation Committee to take the position on Rules.[21] Reed was appointed to the United States House Committee on Ways and Means on June 14, 2011,[22] a position Reed attributes to "walk[ing] the speaker's dog four days a week."[17]

Health problems

In the immediate days following Reed's election, the Congressman-elect fell ill and was unable to attend his swearing in ceremony. It was later reported that the Congressman had suffered a life threatening pulmonary embolism.[23] Congressman Reed was sworn in three days later upon leaving the hospital, in a special ceremony. He later stated that for his health, he wished to lose 40 pounds and encourage others to be healthy as well (it is unclear if Congressman Reed succeeded in this goal and if his health has improved).[24]

References

  1. ^ Tom Reed for Congress
  2. ^ Finger, Ray (2010-06-27). Third GOP hopeful seeks 29th congressional seat. Gannett News Service. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  3. ^ Reed ousts Coccho
  4. ^ Republicans zeroing in on Massa's seat in 2010
  5. ^ Mayor Reed announces challenge to Massa
  6. ^ Reed announces candidacy for Congress, Jeffery Smith, Corning Leader, July 2, 2009
  7. ^ National Parties Pick Recruits To Topple Freshmen
  8. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Rep. Massa: I will vote against the interests of my district". Washington Times. 2009-08-16. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  10. ^ Reed Reacts To Massa Video
  11. ^ "News - Call for special election does little to quell outrage". Olean Times Herald. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  12. ^ Reed Votes For Extending Tax Breaks. WLEA (2010-12-17). Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  13. ^ Sherwood, Julie (2011-01-20). Reed tells why he voted to repeal health care law. Messenger-Post Newspapers. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  14. ^ http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/18/congressman-wants-ticking-debt-clock-installed-on-house-floor/
  15. ^ Johnson, Michael. Buerkle Tops NY Reps In Heritage ScoreCard. State of Politics. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  16. ^ Cogan, Marin (December 24, 2011). Freshman class superlatives. The Politico. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  17. ^ a b c Zremski, Jerry (December 24, 2011). Reed earns his moment in spotlight. The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  18. ^ Poole, Andrew (August 1, 2011). Reed votes for budget deal. Evening Tribune (Hornell, NY). Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  19. ^ Zremski, Jerry (June 18, 2012). Reed leads campaign against waste. The Buffalo News. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  20. ^ http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/voteup/2010/12/16/reed-to-judiciary-transportation/
  21. ^ [2]
  22. ^ Nease, Gary (2011-06-15). "Reed Appointed To Ways and Means." WPIG. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
  23. ^ "Congressman-elect Tom Reed "Resting Comfortably"". ABC News WHAM. 2010-11-16. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  24. ^ "A harrowing week takes a glorious turn". BuffaloNews. 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 29th congressional district
November 18, 2010 – present 		Succeeded by
District eliminated after the 2010 census
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States Representatives by seniority
337th 		Succeeded by

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