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Sue Weisenbarger Kelly
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 19th district
In office 1995 - present
Preceded by	Charles B. Rangel
Personal details
Political party	Republican

Sue Weisenbarger Kelly (born on September 26, 1936) has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995, representing the 19th District of New York.

Biography

She was born in Lima, Ohio as Susan Weisenbarger and raised Presbyterian. She graduated from Denison University. Prior to becoming a Congresswomen, Kelly held jobs as a small business owner, patient advocate, rape counselor, and educator. She is married to Edward Kelly, and they live in Katonah, New York. They have 4 children and 8 grandchildren.

Political career

When Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr., a Republican, decided not to seek re-election in 1994, Kelly sought and won the nomination for the congressional seat. Kelly defeated Fish's son, who ran as a Democrat, to win the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2004, Kelly easily won re-election with 67% of the vote in New York's 19th Congressional district although the NY Times recently described Kelly's opponents in previous races as "token opposition". Kelly claims a socially moderate and fiscally conservative voting record. A recent survey of congressional power and effectiveness by the nonpartisan Knowlegis company shows that Rep. Kelly is among the 100 most powerful lawmakers in the 435-member House. The survey also labeled Kelly as the second most powerful congressperson in the New York delegation, second only to Thomas M. Reynolds, who is chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Kelly was Chair of the House Page Board from Feb. 1999 to April 2001. This Board has been under fire because of the Mark Foley scandal.

Kelly is a member of The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans for Choice, The Wish List, The Republican Main Street Partnership and Republicans For Environmental Protection. Her NARAL rating is 30% (averaging 1994 - 2005) but 71% (averaging 2000-2005). Her Sierra Club rating 63% (8th highest of Republicans, and 159th overall in the House). She gets negative marks from seniors groups because of her votes on Social Security and Medicare. The Sierra Club has chosen to endorse her competitor in 2006. She has a lifetime rating of 64% from the American Conservative Union demonstrating a moderate to conservative voting record. .

In February 2006, the House voted 216 to 214 to cut domestic spending by $39 billion primarily by cutting $11 billion from Medicaid and another $12.7 billion from federal student loans which led to protests in her district. Sue Kelly and Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) were the deciding votes.

She voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment to permanently ban gay marriage in all states once in 2004 and again in 2006. These votes cost her the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign, which had supported her campaigns prior to 2004.Her rating on the Human Rights Campaign Congressional Scorecard is 33%.

2006 election

Sue Kelly will face Democractic challanger John Hall in her reelection bid during the 2006 mid-term elections.

Fundraising numbers as of June 30 show that more than half of her money comes from PACs.

Under fire in October 2006 for her connection to the Mark Foley scandal, Kelly ran away from a news camera after having failed to respond to a request from the non-partisan League of Women Voters. Kelly was represented by an empty chair at the debate.

Controversy and criticism

On October 9, 2006 the New York Times reported the Mark Foley scandal has put several Republican's re-election bids at risk, but in Kelly's case is "far more tangential and less publicized, but still potentially damaging politically, is the question of whether Kelly herself knew about Foley’s lewd behavior during her tenure as Republican chairwoman of the House Page Board from 1998 to 2001." Further, "The Washington Post reported this past weekend that, during Kelly’s time as board chairwoman, allegedly explicit e-mails from Foley to a page came to the attention of Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona, the only openly gay Republican House member.

References

1. "Hall, Kelly spar over debates". Poughkeepsie Journal. October 11, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
2. ^ "Kelly's Connections to Foley Scandal Put Her Seat at Risk". New York Times. October 9, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-05.

• 1936 births
• Current members of the United States House of Representatives
• Living people
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York
• New York politicians
• Denison University alumni
• Women members of the United States House of Representatives