Rodney Frelinghuysen

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Rodney Frelinghuysen
Rodney Frelinghuysen, official photo portrait, color.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 1995
Preceded by Dean Gallo
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 25th district
In office
January 10, 1984 – January 3, 1995
Succeeded by Anthony Bucco
Member of the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders
In office
January 1, 1974 – January 1, 1983
Personal details
Born (1946-04-29) April 29, 1946 (age 67)
New York City, New York
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Virginia Robinson (m. 1980)
Residence Harding Township, New Jersey
Alma mater Hobart College
Occupation political assistant
Religion Episcopalian
Military service
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1969-1971
Rank E-5 - SPC5.PNG Specialist 5[1]
Unit 93rd Engineer Battalion
Battles/wars Vietnam War

Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (pron.: /ˈfrlɪŋhsən/; born April 29, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 11th congressional district, serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Contents

Early life, education, and early political career [edit]

Frelinghuysen is a member of a family long prominent in New Jersey politics. He is the son of Peter Hood Ballantine Frelinghuysen II, great-great-grandson of Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, and great-great-great-nephew of Theodore Frelinghuysen, who each represented New Jersey in the Congress. After graduating from Hobart College in 1969, where he had been president of the Kappa Alpha Society, Frelinghuysen enrolled at Trinity College for graduate work. However, the United States Army drafted Frelinghuysen before he could graduate from Trinity. Following basic training at Fort Dix, he served with the 93rd Engineer Battalion in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.

After his military service, Frelinghuysen worked for the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders until he was elected to serve as a Freeholder in 1974.

In 1983, Frelinghuysen was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 25th legislative district. He ran in 1990 for New Jersey's 12th congressional district, but finished third to Dick Zimmer and Phil McConkey.

U.S. House of Representatives [edit]

Elections [edit]

Midway through his sixth term, incumbent U.S. Congressman Dean Gallo decided to retire after discovering he had incurable prostate cancer (he died two days before the election). Rodney was chosen to be the Republican nominee after Gallo dropped out. He defeated Democrat State Senator Frank Herbert 71%-28% in November 1994.[2] After that, he won re-election with at least 62% of the vote. He was only challenged in the Republican primary twice, 2008 and 2010. In 2008, he defeated Kate Erber in the June primary 87%-13%.[3] In 2010, he defeated Richard Luzzi 76%-24%.[4]

Tenure [edit]

Like most other Republicans from New Jersey, Frelinghuysen has a relatively moderate voting record. He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, the Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans for Choice and Republicans For Environmental Protection. However, the Sunlight Foundation pointed out that among the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Frelinghuysen has the third-highest amount of investment in oil stocks.[5] Frelinghuysen's scores from the League of Conservation Voters dropped sharply after 2008, from the 42-67% range during 1999-2008 to 21-23% during 2009-12. During the 2011-12 Congress, his League of Conservation Voters rating was 11th out of 13 members of the House from New Jersey, and 4th among the 6 Republicans from the state.[6]

Frelinghuysen's record on abortion is somewhat mixed, receiving a 50% from the NRLC and a 30% from NARAL in 2003.[7] When he was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, he made a small financial contribution to the activist/civil disobedience group ACT UP.

In 2000, left-wing activist Michael Moore attempted to have a ficus challenge Frelinghuysen's unopposed re-election, to make the point that most Members of Congress "run unopposed in their primaries and 95% are re-elected every time in the general election". Adding, "we think it's time to point out to the Frelinghuysen family that we live in a democracy, not a dynasty."[8] (Since 1793, New Jersey has sent six Frelinghuysens to Congress — four to the U.S. Senate and two to the House of Representatives.)

On May 24, 2007, Frelinghuysen chased down a pickpocket who had stolen his wallet near his home in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Two Washington police officers saw the chase and arrested the 18-year-old suspect who had been caught by the 61-year-old congressman.[9]

In 2009, Frelinghuysen was the chief sponsor of 16 bills, 11 of which had no co-sponsors. He co-sponsored 90 other bills, occasionally with Democrats on non-controversial issues.

Committee assignments [edit]

Electoral history [edit]

New Jersey's 11th congressional district: Results 1994–2010[10][11][12]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
1994 Frank Herbert 50,211 28% Rodney Frelinghuysen 127,868 71% Mary Frueholz LaRouche Was Right 1,065 1% *
1996 Chris Evangel 78,742 31% Rodney Frelinghuysen 169,091 66% Ed DeMott Independent 2,870 1% Austin S. Lett Independent 2,618 1% *
1998 John P. Scollo 44,160 30% Rodney Frelinghuysen 100,910 68% Austin S. Lett Independent 1,737 1% Agnes James Independent 1,409 1% *
2000 John P. Scollo 80,958 30% Rodney Frelinghuysen 186,140 68% John Pickarski Independent 5,199 2% James Spinosa Independent 1,541 1%
2002 Vij Pawar 48,477 26% Rodney Frelinghuysen 132,938 72% Richard S. Roth Libertarian 2,263 1%
2004 James W. Buell 91,811 31% Rodney Frelinghuysen 200,915 68% John Mele Immigration
Moratorium Now
1,746 1% Austin S. Lett Libertarian 1,530 1%
2006 Tom Wyka 74,414 37% Rodney Frelinghuysen 126,085 62% Richard S. Roth Libertarian 1,730 1% John Mele Constitution 842 <1%
2008 Tom Wyka 105,095 37% Rodney Frelinghuysen 177,059 62% Chandler Tedholm For the People 3,526 1%
2010 Douglas Herbert 55,472 31% Rodney Frelinghuysen 122,149 67% Jim Gawron Libertarian 4,179 2%
2012 John Arvanites 123,897 40% Rodney Frelinghuysen 182,237 59% Barry Berlin Opposing Congressional Gridlock 3,725 1%
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1994, Stuart Bacha received 436 votes. In 1996, Victoria S. Spruiell received 1,837 votes. In 1998, Stephen A. Bauer received 755 votes.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Dean Gallo
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 11th congressional district

1995–Present
Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by
Chaka Fattah
D-Pennsylvania
United States Representatives by seniority
78th
Succeeded by
Doc Hastings
R-Washington