John Hall (New York politician)

John Hall
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 19th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Sue Kelly
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Pamela Hall
Residence	Dover Plains, New York
Alma mater	University of Notre Dame Loyola College in Maryland
Occupation	musician

For other people named John Hall, see John Hall.

John Joseph Hall (born July 23 1948) is an American musician, activist, and politician currently serving as the Congressman for New York's 19th congressional district. In his musical career, he co-founded the 1970s band Orleans.

Musical career

File:Waking and Dreaming.jpg

Waking and Dreaming, featuring the band Orleans with Hall at center

Hall was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was a student at the University of Notre Dame when he quit to devote himself to music. Songwriting and session time with such artists as Janis Joplin, Seals & Crofts and Bonnie Raitt preceded his founding of Orleans in January 1972 in Ulster County, New York with Wells Kelly and Larry Hoppen. Lance Hoppen, Larry's brother, joined the band later in that year.

The band's work included an album, Waking and Dreaming, with a cover on which all the band members, including Hall, posed stripped to the waist.

In 1977, Hall left to begin a solo career and became active in the anti-nuclear movement, co-founding Musicians United for Safe Energy. Another group, the John Hall Band, released two albums, but disbanded after limited chart success. "Crazy (Keep On Fallin')", from the album All of the Above, was the band's only major hit.

Hall spent the next few decades writing songs for other artists and reunited with Orleans in 1990, 1996, and 2000. In 2005, he released Rock Me on the Water, an album of songs inspired by an extensive sailing trip that took him from Kingston, New York, to Havana, Cuba, the Florida Keys, Martha's Vineyard, Cuttyhunk, and Annapolis, Maryland. He also formed Gulf Stream Night with longtime Orleans drummer Peter O'Brien, percussionist Joakim Lartey, bassist Bobby MacDougal, and wife Pamela Melanie Hall on second guitar.

Political career

In late October 2004, Hall publicly commented that the presidential campaign of George W. Bush had not asked for permission to use the Orleans song "Still the One" at campaign events. The campaign later dropped the song from their playlist. Four years later, Hall expressed similar disapproval when John McCain's presidential campaign also used the song without asking for permission.

He has been involved with Mid-Hudson Nuclear Opponents, who successfully fought the siting of a nuclear power plant on the Hudson River in Greene County, New York. While living in Saugerties, New York, Hall co-founded Saugerties Concerned Citizens, and helped write the town's first zoning law. When Ulster County announced plans for a 200-acre solid waste dump on the historic Winston Farm, Hall led the opposition. This effort culminated in his 1989 election to the Ulster County Legislature. In the late 1990s, after three successive school budgets were rejected by the voters, John ran for, and was elected twice to, the Saugerties Board of Education. His fellow trustees elected him president, and budgets were passed each year of Hall's tenure.

Signs for Hall and Sue Kelly during the competitive 2006 election

Hall ran in the September 2006 primary race as a Democrat in New York's 19th congressional district. He won the primary, with a commanding 48% in a 4-way race, and faced incumbent Sue W. Kelly in the November election. Hall defeated Kelly with 51% of the vote, losing to Kelly in Putnam, Dutchess, and Rockland counties, but carrying the incumbent's home county of Westchester, as well as Orange, to pull off the upset.

He was assisted in this bid by the $500,000 donated by Adam R. Rose, an openly gay real-estate developer who lives in the District, to a 527 group called Majority Action. This group ran negative advertisements against Kelly. Rose described his motivation as revenge for Kelly's support for the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have banned same-sex marriage. Hall also received support from the village of Kiryas Joel, which was normally Republican, but was unhappy that Kelly didn't support a controversial water pipeline project.

According to an article in the Hudson Valley newspaper, the Middletown Times Herald-Record, two days after his primary victory, Hall, in an online chat with the progressive blog Firedoglake, was asked about his position on a possible impeachment of President George W. Bush. Hall stopped short of endorsing impeachment "before hearing evidence", but added that "Whether impeachment or censure, some action must be taken to circumscribe the powers of the presidency". When pressed on the issue, "he candidly reminded the probing blogger, 'I'm trying to get elected in a historically Republican district.'"

Hall was interviewed by Comedy Central-based satirist Stephen Colbert on October 19 2006 for a "Better Know a District" segment of his popular comedy show, The Colbert Report. Sue Kelly turned down the opportunity to be interviewed. As the centerpiece of the interview, Colbert eventually convinced Hall to harmonize with him on the Orleans song "Dance with Me". He made a brief encore appearance on The Colbert Report the day after his election, November 8, joining Colbert in a harmonized rendition of the The Star-Spangled Banner.

Hall has drawn numerous potential challengers for the 2008 race, including Iraq veteran Kieran Lalor and County Legislator George Oros. Other potential challengers included Sue Kelly, ex-Congressman Joseph J. DioGuardi, ex-State Superintendent of Insurance Howard Mills, ex-NYC Finance Commissioner and State Tax Commissioner Andrew Eristoff, Emily Pataki, the daughter of former Governor George Pataki, and ex-Pataki campaign manager Michael Finnegan. Having received the endorsement of the Republican committees in all five counties in the district, Lalor is now the only remaining Republican challenger.

Republicans have had trouble recruiting a strong challenger, and top-tier candidates such as State Assemblyman Greg Ball, Orange County Executive Ed Diana, and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer have all declined to run for the seat. Andrew Saul, head of the Federal Thrift Retirement Investment Board had begun raising funds for a campaign but announced on November 20, 2007 that he would not run. In February 2008, however, Saul was rumored to be considering entering the race once again and had launched online polls to gauge interest. As Hall is a freshman Democrat representing a traditionally Republican district, the race is sure to garner national attention. Hall has been targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee. However, Hall still defeated a better funded, popular six-term incumbent in 2006, who had won in 2004 with 73% of the vote.

Committee assignments

• Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
• Veterans’ Affairs Committee
  • Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
• Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

Issues and positions

Hall is only the third Democrat to represent what is now the 19th district since World War I. (The first was George McClellan, from 1913-15 when it was the 27th District; the second was Joseph Y. Resnick from 1965-69, when it was the 28th District.) Hall has described himself as a progressive Democrat. In the beginning of the 110th Congress, Hall voted to raise minimum wage and federal funding of stem cell research.

Prior to the election, Hall expressed interest in drug policy reform. At SUNY New Paltz, during a March 11 2006 audio interview, he said that drug prohibition had "failed" and that he agreed with Maurice Hinchey on the need for reform on Plan Colombia, Medical Marijuana, and a provision of the Higher Education Act that denies financial aid to students with drug offenses. However, in July 2007, John Hall voted against an amendment by Hinchey that would end the raid of medical marijuana patients.

During his campaign, Hall also repeated his call for the closure of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant.

Hall was assigned to serve on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and is chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs of the Veterans Affairs Committee in the 110th Congress.

As of February 12 2007, Hall is listed as a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Criticism

Hall has been criticized by the Majority Accountability Project, an organization formed by Republican former Congressional staffers, which alleges that Hall is the only Congressional recipient of campaign contributions from former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer who has not returned them after Spitzer resigned from office in disgrace, amid a highly publicized sex scandal.

External links

• U.S. Congressman John Hall official House site
• John Hall for Congress official campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Music Career Interview with John Hall
• John Hall at AllMusic

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