Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania politician): Difference between revisions
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== Personal life == |
== Personal life == |
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Kelly lives in [[Butler, Pennsylvania|Butler]], Pennsylvania, with his wife, Victoria. They have four children, George III, Brendan, Charlotte, and Colin, and ten grandchildren.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mikekellyforcongress.com/mikes-story/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012074511/http://www.mikekellyforcongress.com/mikes-story/ |archive-date=2010-10-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is the brother-in-law of [[Tennessee's 1st congressional district]] Congressman [[Phil Roe (politician)|Phil Roe]]. He is Catholic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.cq.com/members/31250|title=RollCall.com - Member Profile - Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa.|website=media.cq.com}}</ref> In 2019 he stated that as a person of Irish and [[Anglo Saxon]] descent |
Kelly lives in [[Butler, Pennsylvania|Butler]], Pennsylvania, with his wife, Victoria. They have four children, George III, Brendan, Charlotte, and Colin, and ten grandchildren.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mikekellyforcongress.com/mikes-story/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012074511/http://www.mikekellyforcongress.com/mikes-story/ |archive-date=2010-10-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is the brother-in-law of [[Tennessee's 1st congressional district]] Congressman [[Phil Roe (politician)|Phil Roe]]. He is Catholic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.cq.com/members/31250|title=RollCall.com - Member Profile - Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa.|website=media.cq.com}}</ref> In 2019 he stated that as a person of Irish and [[Anglo Saxon]] descent, he considers himself a [[person of color]]--a term often used to describe people of non-white backgrounds.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cole |first1=Devan |title=White GOP congressman says he isn't offended by racist Trump tweets because 'I'm a person of color' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/17/politics/mike-kelly-trump-tweets-person-of-color/index.html |website=www.cnn.com |publisher=CNN |accessdate=17 July 2019}}</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
Revision as of 21:56, 16 March 2020
Mike Kelly | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 16th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Kathy Dahlkemper |
Constituency | 3rd (2011–2019) 16th (2019–present) |
Personal details | |
Born | George Joseph Kelly Jr. May 10, 1948 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Victoria Kelly |
Children | 4 |
Education | University of Notre Dame (BA) |
Website | House website |
George Joseph "Mike" Kelly Jr. (born May 10, 1948) is an American politician in the Republican Party who has been a U.S. Representative since 2011 and is currently serving as representative for Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district.[2] The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 2011 to 2019, is based in Erie and stretches from the northwest corner of the state to the outer northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, including Kelly's home in Butler.
Education and early career
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (July 2019) |
Kelly was born on May 10, 1948, in Pittsburgh, but has spent most of his life in Butler. He played varsity football as a fullback in high school, and his team reached two WPIAL championship games. He graduated from Butler High School in 1966. He received a scholarship to play football at University of Notre Dame, but his playing ended because of an injury. Before his election to Congress, Kelly was a member of the Butler City Council.
Automotive business
After college, he worked for his father's Chevrolet/Cadillac car dealership. In 1995, he purchased his father's business, and then added Hyundai and KIA to his dealership lineup.[3] In March 2019, a local TV station discovered that there were 17 vehicles for sale on Kelly's Uniontown and Butler lots which were the subject of recall notices, but they had not been repaired. The station contacted both the businesses and the congressman's office without receiving responses.[4] A month later, a reporter found three of those vehicles with active recalls still for sale.[4] In November 2015, Kelly had spoken on the floor of Congress in support of a bill that would have given permission to dealers to loan or rent vehicles despite there being National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety recall notices on such vehicles. Kelly had said, “There is not a single person in our business that would ever put one of our owners in a defective car or a car with a recall. But that could happen. That could happen.” The congressional bill failed to pass. With support from dealers' associations allowing such vehicles to be marketed without repairs, a similar measure passed in Pennsylvania and was signed into law, as did one in Tennessee. Such bills failed to pass in seven other states. The auto manufacturing industry opposed the bill, with General Motors saying, "provisions that allow for sale of a used vehicle with an unrepaired safety recall with a simple notice raise significant safety concerns." After the station's initial contacts, Kelly's son Brendan, who operates Mike Kelly Automotive responded by saying, "The dealerships will not sell any vehicle that is in violation of a federal or state Law."[4]
United States House of Representatives
Elections
- 2010
Kelly challenged incumbent Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper in 2010.[5] He won the election by 10%,[6] largely by running up his margins outside of heavily Democratic Erie.
- 2012
Kelly defeated Democrat Missa Eaton 55%–41%.[7] His district had been made slightly friendlier in redistricting. The district was pushed slightly to the south, absorbing some rural and Republican territory east of Pittsburgh. At the same time, eastern Erie County was drawn into the heavily Republican 5th district. The 3rd and 5th were drawn so that the boundary between the two districts ran along the eastern boundary of the city of Erie.
- 2014
Kelly defeated Democrat Dan LaVallee of Cranberry Township 60.5%–39.5%.[8]
- 2016
Kelly ran unopposed and received 100% of the vote.
- 2018
After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out Pennsylvania's original congressional map in February 2018, Kelly's district was renumbered as the 16th and made slightly more compact. It regained the eastern portion of Erie County that had been drawn into the 5th. To make up for the increase in population, its southern portion was pushed to the west, ending just outside of Kelly's hometown of Butler.[9]
PoliticsPA wrote that Kelly's seat might not be one of the seats considered safe for re-election. Public Policy Polling found that Kelly had a 48% to 43% lead over Democratic opponent Ron DiNicola.
Kelly ultimately defeated DiNicola 51.6%–47.2%, his first close contest since his initial run for the seat.
Ratings
Kelly has received the following ratings from advocacy organizations:[10]
- United States Chamber of Commerce: 95%
- The Club for Growth: 71%
- FreedomWorks: 55%
- The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: D
- American Civil Liberties Union: 5%
- League of Conservation Voters: 4%
- Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 4%
Committee assignments
- United States House Committee on Ways and Means
- Subcommittee on Oversight (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Health
In addition, Kelly serves as the co-chair of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives from the 18 Northeastern and Midwestern States.[11] He is an appointed member of the President's Export Council.
Caucus memberships
- Congressional Automotive Caucus (co-chairman)
- Congressional Coal Caucus
- Job Creators Caucus
- House Small Brewers Caucus (co-chairman)
- Natural Gas Caucus
- Sportsman's Caucus
- Retirement Security Caucus (co-chairman)
- Congressional Caucus on Korea (co-chairman)
- Congressional Manufacturing Caucus
- Congressional Steel Caucus
- International Conservation Caucus[12]
- Marcellus Shale Caucus
- Congressional Prayer Caucus
- Pro-Life Caucus
- Republican Study Committee[13]
- Republican Main Street Partnership.[14]
- Congressional Western Caucus[15]
Political positions
"Deep state" conspiracy theories
When speaking at a Mercer County Republican Party event in 2017, Kelly advanced the conspiracy theory that former president Barack Obama was running a "shadow government" to undermine President Trump.[16][17][18] When asked about these remarks, Kelly said that they were meant to be private.[19][16] After the remarks made national news, Kelly's spokesperson said that Kelly did not believe that Obama "is personally operating a shadow government".[16][17][18]
Donald Trump
Mike Kelly has argued against the release of President Donald Trump's tax returns by the House Ways and Means Committee.[20]
In December 2019, Kelly likened the impeachment to the Attack on Pearl Harbor.[21] He said the date in which Trump was impeached is "another date that will live in infamy," referring to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's December 1941 statement about the Pearl Harbor attack.[21]
Environment
In July 2014, Kelly compared the Environmental Protection Agency to terrorists while attacking EPA regulations limiting power plant emissions, saying "You talk about terrorism – you can do it in a lot of different ways,... But you terrorize the people who supply everything this country needs to be great – and you keep them on the sidelines – my goodness, what have we become?"[22]
In September 2018, Kelly was rated 0% by the Clean Water Action group.[23]
Healthcare
On August 1, 2012, Kelly called the HHS mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) - which requires health insurers or employers that provide their employees with health insurance to cover some contraceptive costs in their health insurance plans - an attack on Americans' constitutionally protected religious rights and that August 1, 2012, would go down in infamy as "the day that religious freedom died".[24]
Redistricting
When Kelly was elected, the district was located in the northwestern corner of the state, stretching from Erie to rural territory near Pittsburgh. In February 2018, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled the Pennsylvania districts to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered, most of his district became a part of the 16th District.
Personal life
Kelly lives in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Victoria. They have four children, George III, Brendan, Charlotte, and Colin, and ten grandchildren.[25] He is the brother-in-law of Tennessee's 1st congressional district Congressman Phil Roe. He is Catholic.[26] In 2019 he stated that as a person of Irish and Anglo Saxon descent, he considers himself a person of color--a term often used to describe people of non-white backgrounds.[27]
References
- ^ "Ranking the Net Worth of the 115th". Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- ^ Hildebrand, Nick. "Clock starts to tick for Kelly to get specific about his agenda". The Herald. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c Pennsylvania law allows sale of potentially dangerous recalled vehicles, WTAE, Paul Van Osdol, April 26, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ "2016 Election Results: President Live Map by State, Real-Time Voting Updates". Election Hub. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Election Results". Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ Cohn, Nate. "The New Pennsylvania Congressional Map, District by District". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "Mike Kelly, Representative for Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District - GovTrack.us". GovTrack.us. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- ^ "Northeast-Midwest Insititute » The Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition". www.nemw.org. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ "Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Members". Republican Mains Street Partnership. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
- ^ "Members". Congressional Western Caucus. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Analysis | GOP congressman offers strange Obama conspiracy theory — and even stranger explanations". Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ a b "Kelly backtracks on claim of Obama". Early Returns:. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ a b "Western PA congressman backs off 'strange' Obama shadow gove". @politifact. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ^ "Philly Clout: Congressman's conspiracy theory was supposed to be 'private'". Philly.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ "GOP Warns That Releasing Trump's Taxes Could Lead to More Transparency". Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Reuters, Source: (2019-12-18). "Republican congressman Mike Kelly compares impeachment inquiry to Pearl Harbor - video". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
{{cite news}}
:|last=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Congressman Compares EPA's New Climate Rule To Terrorism". Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ "Mike Kelly, Jr.'s Political Summary". Vote Smart. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ "Congressman: 'We're Still Home of the Brave, But We're Not the Land of the Free Anymore'". CNS News. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-10-12. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "RollCall.com - Member Profile - Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa". media.cq.com.
- ^ Cole, Devan. "White GOP congressman says he isn't offended by racist Trump tweets because 'I'm a person of color'". www.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
External links
- Congressman Mike Kelly official U.S. House site
- Mike Kelly for Congress
- Mike Kelly at Curlie
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- 1948 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- American automobile salespeople
- Businesspeople from Pennsylvania
- Living people
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania city council members
- Pennsylvania Republicans
- People from Butler, Pennsylvania
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- School board members in Pennsylvania
- Climate change denial
- American conspiracy theorists