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John Faso

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John Faso
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 19th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded byChris Gibson
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 102nd district
In office
January 1, 1987 – December 31, 2002
Preceded byClarence Lane
Succeeded byJoel Miller
Personal details
Born (1952-08-25) August 25, 1952 (age 71)
Long Island, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMary Frances Faso
Children2
Alma materState University of New York, Brockport
Georgetown University
WebsiteHouse website

John Faso /ˈfæsoʊ/ (born August 25, 1952) is an American politician and the U.S. Representative for New York's 19th congressional district since January 3, 2017. He served as minority leader of the New York State Assembly from 1998 until 2002, representing the 102nd district from 1987 until 2002. A Republican, he gave up his seat in the Assembly to run for New York State Comptroller in 2002, losing to Alan Hevesi.

In 2006, he made a run for Governor of New York, but was defeated by Democratic nominee Eliot Spitzer.

In 2016, he ran for U.S. Congress in New York's 19th congressional district.[1] He was the endorsed Republican, Conservative, Independence, and Reform candidate.[2] On November 8, 2016, Faso won the election to Congress for New York's 19th district, beating Democratic challenger Zephyr Teachout.[3]

On January 3, 2017, Faso was sworn in as a member of the 115th United States Congress. Since that date he has steadfastly refused to meet his constituents in a public Town Hall setting, only once emerging to address the people he represents when they confronted him at his residence. However, he has several appearances scheduled before paid donors.[4] On February 15, 2017 he was named by the Washington Post as one of 10 most-vulnerable Republican incumbents.[5]

Early life, education, and early career

Faso is of Italian and Irish descent, the eldest of five siblings.[6] He attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York and SUNY-Brockport. After college, Faso became a grants officer for Nassau County, New York.[7] Faso graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1979.[8]

Career

After law school, Faso took government jobs in Washington, D.C., all the while thinking about running for elected office in New York. In 1983, Faso moved to upstate New York, purposely choosing to live in a district where an Assembly seat would soon become open so that he could run. In 1986, the incumbent official retired and Faso won the seat.[7]

1987 to 2002

Faso was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1987 to 2002.[7] He received the 1997 Nelson A Rockefeller College Award for distinguished public service.[9] In late 1994, Faso served on George Pataki's transition team, where he chaired the budget committee.[10] He became head of the team that wrote Pataki's first budget as governor.[7] In 1995, Faso became the Ranking Member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.[11]

Faso and Governor George Pataki attend the NY State Fair.

Faso was the original sponsor of charter school legislation and was involved in the passage of Governor Pataki's proposal to create charter schools in New York State in 1998. He supported expanding the current cap on charter schools.[12]

2002 to 2016

From 2003 to 2006, Faso served as a member of the control board working to fix the financial and managerial issues with the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo City School District.[13]

In late 2002, Faso joined the firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; he took a leave of absence to run for governor in 2006, then rejoined the firm.[9]

In 2010, when Faso was a partner and lobbyist at the firm, it agreed to be banned for five years from appearing before the state's public pension funds as a result of misconduct.[14] The ban expired in October 2015.[15]

2002 State Comptroller's campaign

Faso's work on the state budget fueled a run for New York Comptroller in 2002. Initially trailing Democrat Alan Hevesi (then-Comptroller of New York City) by a 20-point margin,[16] Faso lost the election by a 50%-47% margin. Faso attacked Hevesi throughout the campaign for being “ethically challenged” and denounced him for politicizing pension funds.[17] Hevesi was later jailed in a pay to play scheme involving New York's state pension fund.[18] Years after Faso defeated Hevesi for being "ethically challanged", Faso's law firm paid $550,000 in fines for it's own pension fund pay to play scheme.[14]

2006 gubernatorial campaign

Main article: New York gubernatorial election, 2006
Faso campaigning for Governor in 2006

In 2005, Faso announced his intention to run for governor. For the Republican nomination, Faso faced former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, former New York Secretary of State Randy Daniels, and Assemblyman Patrick Manning. Weld reportedly offered Faso the chance to join his ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor.[19] Faso received the Conservative Party's endorsement[20] while Weld received the Libertarian Party's nomination.[21]

After a weak showing at the state Republican convention, Weld announced his withdrawal from the race.[22]

In June, the Republican State Convention voted to endorse Faso.[23] Faso's running mate was former Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef.[24] Faso was opposed by Democratic nominee Elliot Spitzer.[25] Spitzer won with 69% of the vote, Faso received 29% of the vote.[26]

2009 U.S. House campaign

After then-Representative Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to the U.S. Senate, a special election was called in 2009 to determine her successor in New York's 20th congressional district. Faso positioned himself against Senator Betty Little and Assemblyman Jim Tedisco in the Republican primary, but eventually withdrew after party support coalesced around Tedisco.[27] Tedisco lost the election to Democrat Scott Murphy, who in turn, lost to Chris Gibson at the next election.

2016 U.S. House campaign

On September 14, 2015, Faso announced he would run for New York's 19th congressional district in the 2016 election.[28]

His primary campaign was funded in large part by a SuperPAC made up of contributions from Robert Mercer,[29] a backer of the Alt-Right website Breitbart News[30] and Donald Trump.[31]

Republican Chris Gibson, the retiring incumbent, endorsed Faso.[32] He won the Republican primary against Andrew Heaney, 67.5% to 32.5%.[33] Faso defeated Democratic nominee Zephyr Teachout, who had recently purchased a home in the district, in the general election, winning 53% of the vote.[34]

Tenure

Republican Congressman John Faso in a heated exchange with a constituent at the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce meeting.

After winning his election in 2016, Faso was sworn into office in January 2017 as part of the 115th Congress. Faso was named to House Budget and House Agriculture Committees as well as the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where he serves as Vice Chairman of the Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Material Subcommittee.[citation needed] Previous to this committee assignment, John Faso worked as a paid representative of The Constitution Pipeline Co, an energy company that was attempting to build a pipeline to carry fracked gas through much of New York State. The pipeline was opposed by environmental and safety advocates, and the construction of the pipeline was ultimately blocked by the state. [35]

During his first 30 days in office, Faso's votes aligned with Donald Trump's positions 91.7% of the time.[36]

Notable votes

  • Voted for (and co-sponsored a bill) which intends to change firearm regulations, including allowing an "individual to carry or possess a concealed handgun in a school zone".[37]
  • Voted to repeal a rule requiring energy companies to disclose payments to foreign governments[38]
  • Voted to repeal of a rule requiring some federal contractors to report labor violations[39]
  • Voted to repeal the Stream Protection Rule[40]
  • Voted for budget resolution S.Con Res 3 [41] . This bill was supported by the Heritage Action Policy Group, and referred to by them as the "OBAMACARE REPEAL BUDGET RESOLUTION"[42].
  • Voted in favor of a bill "to gut an Obama administration gun-control regulation that would have helped prevent some mentally ill people from purchasing firearms."[43]
  • Voted for H.J. Res. 69/S.J. Res. 18, which the Washington Post describes as a bill that allows "practices include killing mother bears and cubs as well as denning wolves and pups, along with trapping, baiting and aerial shooting” on Federal lands.

[44]

Controversy

John Faso, Republican, Representative of New York's 19th congressional district at an Indivisible protest in Kinderhook, New York regarding his vote to repeal the ACA (Obamacare).

In 1987, Faso called Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, a "black mark upon this country."[45][46]

In 2010, Faso's law firm, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, paid New York State a $550,000 fine and agreed not to appear before any public pension fund in New York for at least five years. The state's then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (later elected Governor) charged that the firm had acted as an unlicensed financial broker to help companies win business with the state and city pension funds.[47]

In 2014, Faso worked was hired as a paid representative of The Constitution Pipeline Co, an energy company that was attempting to build a pipeline to carry fracked gas through much of New York State. The pipeline was opposed by Environmental and safety advocates, and the construction of the pipeline was ultimately blocked by the state.[48]

Faso was quoted in The Washington Post saying he had "no problem" with defunding Planned Parenthood but urging his fellow Republicans not to do so as part of the proposed repeal of the ACA (Obamacare).[49] Faso later clarified his stance on Planned Parenthood, stating he prefers the "status quo".[50]

Faso faced large protests against his support of ACA repeal.[51][52] Faso would not commit to a town hall meeting to discuss the Affordable Care Act.[53][54]

Personal life

Faso has two children. He is a Roman Catholic.[6]

References

  1. ^ "New York gets another chance to listen to John Faso". nypost.com. September 21, 2015.
  2. ^ "Faso Releases 'Better Off'". johnfaso.com.
  3. ^ Niedzwiadek, Nick (November 9, 2016). "Faso defeats Teachout as Republicans hold NY House seats". Politico. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  4. ^ http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20170209/some-of-rep-fasos-constituents-find-new-congressman-inaccessible
  5. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/02/15/republicans-believe-these-10-house-incumbents-will-face-the-toughest-campaigns-of-2018/?utm_term=.6b02ae5b1f7f
  6. ^ a b Healy, Patrick (October 18, 2006). "An Ill-Timed Candidate Believes His Time Is Now". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d Healy, Patrick (2006-10-18). "An Ill-Timed Candidate Believes His Time Is Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  8. ^ Herszenhorn, David M. "In the Race for Governor, a Big Divide on School Aid", The New York Times, November 2, 2006. Accessed December 6, 2007. "Mr. Faso, whose father worked as a janitor in the Catholic grammar school that he attended on Long Island, went on to Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens and the State University of New York at Brockport."
  9. ^ a b "John J. Faso Rejoins Manatt". Business Wire. December 1, 2006. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  10. ^ "Faso to head Pataki budget team". News Bank. November 21, 1994.
  11. ^ Dao, James (June 5, 1995). "More Budget Battles; This Year's Fiscal Fight Is Over in Albany But Squabbling May Be Worse Next Year". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  12. ^ Peterson, Helen (September 9, 1999). "Charter School Experiment Begins". New York Dailly News. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Colucci named to city control board". Buffalo Business Journal. August 29, 2006. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  14. ^ a b Steyer, Robert (October 12, 2010). "Faso's law firm settles in pay-to-play probe". Crain's New York Business. PI Online.com. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  15. ^ Lovett, Ken (October 12, 2015). "Ban on congressional candidate John Faso's old firm expiring". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  16. ^ Now it's 'real race' for controller seat. As gap closes, Faso & Hevesi get nasty
  17. ^ Jonathan P. Hicks (2002-11-02). "Testy Debate By 2 Running To Become Comptroller". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  18. ^ "New York gets another chance to listen to John Faso". New York Post. September 20, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  19. ^ Healy, Patrick (June 1, 2006). "Weld-Faso? Faso-Weld? The Kingmaker From Nassau Holds the Cards". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  20. ^ Healy, Patrick (May 24, 2006). "Conservative Party Endorses Faso for Governor, Setting Up a Political Fight in G.O.P." The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  21. ^ "Bill Weld as a Libertarian Party Candidate in New York?". Hammer of Truth. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  22. ^ "Former Mass. Gov. Weld drops out of New York race". The Washington Post. June 6, 2006. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  23. ^ Edsall, Thomas B. (May 29, 2006). "Another Stumble for Ralph Reed's Beleaguered Campaign". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  24. ^ Jennifer Medina (2006-05-23). "Faso Expected to Name Suburban Moderate as Running Mate". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  25. ^ Healy, Patrick (2006-10-13). "Faso Jabs Sharply at Spitzer, Who Assails 'Angry' Tone". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  26. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_gubernatorial_election,_2006
  27. ^ Huber, Michael (2009-01-24). "Greene County GOP goes with Faso - Local Politics". Blog.timesunion.com. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  28. ^ "John Faso to kick off congressional campaign". Capitalnewyork.com. 2015-07-28. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  29. ^ Railey, Kimberly (2015-10-12). "Candidates With Super PAC Connections Face Off in New York GOP House Primary". Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  30. ^ "Hedge-fund magnate backing Cruz is major investor in Breitbart News Network". Politico. April 13, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  31. ^ Swan, Jonathan (August 17, 2016). "Billionaire father and daughter linked to Trump shake-up". The Hill. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  32. ^ Kilgallen, Michaela (2016-07-18). "Chris Gibson endorses GOPer John Faso in NY-19". Times Union. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  33. ^ "New York's 19th Congressional District election, 2016". Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  34. ^ "New York U.S. House 19th District Results: John Faso Wins". The New York Times. November 16, 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  35. ^ http://www.politifact.com/new-york/statements/2016/jul/18/zephyr-teachout/adding-context-zephyr-teachouts-claim-john-fasos-w/
  36. ^ "Faso voting record". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  37. ^ "congress.gov". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  38. ^ "Faso voting record". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  39. ^ "Faso voting record". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  40. ^ "Faso voting record". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  41. ^ "Faso voting record". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  42. ^ http://heritageaction.com/key-votes/yes-obamacare-repeal-budget-house-sconres3
  43. ^ "Faso voting record". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  44. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/2017/02/16/4c4669d2-f468-11e6-b9c9-e83fce42fb61_story.html?utm_term=.4f37826c1e1d
  45. ^ "Is John Faso Fighting An Unbeatable Foe?". Observer. 2005-12-12. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  46. ^ Cooper, Michael (2006-10-22). "A History of Going Against the Grain With Republican Colleagues". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  47. ^ Lovett, Kenneth (2010-10-13). "Former New York gubernatorial candidate John Faso's law firm settles to pay in play probe". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  48. ^ http://www.politifact.com/new-york/statements/2016/jul/18/zephyr-teachout/adding-context-zephyr-teachouts-claim-john-fasos-w/
  49. ^ "Behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  50. ^ "Rep. Faso Clarifies Quotes on Planned Parenthood". WAMC. 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  51. ^ "People gather outside Faso office to protest GOP pledge to repeal Affordable Care Act". Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  52. ^ Horrigan, Jeremiah. "Demonstrators at Congressman John Faso's home ask him to oppose Trump's plans". Hudson Valley One. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  53. ^ http://imby.com/hudson/article/rep-john-faso-refuses-to-commit-to-town-hall-to-discuss-acaobamacare
  54. ^ http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20170209/some-of-rep-fasos-constituents-find-new-congressman-inaccessible
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 19th congressional district
2017-present 		Incumbent
New York State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the New York Assembly
from the 102nd district
1987–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minority Leader of the New York Assembly
1998–2002 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Comptroller of New York
2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of New York
2006 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States Representatives by seniority
402nd 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Faso&oldid=766121766"