Connie Mack IV

Connie Mack
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 14th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Porter Goss
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 91st district
In office 2001–2004
Preceded by	Debby P. Sanderson
Succeeded by	Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff
Personal details
Born	August 12, 1967 (1967-08-12) (age 44) Fort Myers, Florida
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Bono Mack
Children	Addison Mack Connie Mack V
Residence	Fort Lauderdale, Florida (2000-2004) Fort Myers, Florida (2003-present)
Alma mater	University of Florida
Occupation	Marketing Executive
Religion	Roman Catholic

Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV ^[1] popularly known as Connie Mack IV (born August 12, 1967) is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 14th congressional district, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes Fort Myers and Naples.

Early life, education, and family

Mack was born in 1967 in Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida to former U.S. Senator Connie Mack and cancer prevention advocate Priscilla Mack.^[2] In 1993, he earned a B.S. from the University of Florida. He became a marketing executive.^[3]

His father, Connie Mack III, represented the district from 1983 to 1989 (when it was numbered as the 13th District) before serving two terms in the U.S. Senate. He is a great-grandson of Connie Mack, the manager and owner of baseball's Philadelphia Athletics, and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is also a great-grandson of Morris Sheppard, U.S. Senator and Representative from Texas, and a step-great-grandson of Tom Connally, who was the Texas Junior Senator to Sheppard for 12 years (Sheppard's widow married Connally the year after Sheppard died).^[4] Mack's great-great-grandfather was John Levi Sheppard, who was also a U.S. Representative from Texas.

Florida legislature

Mack served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2003, representing the 91st district in Fort Lauderdale.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 2004, Mack moved to Fort Myers, where he'd grown up, and entered the Republican primary for the 14th District. He narrowly won a four-way primary, which was tantamount to election in this heavily Republican district. He breezed to victory in November and was reelected in 2006 and 2008 with relatively little difficulty, though by somewhat smaller margins than those scored by Goss and his father.

Mack was considered a potential candidate against incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson in the 2012 Senate election. However, he declined to run on March 25, 2011, citing family and his work in the U.S. House of Representatives.^[5]

Tenure

Mack is a vocal supporter of less federal spending and lower taxes. He is a signer of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.^[6] Additionally, he is an original co-sponsor of a constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget and has been one of the most outspoken opponents of federal bailouts.

Mack also has been a prominent advocate for greater congressional oversight of government activities related to surveillance. For example, he voted against George W. Bush's domestic eavesdropping program in 2006 and FISA Reform in 2007.^[7]

Mack serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee, where he is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. In particular, Mack is an outspoken critic of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez,^[8] and was one of the most vocal critics of the creation of the pan-Latin American TV network teleSUR.^[9] He is also a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mack helped secure over $81 million to expand Interstate 75 in Southwest Florida, a project of significant concern to the region.

Unlike many in his party (as well as in Congress in general), Mack has been a vigorous and outspoken defender of the whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks.^[10]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
  • Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy
  • Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management
  • Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending

2012 U.S. Senate election

Main article: United States Senate election in Florida, 2012

On October 26, 2011, it was announced Mack had changed his mind regarding a challenge to Bill Nelson and that he will indeed seek the Republican nomination. Mack's spokesman cited the fact that he felt no one in the current field was able to defeat Nelson. ^[11]

Electoral history

Florida's 14th congressional district: Results 2004–2008^[12]

Year		Republican	Votes	Pct		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Other	Votes	Pct
2004		Connie Mack	226,622	67.6%		Robert M. Neeld	108,672	32.4%
2006		Connie Mack (incumb.)	151,615	64.4%		Robert M. Neeld	83,920	35.6%		Write-in	4	0%
2008		Connie Mack (incumb.)	224,602	59.4%		Robert M. Neeld	93,590	24.8%		Burt Saunders	54,750	14.5%
2010		Connie Mack (incumb.)	188,341	68.6%		James L. Roach	74,525	27.1%		William Maverick St. Claire	11,825	4.3%

Personal life

Mack was married in 1996 and had two children before divorcing in 2006.^[1] Mack married California Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack in 2007.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Zambo, Kristen (5 August 2006). "Mack divorce proceedings include sale of $825,000 home". Naples Daily News. http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/aug/05/rep_macks_divorce_final_settlement_reached/. Retrieved 5 April 2010. 
2. ^ http://mack.house.gov/index.cfm?p=Biography
3. ^ http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m001155
4. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
5. ^ Smith, Adam (March 25, 2011). "Connie Mack will not run for U.S. Senate". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/connie-mack-will-not-run-for-us-senate/1159566. Retrieved March 25, 2011. 
6. ^ Current Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers
7. ^ http://www.ontheissues.org/FL/Connie_Mack_IV.htm
8. ^ RedState <http://www.crosstabs.org/stories/foreign_affairs/rep_mack_free_trade_is_key_to_combating_chavez>
9. ^ Congressman works to counter socialist air time, on Connie Mack's HOR website <http://mack.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Articles.View&ContentRecord_id=108>
10. ^ Levy-Baker, Cooper Rep. Mack once again stands up for WikiLeaks, Florida Independent
11. ^ Catanese, Dave (October 26, 2011). "Connie Mack to enter Fla. Senate Race". Politico. http://www.politico.com/blogs/davidcatanese/1011/Connie_Mack_to_enter_Fla_Senate_race.html?showall. Retrieved October 26, 2011. 
12. ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-27. 

External links

• Congressman Connie Mack official U.S. House site
• Connie Mack, Congressman official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Porter Goss	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 14th congressional district January 3, 2005 – present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Cathy McMorris R-Washington	United States Representatives by seniority 248th	Succeeded by Kenny Marchant R-Texas

Persondata
Name	Mack, Connie 4
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1967-08-12
Place of birth	Fort Myers, Florida
Date of death
Place of death