John E. Sweeney

John Edward Sweeney (born August 9, 1955) is an American politician from the U.S. state of New York. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York's 20th congressional district from 1999 to 2007.

A Republican, he previously served as the Commission of the New York State Department of Labor under George Pataki from 1995 to 1997. He was dubbed "Congressman Kick-Ass" by President George W. Bush for his take-no-prisoners style. He was defeated for reelection in 2006 by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.

Early life and education

Sweeney was born in Troy, New York and graduated from Lansingburgh High School in 1973. He is of Irish and Armenian descent. He received an associate degree from Hudson Valley Community College in 1978 and a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice from the Sage College of Albany in 1981. In 1991, he received a J.D. from Western New England College School of Law.

In 2000, Toby Eglund wrote:

"Sweeney ... embodies that embarrassment of the Left: the rightward drift of America's white working class males. The son of a shirt factory worker active in the Amalgamated Shirt Cutters Union, and a sometime resident of a housing project, Sweeney grew up in the old, gritty industrial city of Troy, New York. He put himself through law school, and toiled as a minor county bureaucrat until, one day, he was discovered by Republican State Chairman William Powers who made him executive director of the New York state GOP in 1992."

Political career

Early career and New York Republican Party executive director

Sweeney was "Rensselaer County's one-time STOP-DWI coordinator."

New York's "landmark" workers' comp reforms created the Office of Workers' Compensation Fraud, an Inspector General, and a workers' compensation fraud unit at the State Insurance Department and elevated workers' comp fraud from a misdemeanor to a felony punishable by fines, restitution and incarceration.

Congressional career

Election to U.S. House of Representatives in 1998

Prior to the 1998 election, Sweeney moved from Cohoes to Speigletown, to run for the seat in the district of Republican Representative Gerald Solomon who was retiring. Sweeney was born, raised and lived most of his life in Solomon's Congressional District. Solomon endorsed and campaigned for Sweeney, as did every Republican elected official and organization in the district.

Sweeney was elected to the US House in 1998, winning with 55 percent of the vote over Democratic challenger Jean Bordewich, despite the fact that President Bill Clinton carried the district over U.S. Senator Bob Dole in 1996 by a 46 percent to 41 percent margin.

Re-elections

In 2000, Sweeney defeated Democrat Kenneth McCallion, receiving 68 percent of the vote.

In 2002, he defeated Frank Stoppenbach, getting 73 percent of the vote.

In 2004, he defeated Doris F. Kelly, receiving 66 percent of the vote.

Tenure and political positions

Sweeney generally, but not invariably, supported the positions of his fellow Republicans in the House. Sweeney opposed same-sex marriage (asserting that "a handful of activist judges have decided to undermine the will of the people"), and in 2004 called for a federal constitutional amendment to ban recognition of same-sex marriage. Sweeney subsequently voted against such a constitutional amendment.

Sweeney opposed gun control.

He voted for prayer in public schools on numerous occasions and the National Education Association gives him an 18% approval rating.

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, Sweeney and U.S. Representative James T. Walsh were two Republicans who cross party-lines to vote with Democrats on an effort in the House of Representatives to send $20 billion in emergency federal aid to New York City (the measure failed in the Appropriations Committee by a 33–31 vote). Although an ally of President George W. Bush, he called for the resignation of Bush's Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff over proposed cuts in New York's share in homeland security funding. He voted against the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment.

Before being elected to Congress, Sweeney was considered a moderate Republican who favored abortion rights; by 2000, he was considered a strong abortion opponent,

After Trump's election day victory, Sweeney, as the campaign's deputy counsel, led the effort on the ground in Wisconsin and Michigan to protect the campaign's advantage in those two key swing states during the recounts initiated by Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, and supported by Hillary Clinton's campaign.

In December 2016, Sweeney joined the executive committee of Trump's transition team. Sweeney was later promoted to a four-member "Tiger Team" for Trump, tasked with conducting interviews with potential nominees for ambassadorships and other high-level positions in various federal departments and agencies.

Controversies

Role in Florida recount in 2000

During the 2000 election, Sweeney allegedly helped earn his nickname from President Bush, "Congressman Kick-Ass," by organizing the so-called Brooks Brothers riot that disrupted the Florida elections commissioners. He was said to have led the charge on the third recount in Miami, flying in GOP operatives and instructing them to "shut it down!" by raising a clamor and pounding on the election commission's doors. Sweeney used the words "thugs" to describe the Florida officials involved in the recount. He defended his actions in connection with the incident as "completely and absolutely legitimate" and declared that his intent was only to stop the canvassing board from withdrawing its activities from public view.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, in his book Winning Right, wrote that the night before the recount began in Miami-Dade County, Sweeney was one of about a dozen Bush campaign operatives who gathered at Joe's Stone Crab in South Beach, that set out the campaign's media strategy. Gillespie recalled that "[Sweeney] said, 'I know what I'm going to say tomorrow morning. I'm going to say that Joseph Stalin said, "It doesn't matter who casts the votes, it only matters who counts the votes." And these people are worse than Stalin.' He ended up holding the Stalin quotation until the 5:30 pm wrap-up."

Congressional ethics controversies

In September 2006, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) included Sweeney on its annual list of "The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress," citing ethical concerns arising from a "ski trip to New York, the exchange of legislative assistance for campaign contributions and the hiring of his wife as a campaign fundraiser."

Wife as fundraiser

On April 11, 2003, Sweeney began paying a company called Creative Consulting for fund-raising. The company had been founded a day earlier by Gaia "Gayle" Ford. Between April 2003 and December 2003, Sweeney's campaign paid $42,570 to the firm. Sweeney proposed to Ford in September 2003 and married her in 2004.

Sweeney spokeswoman Melissa Carlson said the congressman considers his wife "his best representative in the district when he's fund-raising." She said Ford, who had no previous fund-raising experience, receives a 10 percent commission on whatever she raises. Between January 2005 and April 2006, Ford was paid $30,879. Sweeney also has had a fundraising consultant on monthly retainer since June 2004, who is paid $8,583 a month.

Ford also works for Powers & Company, the lobbying firm of former state GOP Chairman William Powers, Sweeney's longtime political ally and onetime boss.

Publicly funded ski trips

The Winter Challenge was started in 1998 by Sweeney's House predecessor, Gerald Solomon, with the declared purpose of showcasing the Olympic facilities at Lake Placid, New York to congressmen and their staffers in hopes of getting federal funds; Sweeney has hosted the annual event since 1999.

In January 2006, Sweeney, his wife, and about 60 other people spent a four-day weekend at the facilities, competing against each other in skating, downhill skiing and bobsledding events. The group included Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX), a close friend of Sweeney and his wife; and aides to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Representative Randy Kuhl (R-NY), and Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI). The weekend cost the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) $27,500, plus in-kind services it provided and the costs of operating the Olympic venues for the competition (exact figures for the latter two were unavailable). ORDA is a part of the New York State government.

In the fall of 2005, the House ethics panel told Sweeney in a letter that he should be careful to let the Olympics groups invite guests to avoid the appearance of an endorsement by the House. In his request to the House ethics committee, Sweeney did not ask about lobbyists. A spokesman for ORDA said he does not know why the lobbyists were invited.

Ties to Allen Stanford

Sweeney was part of a group of lawmakers known as the Caribbean Caucus, sponsored by disgraced financier Allen Stanford. The group, formed to promote relations with Caribbean nations, took 11 trips to places like St. Croix, Montego Bay and Key Biscayne. The meetings, which included receptions with lobster, caviar and wine, cost $311,307 and were paid for by the Inter-American Economic Council, a non-profit funded by Stanford. Other members of the Caucus included convicted influence peddler Rep. Bob Ney and close Sweeney friend Rep. Pete Sessions. In 2004, Stanford hosted a wedding reception for Sweeney and wife at the Pavilion Restaurant, owned by Stanford. At the time, Sweeney told the Antigua Sun "If it wasn't for Allen, I certainly would not be here today."

Disputed domestic violence report

On October 31, 2006, the Albany Times Union reported on a 9-1-1 call made by Sweeney's wife in December 2005, in which she complained that her husband had been "'knocking her around' during a late-night argument at the couple's home." The responding officers filed a domestic incident report, which states that Sweeney allegedly grabbed his wife "by the neck" and pushed her around the house.

John and Gaia Sweeney subsequently said they would give the New York State Police permission to release a report about the incident. They said that the report was inaccurate but have not disputed its contents. On November 17, 2006, the Times Union reported that there were two versions of the domestic violence report that had been prepared by the State Police, one that was sent to them, doctored and lacking details, and the original report.

On July 22, 2007, the Albany Times Union reported that Gaia Sweeney, who was contesting a divorce action by her husband, said that he was often verbally abusive and at times physically abused her during their marriage. She also said that a statement she made on the eve of last fall's election, denying marital abuse, was "coerced". Sweeney denied that he had been abusive; he had recently obtained a judicial order of protection against his wife.

Sweeney's first wife, Betty Sweeney, of Schaghticoke, told the Times-Union that she had "never observed any kind of behavior like that towards me or anybody else." The captain denied leaking the report, saying he was wrongly accused, and the captain was supported by the New York State Police Benevolent Association (PBA), who called the captain a scapegoat. Democrats ridiculed Sweeney over the embarrassing photos; Sweeney's blood alcohol content registered at .18 percent, more than double the legal limit. and on November 14, 2007, Sweeney pleaded guilty to drunk driving after his attorney vocally and publicly denied he had even been drinking that evening. Sweeney paid a US$1,000 fine, but avoided jail time. His license was suspended for six months and had to attend a victim impact panel for drunken drivers.

Early on the morning of April 5, 2009, Sweeney was pulled over by state police for speeding. He refused a breathalyzer test ordered by the officer, and according to a newspaper report, "Sweeney allegedly told the officers he would not pass the sobriety test, adding he was in 'big trouble.'" specifically a misdemeanor count. The agreement allowed Sweeney to avoid a felony conviction and thus avoid disbarment. He was sentenced to 30 days in county jail,

Recovery from alcoholism

In 2011, Sweeney told a reporter that he had been sober since April 6, 2009. During the meeting, McLaughlin, County Director of Operations Richard Christ, County Director of Purchasing James Gordon, and Sweeney pressured Reale to drop out of the mayoral race and endorse Rodney Wiltshire, a third-party candidate defeated in the Democratic primary by incumbent Democratic Mayor Patrick Madden. Mr. Reale remained in the race and was defeated by Madden in the general election.

Personal life

Sweeney has three adult children from his first marriage. He lives in Clifton Park, New York. He has two young children with his wife, Erin, and two step-children from her prior marriage.