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Darrell Issa

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Darrell Issa
U.S. House, California, District 49
Incumbent
In office
2001-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2013
Years in position 11
PartyRepublican
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 2, 2010
First electedNovember 7, 2000
Next electionNovember 6, 2012
Term limitsN/A
Education
Bachelor'sSiena Heights University, 1976
Associate'sKent State University, 1976
Military service
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1970-1980
Personal
Place of birthCleveland, Ohio
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Darrell Issa is a Republican member of the U.S. House representing California's 49th congressional district. Issa was first elected to the House in 2000.

Aside from his service in Congress, Issa is also known for being a major contributor to the 2003 recall election of then-Governor Gray Davis. In October 2007, Issa announced that he was supporting the Presidential Electoral Reform Act, a ballot measure that would change how California selects its representatives to the presidential electoral college.

Issa is running for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing California's 49th District as a Republican.[1] Jerry Tetalman is running as a Democrat. Dick Eiden is the independent progressive choice. The open primary election will be held on June 5, 2012.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Issa is a "rank-and-file Republican".[2]

Biography

Issa's mother is of Bohemian German descent and his father is of Lebanese Christian descent. Issa was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up in a Jewish neighborhood and worked for a rabbi. Issa enlisted in the United States Army during his senior year of high school, where he served as a bomb disposal technician.

He attended Kent State University Stark in North Canton, Ohio and Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan, on an ROTC scholarship, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1976. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a US Army Officer, serving as a tank platoon leader and a computer research and development specialist, among other command roles. He left the Regular Army in 1980 with the rank of captain. He later moved to Vista, California, a suburb of San Diego, where he now lives.

Issa made his fortune through his company, Directed Electronics Incorporated, that is most famous for its flagship product, the "Viper" car alarm. It bears one notable siren that is a recording of Issa's voice, "Warning, you are too close, this vehicle protected by Viper." As of 2004, Directed Electronics was North America's largest aftermarket automotive electronics manufacturer. Issa divested all personal interest in Directed Electronics after being elected to public office, but is one of the richest members of the House.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Issa's academic, professional and political career:[3]

  • 1976: Graduated from Siena Heights College with B.A.
  • 1970-1980: United States Army
  • 2001-Present: U.S Representative from California

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2011-2012

Issa serves on the following committees:[4]

Issues

Political positions

Percentage voting with party

November 2011

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Darrell Issa voted with the Republican Party 94.9% of the time, which ranked 33 among the 242 House Republican members in 2011.[5]

Gubernatorial recall

Issa came to national prominence when he contributed over $1.6 million to help fund a signature-gathering drive for the petition to recall Gray Davis. At the time he made the contribution, it was widely believed that Issa intended to place himself on the ballot to replace Davis. However, with only two days before the filing deadline, Issa announced that he would not run. Issa later said that his mission had been accomplished since Davis was recalled and he wanted to continue representing his district in Congress and work towards Middle East peace.

For the recall election, Issa endorsed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, at one point in the campaign he actually suggested that people should vote against recalling Davis, concerned that Schwarzenegger and fellow Republican Tom McClintock would split votes and install Democratic lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante as Davis' successor[6]

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Darrell Issa has endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [7]

Earmarks

A Washington Post investigation in February 2012 revealed that 33 members of Congress helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to public projects in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members.[8] According to the report, Issa secured $815,000 in earmarks between 2007 and 2009 to widen a road less than a mile from a medical building in Vista, California, that Issa purchased for $16.6 million in 2008.[9]

Elections

2012

See also: California's 49th congressional district elections, 2012

Issa is running for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing California's 49th District as a Republican. He is running against Jerry Tetalman (D), Dick Eiden (Ind), and Albin Novinec (Ind) in the June 5, 2012, open primary.[10]

2010

On November 2, 2010, Issa won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Howard Katz, Dion Clark, and Mike Paster in the general election.[11]

U.S. House, California District 49 General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Darrell Issa Incumbent 62.8% 119,088
     Democratic Howard Katz 31.5% 59,714
     American Independent Dion Clark 3.5% 6,585
     Libertarian Mike Paster 2.3% 4,290
Total Votes 189,677

Campaign donors

2010

Breakdown of the source of Issa's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Issa won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that election cycle, Issa's campaign committee raised a total of $1,495,193 and spent $1,232,154.[12]

His top 5 contributors between 2009-2010 were:

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Darrell + Issa + California + House

All stories may not be relevant to this official due to the nature of the search engine.
Failed to load RSS feed (not array) from http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&gl=us&q=Darrell+Issa+California+House&um=1&ie=UTF-8&output=rss

Personal

Issa and his wife, Kathy, have one child.

External links

References

Political offices
Preceded by
'
U.S. House of Representatives - California, District 49
2001-Present
Succeeded by
'
Personal tools