Gregory W. Meeks
| Gregory W. Meeks | ||
 | ||
| U.S. House, New York, District 5 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| January 3, 2013-present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 3, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 15 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Predecessor | Gary Ackerman (D) | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $174,000/year | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | February 3, 1998 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Campaign $ | $5,185,644 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| U.S. House, New York, District 6 | ||
| February 3, 1998-2013 | ||
| New York State Assembly | ||
| 1993-1998 | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Adelphi University | |
| J.D. | Howard University | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | September 25, 1953 | |
| Place of birth | East Harlem, New York | |
| Profession | Attorney, Judge | |
| Net worth | $0 | |
| Religion | African Methodist Episcopal | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Meeks is a "rank-and-file Democrat".[2]
Biography
Meeks was born in East Harlem, New York. He earned a B.A. from Adelphi University in 1975, and a J.D. from Howard University in 1978.[3]
Career
After earning his J.D., Meeks served as the assistant district attorney of Queens County, New York from 1978-1983. He subsequently served as assistant special narcotics prosecutor of New York City, as deputy counsel of New York's investigation commission, and as supervising judge of New York's workers compensation board.[4]
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2013-2014
Meeks serves on the following committees:[5]
- Financial Services Committee
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit - Ranking Member
- Foreign Affairs Committee
- Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats
- Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere
2011-2012
Meeks served on the following committees:[6]
- Foreign Affairs Committee
- Subcommittee on Asia (Vice Chair)
- Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere
- Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight
- Financial Services Committee
- Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
- Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology
Issues
Campaign themes
2012
Meeks listed several of his campaign themes on his website:[7]
- The Federal Budget
- Education
- Homeland Security
- Jobs and the economy
- Housing
Political positions
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Meeks voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[8]
Ethics investigation
In 2010, the FBI began investigating a loan Meeks received from a friend in 2007. Meeks did not report the loan, violating U.S. House ethics rules. He also was unable to provide paperwork on the loan's specifics, only paying the lender the loan amount plus interest after the FBI started investigations.[9]
Meeks was also fined $63,000 in 2008 by the Federal Election Commission for improper use of campaign funds.[9]
Elections
2012
Meeks ran for re-election in New York's newly drawn 5th congressional district in 2012. Three candidates challenged Meeks in the June 26 Democratic primary. Former city councilman Allan Jennings Jr., small-business owner Joseph Marthone, and recent law-school graduate Mike Scala all hoped to be the one to receive the party nod over Meeks.[10] Meeks won the primary and advanced to the general election on November 6th, 2012.[11] He was re-elected on November 6, 2012.[12]
Jennings also ran in the Republican primary, where he was unopposed. He considers himself to be willing to "work with anybody who’s going to help this district," which he says sets him apart from Meeks.[10]
The 29-year-old Scala graduated from law school on June 1, 2012, just a few weeks before the June 26 primary. He said he was most concerned with helping the lower and middle class.[13]
Marthone said education is the way to solve the nation's problems.[14]
At a forum in early June, the three challengers and a representative of Meeks discussed issues of importance. Jennings called for an end to the NYPD "stop and frisk" policy. Marthone pledged to fight hydrofracking and airplane noise pollution. Scala criticized Meeks for supporting the Budget Control Act, which took away subsidized loans for graduate students.[10] Meeks was busy in Washington at the time of the forum, but his representative said that most of the issues brought up were city and state issues, not national ones -- indicating that the challengers were not prepared for federal politics.[10]
| U.S. House, New York, District 5 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Gregory Meeks Incumbent |
74.8% | 167,835 | |
| Republican | Allan Jennings Jr. | 8% | 17,875 | |
| Libertarian | Catherine Wark | 0.6% | 1,345 | |
| N/A | Blank/Void/Scattering | 16.7% | 37,453 | |
| Total Votes | 224,508 | |||
| Source: New York State Board of Elections "U.S. House of Representatives Results" | ||||
Full history
To view the full congressional electoral history for Gregory Meeks, click [show] to expand the section. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Campaign donors
Comprehensive donor information for Meeks is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Meeks raised a total of $5,185,644 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 23, 2013.[21]
| Gregory W. Meeks's Campaign Contribution History | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2012 | U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 5) |  |
$740,896 | |
| 2010 | U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 6) | |
$917,283 | |
| 2008 | U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 6) | |
$1,039,732 | |
| 2006 | U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 6) | |
$819,726 | |
| 2004 | U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 6) | |
$679,887 | |
| 2002 | U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 6) | |
$580,765 | |
| 2000 | U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 6) | |
$407,355 | |
| Grand Total Raised | $5,185,644 | |||
Individual breakdown
2012
Meeks won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Meeks' campaign committee raised a total of $740,897 and spent $724,665.[22]
| U.S. House of Representatives, New York's 5th Congressional District, 2012 - Gregory W. Meeks Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $740,897 |
| Total Spent | $724,665 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | $16,812 |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | $16,352 |
| Top contributors to Gregory W. Meeks's campaign committee | |
| FedEx Corp | $12,500 |
| American Express | $10,000 |
| AT&T Inc | $10,000 |
| Bank of America | $10,000 |
| Credit Suisse Group | $10,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Securities & Investment | $92,000 |
| Insurance | $77,750 |
| Finance/Credit Companies | $68,500 |
| Air Transport | $34,899 |
| Real Estate | $32,500 |
2010
| U.S. House, New York, 2010 - Gregory W. Meeks Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $917,283 |
| Total Spent | $959,453 |
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $74,942 |
| Total Spent by General Election Opponent | $64,043 |
| Top contributors to Gregory W. Meeks's campaign committee | |
| American Express | $24,900 |
| Sheet Metal Workers Union | $20,000 |
| NASDAQ OMX Group | $17,750 |
| Bank of America | $17,450 |
| AFLAC Inc | $10,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Insurance | $113,650 |
| Securities & Investment | $105,100 |
| Finance/Credit Companies | $85,260 |
| Real Estate | $48,150 |
| Commercial Banks | $44,750 |
Analysis
Lifetime voting record
According to the website GovTrack, Meeks missed 856 of 10,420 roll call votes from Feb 1998 to Apr 2013, which is 8.2% of votes during that period. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.[24]
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Meeks paid his congressional staff a total of $1,030,474 in 2011. Overall, New York ranked 28th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[25]
Staff bonuses
According to an analysis by CNN, Meeks is one of nearly 25% of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Meeks's staff was given an apparent $16,410.74 in bonus money.[26]
Net worth
2011
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Meeks' net worth as of 2011 was estimated to be $0 which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic House members in 2011 of $5,107,874. His average net worth did not change from 2010.[27]
2010
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Meeks' net worth as of 2010 was estimated to be $0 which was lower than the average net worth of Democrats in 2010 of $4,465,875.[28]
National Journal vote ratings
- See also: National Journal vote ratings
2012
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Meeks ranked 54th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[29]
2011
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Meeks ranked 68th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[30]
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, Gregory W. Meeks voted with the Democratic Party 93.7% of the time, which ranked 59th among the 192 House Democratic members in December 2011.[31]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Gregory + Meeks + New York + House
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Gregory Meeks News Feed
- Suspicious substance being investigated in Gregory Meeks' office - Capital New York
- EXCLUSIVE: Charges expected against Brooklyn state Sen. John Sampson ... - New York Daily News
- Gay Marriage Robocalls: Former Bears Player, Civil Rights Leader Call For ... - Huffington Post
- At the six-month mark, superstorm Sandy dominates the news cycle - Capital New York
- Ricin mailings spotlight letters' long path to Capitol - Reuters
- John Sampson Busted; He Also Got Loan From Fraudster Ed Ahmad - National Legal and Policy Center
- 'Take them out': Did pol seek witness info? - Queens Chronicle
- Bloomberg Announces Restoration Of Rockaway Courthouse - Western Queens Gazette
- Cuomo on Clinton (and Dicker), Quinn on Jason Collins - Capital New York
- GOVERNOR CUOMO AND HUD ANNOUNCE APPROVAL OF NEW YORK ... - Saugerties Post Star
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
Personal
Meeks is a member of the Allen AME Church in St. Albans, New York and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He is married to Simone-Marie Meeks and has three daughters – Ebony, Aja, and Nia-Ayana.[32]
External links
- U.S. Congressman Gregory W. Meeks official U.S. House site
- Congressman Gregory Meeks official campaign site
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media coverage:
References
- ↑ ABC News "2012 General Election Results"
- ↑ Gov Track "Meeks" Accessed May 17, 2012
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "MEEKS, Gregory W., (1953 - )"
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "MEEKS, Gregory W., (1953 - )"
- ↑ CQ.com, "House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress"
- ↑ Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, New York's 6th District "Committees and Caucuses"
- ↑ Campaign website "Issues"
- ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Politico "FBI investigating Meeks's $40K personal loan," July 8, 2010
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Queens Campaigner "Candidates for Congress spar," June 14, 2012
- ↑ AP "2012 primary results"
- ↑ ABC News "2012 General Election Results"
- ↑ Queens Chronicle "Scala eyes Meeks’ congressional seat," June 14, 2012
- ↑ Long Island Herald "Four seek Democratic nod in 5th Congressional District," June 20, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
- ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Gregory Meeks" March 2013
- ↑ Open Secrets "Gregory Meeks 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed February 26, 2013
- ↑ Open Secrets "Gregory W. Meeks 2010 Election Data," Accessed December 10, 2011
- ↑ GovTrack, "Gregory Meeks" Accessed April 2013
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Gregory W. Meeks," Accessed October 2, 2012
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," March 8, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org "Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), 2011," accessed February 19, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), 2010," Accessed October 2, 2012
- ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," March 6, 2013
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
- ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
- ↑ Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, New York's 6th District "Full Biography"
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gary Ackerman |
U.S. House of Representatives - New York District 5 2013-Present |
Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by Floyd Flake |
U.S. House of Representatives - New York District 6 1998-2013 |
Succeeded by Grace Meng |
| Preceded by Anthony Seminerio |
New York State Assembly - District 31 1993–1998 |
Succeeded by Pauline Rhodd-Cummings |
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