Buck McKeon
From Ballotpedia
| Howard McKeon | ||
 | ||
| U.S. House, California, District 25 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 1993-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 3, 2013 | ||
| Years in position | 19 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Leadership | ||
| California Republican Central Committee | ||
| 1988-1992 | ||
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $174,000/year | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 2, 2010 | |
| First elected | November 3, 1992 | |
| Next election | November 6, 2012 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| Mayor, City of Santa Clarita | ||
| 1987-1988 | ||
| Chairman and Trustee of William S. Hart Union High School District Board | ||
| 1978-1987 | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Brigham Young University | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | September 9, 1938 | |
| Place of birth | Los Angeles, California | |
| Profession | Small Businessman, Banker | |
| Religion | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
McKeon is running for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing California's 25th District as a Republican.[1] Lee Rogers and Laura Molina are running as Democrats. The open primary election will be held on June 5, 2012.
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, McKeon is a "rank-and-file Republican".[2]
Biography
McKeon was born in Los Angeles, California. He earned his B.S. from Brigham Young University in 1985.[3]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of McKeon's academic, professional and political career:[4]
- 1993-Present: U.S. House of Representatives, California's 25th congressional district
- 1988-1992: California Republican Central Committee
- 1987-1992: Mayor and Council Member, Santa Clarita Valley, California
- 1979-1987: Chairman and Trustee, William S. Hart School District, Santa Clarita Valley, California
McKeon also worked as a business owner and as a bank executive.
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
McKeon serves on the following committees:[5]
- Armed Services Committee, Chair
- Education and the Workforce Committee
- Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities
- Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
Issues
Presidential preference
2012
Buck McKeon has endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [6]
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, Howard McKeon voted with the Republican Party 94.0% of the time, which ranked 69 among the 242 House Republican members in 2011.[7]
Controversies
Wife salary from campaign
McKeon currently pays his wife, Patricia McKeon a $78,000/year salary from his campaign committee. As a congressman he is prohibited from personally profiting from his campaign contributions. However there is no such prohibition against a spouse receiving such payments. Congressman McKeon states that "Patricia gets paid by the campaign as a senior staff member for handling multiple critical elements."[8] Since 2007 she has received over $264,000, including a bonus of $4,600 in January of 2007. The payments made from the campaign to Patricia McKeon over this time period were the highest among congressional representatives who paid family members.[9]
Countrywide VIP Loan
If I had known we had got a good deal then I would have gotten all my loans from Countrywide.[10]
Mckeon was named in a January 2012 Wall Street Journal article as having potentially received favorable terms on a 1999 home loan from Countrywide because of his position in congress[11]. Under congressional rules this could be determined to be a gift and therefore illegal. His campaign committee accepted donations from Countrywide PAC[12], the political action committee of Countrywide, totaling $3,500[13] and an additional $13,500[14] to a PAC, 21st Century PAC controlled by the McKeons[15].
In a response to news inquiries about his knowledge of the loan discounts McKeon stated, "If I had known we had got a good deal then I would have gotten all my loans from Countrywide."[10]
Elections
2012
McKeon is running for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing California's 25th District as a Republican. He is running against Dante Acosta (R), Lee Rogers (D), and Cathie Wright (R) in the June 5, 2012, open primary.[16]
2010
On November 2, 2010, McKeon won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jackie Conaway (D) in the general election.[17]
| U.S. House, California District 25 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Howard McKeon Incumbent |
61.8% | 118,308 | |
| Democratic | Jackie Conaway | 38.2% | 73,028 | |
| Total Votes | 191,336 | |||
Campaign donors
2010
McKeon won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that election cycle, McKeon's campaign committee raised a total of $1,254,590 and spent $1,334,144.[18]
His top 5 contributors between 2009-2010 were:
| U.S. House, California District 25, 2010 - Buck McKeon Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $1,254,590 |
| Total Spent | $1,334,144 |
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $3,890 |
| Total Spent by General Election Opponent | $4,172 |
| Top contributors to Buck McKeon's campaign committee | |
| Lockheed Martin | $52,000 |
| Northrop Grumman | $50,500 |
| Boeing Co | $28,900 |
| General Dynamics | $20,000 |
| Fashion Inst of Design & Merchandising | $15,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Defense Aerospace | $169,900 |
| Misc Defense | $95,000 |
| Defense Electronics | $75,000 |
| General Contractors | $46,100 |
| Education | $45,100 |
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Buck + McKeon + California + House
- All stories may not be relevant to this official due to the nature of the search engine.
Personal
McKeon and his wife, Patricia, have six children. His wife, Patricia McKeon is currently a candidate for California State Assembly.
External links
- 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
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress.org
- 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
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Profile at Facebook
- Profile at Twitter
References
- ↑ "UPDATE: Doctor says he's running for Congress", the-signal.com, August 8, 2011
- ↑ Gov Track "McKeon" Accessed May 18, 2012
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "McKEON, Howard P. (Buck), (1938 - )"
- ↑ Biographical Director of the United States Congress "Howard P. (Buck) McKeon," Accessed November 6, 2011
- ↑ U.S. Congressman Buck McKeon, 25th District of California "Committees"
- ↑ The Hill, "2012 GOP Lawmaker Endorsements for President," retrieved November 23, 2011
- ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
- ↑ Knot, Alex (26 July 2011). "House Spouses Make Good Money From Campaigns", Roll Call.
- ↑ Kelley, Matt (17 June 2007). "Lawmakers used campaign funds to pay relatives", USA Today.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Holt, Jim (18 January 2012). "McKeon: Nobody told me loan had VIP treatment", The Signal.
- ↑ Emshwiller, John (14 January 2012). "Lawmakers Tied to VIP Loan Program", The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Search - Countrywide PAC". Federal Elections Commission. http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/com_supopp/C00282731/.
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Search - 21st Century PAC". Federal Elections Commission. http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/com_rcvd/C00315747/.
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Search - 21st Century PAC". Federal Elections Commission. http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/com_rcvd/C00258244/.
- ↑ "21st Century PAC - Congressman Buck McKeon". 21st Century PAC. http://www.21stcenturypac.com/.
- ↑ California Secretary of State, Official candidate list
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
- ↑ Open Secrets "Howard McKeon 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed November 6, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Edward R. Roybal | U.S. House of Representatives - California, District 25 1993-Present | Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by ' | Mayor of Santa Clarita, California 1987-1988 | Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by ' | Chairman and Trustee of William S. Hart Union High School District Board 1978-1987 | Succeeded by ' |
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