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John Tierney

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John Tierney
John F Tierney.jpg
U.S. House, Massachusetts, District 6
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 1997-present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position 16
PartyDemocratic
PredecessorPeter G. Torkildsen (R)
Leadership
Trustee of Salem State College, Salem, Massachusetts
1992-1997
Chamber of Commerce, Salem, Massachusetts
1976-1996
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First electedNovember 5, 1996
Next electionNovember 6, 2014
Campaign $$6,491,450
Term limitsN/A
Education
High schoolSalem High School
Bachelor'sSalem State College
J.D.Suffolk University
Personal
BirthdaySeptember 18, 1951
Place of birthSalem, Massachusetts
ProfessionAttorney
Net worth$1,270,504
ReligionRoman Catholic
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

John F. Tierney (b. September 18, 1951) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Massachusetts. Tierney represents Massachusetts' 6th congressional district and was first elected to the House in 1996. He ran for re-election in 2012.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Tierney is a "rank-and-file Democrat".[1]

Tierney won re-election on November 6th, 2012.[2]

Biography

Tierney earned his bachelor's degree from Salem State College and his J.D. from Suffolk University. He went on to be a partner in a law firm for two decades before launching his political career.[3] He was also a member of the Salem, Massachusetts, Chamber of Commerce from 1976 to 1996, and its president in 1995. From 1992 to 1997, he was a trustee of his alma mater, Salem State College.[4]

Career

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Tierney serves on the following committees:[5]

2011-12

Tierney was a member of the following House committees:[6]

Issues

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.[7] According to the report, Tierney has helped direct about $3.5 million toward a 950-space parking garage and commuter rail station in Salem, Mass. The facility will be located roughly 1/4 mile from a commercial building Tierney co-owns.[8]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Tierney 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.[9]

Campaign themes

2012

On his campaign website, Tierney listed eight issues. They are:[10]

  • Economy

Excerpt: "John, along with his House Democratic colleagues, has led an unprecedented effort to prevent a devastating recession from turning into a depression, while restoring the fiscal policies of the 1990s that were responsible for the longest period of post-war economic growth on record."

  • Education

Excerpt: On his website, Tierney says, "A product of public primary and secondary schools, John later attended Salem State for his undergraduate and Suffolk University for law school. John is committed to ensuring our children receive a first-rate education and that they are prepared to compete in emerging industries and the new global economy."

  • Energy and Environment

Excerpt: "John recognizes the immediate, worldwide threat posed by global warming and the inherent threat to our national security spawned by our dependence on foreign oil. To this end he voted to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) on June 26, 2009. This landmark legislation takes steps to revitalize our economy by creating new jobs, increasing our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil, preserving our planet and protecting our delicate wildlife by reducing the pollution that causes global warming."

  • Health Care

Excerpt: "John believes that every American should have access to quality, affordable health care. He supported the passage of historic health insurance reform that will have a real, meaningful and immediate positive impact on millions of Americans. This new law will extend coverage to 32 million more Americans while lowering long term health care costs and providing real security for those who already have insurance."

  • Jobs

Excerpt: "Congressman Tierney voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to jumpstart the economy, to create and save 3.5 million jobs, to provide 95% of workers a tax cut and to halt the recession and prevent it from slipping into a depression. ARRA, signed into law February 2009, provides billions of dollars for clean energy jobs, public schools, the rehabilitation of our decaying infrastructure and investing in the innovations that will lead our country forward. Seventy-five percent of this funding is invested within the first 18-months of the bill’s enactment."

  • National Security

Excerpt: "John Tierney is a proven leader in the Congress in the areas of national security and foreign affairs, and has developed an international reputation as a guardian of taxpayer funds. Through his service as Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs and as a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, he has the vision and expertise necessary to push sensible national security policy during a time in which we are ensnared in two wars overseas and an economic crunch here at home."

  • Veterans

Excerpt: "John is committed to ensuring that our nation’s veterans receive the medical care, benefits, and other services that they have earned in exchange for their dedicated service to our country."

  • Equality

Excerpt: "John Tierney has been endorsed for re-election by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization." [10]

Elections

2014

See also: Massachusetts' 6th congressional district elections, 2014

Tierney is a member of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Frontline Program. The program is designed to help protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents heading into the 2014 election.[11]

2012

See also: Massachusetts' 6th congressional district elections, 2012

Tierney won re-election in 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Massachusetts' 6th District. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He defeated Richard Tisei in the November 6th election.[12][13]

According to the website Daily Kos, this race was one of nine top-ballot 2012 races that contained Libertarian candidates who received more total votes than was the difference between the Democratic winner and the GOP runner-up. In this case, Daniel Fishman took in over 13,000 more votes than the number that separated Tierney and Tisei.[14]


John Tierney, "Opportunity"

U.S. House, Massachusetts, District 6 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark.jpgJohn Tierney Incumbent 46.4% 180,942
     Republican Richard Tisei 45.3% 176,612
     Libertarian Daniel Fishman 4.3% 16,739
     N/A All Others 0.1% 514
     N/A Blank Votes 3.9% 15,045
Total Votes 389,852
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of State "Return of Votes"

Race Background

According to the Washington Post, Massachusetts' 6th was a battleground district in 2012, with redistricting making it less solidly Democratic. Furthermore, Tierney faced PR issues and Republican Richard Tisei was a strong candidate with the potential to be the first openly gay, non-incumbent Republican congressman.[15]

According to the Washington Post, John Tierney was also been the target of attack ads from YG Action Fund, a conservative PAC supergroup. This highlights a trend in which super PACs have attempted to swing vulnerable house seats through strategic advertising. These ads were not solicited by the Tisei campaign, but his spokeswomen voiced her support for them.[16]

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Tierney is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Tierney raised a total of $6,491,450 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 16, 2013.[26]

John Tierney's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 6) Won $2,133,195
2010 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 6) Won $901,893
2008 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 6) Won $735,813
2006 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 6) Won $654,168
2004 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 6) Won $743,803
2002 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 6) Won $583,528
2000 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 6) Won $739,050
Grand Total Raised $6,491,450

2012

Breakdown of the source of Tierney's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Tierney won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. During that election cycle, Tierney's campaign committee raised a total of $2,133,196 and spent $2,299,261.[27]

2010

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

Tierney won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Tierney's campaign committee raised a total of $901,893 and spent $1,996,269.[28]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Tierney missed 281 of 11,058 roll call votes from Jan 1997 to Mar 2013, which is 2.5% of votes during that period. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.[29]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Tierney paid his congressional staff a total of $1,064,260 in 2011. He ranked 114th on the list of the lowest paid Democratic Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 99th overall of the lowest paid Representative Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Massachusetts ranked 2nd in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[30]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Tierney's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $526,011 and $2,014,998. This averages to $1,270,504, which is a 99.76% increase since 2010. This is lower than the $5,107,874 average net worth for Democratic representatives in 2011.[31]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Tierney's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $331,015 and $941,000. That averages to $636,007.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2010 of $$4,465,875.[32]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Tierney was ranked the 47th most liberal representative during 2012.[33]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, John Tierney was ranked the 26th most liberal representative during 2011.[34]

Percentage voting with party

December 2011

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Tierney voted with the Democratic Party 92.9% of the time, which ranked 93 among the 192 House Democratic members in December 2011.[35]

Personal

Tierney and his wife, Patrice, live in Salem.[3]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term John + Tierney + Massachusetts + House

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

John Tierney News Feed


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External links

References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "Tierney" Accessed May 21, 2012
  2. ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Massachusetts"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Official House website "Biography," Accessed December 2, 2011
  4. ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "John F. Tierney," Accessed December 2, 2011
  5. ↑ CQ.com, "House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress"
  6. ↑ Congressman John F. Tierney, Representing the 6th District of Massachusetts "John's Committees"
  7. ↑ Washington Post "Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers' properties," February 6, 2012
  8. ↑ Washington Post "Mapping the earmarks," February 6, 2012
  9. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 John Tierney for Congress "Issues" August 13, 2012
  11. ↑ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "DCCC Chairman Steve Israel Announces 2013-2014 Frontline Members," March 5, 2013
  12. ↑ Boston Globe "Map changes incumbents’ terrain" Accessed January 22, 2012
  13. ↑ Associated Press "Massachusetts Primary Results," Accessed September 6, 2012
  14. ↑ Daily Kos, "Libertarians provided the margin for Democrats and at least nine elections," November 15, 2012
  15. ↑ Washington Post blog "The 10 House districts that might surprise you," May 11, 2012
  16. ↑ The Washington Post "Conservative super PACs targeting blue-state Democrats," Sept. 17, 2012
  17. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
  19. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
  20. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
  21. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  22. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
  23. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
  24. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996"
  25. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994"
  26. ↑ Open Secrets "John Tierney" Accessed May 16, 2013
  27. ↑ Open Secrets " 2012 Re-Election Cycle," Accessed February 15, 2013
  28. ↑ Open Secrets "John F. Tierney 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed December 2, 2011
  29. ↑ GovTrack, "John Tierney" Accessed April 2013
  30. ↑ LegiStorm "John Tierney "
  31. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Tierney, (D-Mass), 2011"
  32. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Tierney, (D-Mass), 2010"
  33. ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 26, 2013
  34. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  35. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
Political offices
Preceded by
Peter G. Torkildsen 		U.S. House of Representatives - Massachusetts, 6th District
1997-Present 		Succeeded by
'
v • d • e
Massachusetts' current delegation to the United States Congress
SenatorsCongressLogo.png
Representatives
Joseph Kennedy III (D) • Bill Keating (D) • Ed Markey (D) • Jim McGovern (D) • John Tierney (D) • Michael Capuano (D) • Niki Tsongas (D) • Richard Neal (D) • Stephen Lynch (D)
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