Does your state lean blue or lean red? Check out our new report, highlighting partisan control of state government from 1992-2013.
Steve Rothman
| Steve Rothman | ||
 | ||
| U.S. House, New Jersey, District 9 | ||
| Retired Representative | ||
| In office | ||
| January 3, 1997-January 3, 2013 | ||
| Party | Democratic | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | November 5, 1996 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| Bergen County Surrogate Court Judge | ||
| 1993-1996 | ||
| Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey | ||
| 1983-1989 | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Syracuse University | |
| J.D. | Washington University in St. Louis | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | October 14, 1952 | |
| Place of birth | Englewood, New Jersey | |
| Profession | Attorney | |
| Net worth | $2,946,019 | |
| Religion | Judaism | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Rothman was a "rank-and-file Democrat".[2]
Biography
 |
The information about this individual is current as of when they left office. See anything that needs updating? Send a correction to our editors |
Rothman was born in Englewood, New Jersey. He earned a B.A. from Syracuse University in 1974, and a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1977.[3]
Career
From 1978-1993, Rothman practiced as a private attorney, outside of his stints as mayor of Englewood, New Jersey from 1983-1989, and at the Bergen County Surrogate Court from 1993-1996. [4]
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
Rothman serves on the following committees:[5]
- Appropriations Committee
- Subcommittee on Defense
- Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations
Issues
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Rothman 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.[6]
Elections
2012
Rothman ran for re-election in 2012.[7] Because of New Jersey's redistricting, Rothman faced fellow Democratic representative Bill Pascrell in the June 5 primary. Pascrell currently represents New Jersey's 8th district, but redistricting redrew Pascrell's territory as the new 9th district. The new 9th also includes some of Rothman's territory.[8] Pascrell defeated Rothman in the Democratic primary.[1][9]
| New Jersey's 9th Congressional District Democratic Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Bill Pascrell Incumbent |
61.2% | 31,435 |
| Steve Rothman Incumbent | 38.8% | 19,947 |
| Total Votes | 51,382 | |
Pascrell v. Rothman
Due to redistricting, Rothman faced fellow Democratic incumbent Bill Pascrell for the newly redrawn 9th district in 2012. The one-time friends faced off in the June 5 primary. Politico rated it one of the 5 ugliest member vs. member battles[10] and and the North Jersey Record labeled it one of the most competitive primaries of 2012.[8]
Redistricting
The 8th district was eliminated as a result of redistricting in New Jersey following the 2010 census results. Rothman's territory was split into the new 9th district, which is Pascrell's new district, and Republican Scott Garrett's 5th. Rather than face Garrett in the Republican-leaning new 5th district, Rothman chose to challenge his Democratic colleague Pascrell. Pascrell resented this move, saying Rothman was "running from fights with the radical right."[11]
Ideological similarities
According to Roll Call, there is little policy or ideological difference between Rothman and Pascrell, and so voters were left decide the primary based largely on personality and location. The newly drawn 9th district encompasses a variety of demographics, and, the Roll Call article states, Pascrell is strong in the working class Passaic County, while Rothman is more at home in the white-collar Bergen County. The 9th also includes Hudson County, which may go either way.[12]
TV ads
Rothman came under criticism for a TV ad his campaign ran against Pascrell. The New Jersey Star-Ledger editorial board wrote that Rothman made "cheap shots" against Pascrell, and said a fact-check showed the ad's claims were false.[13]
Debates
February 23, 2012
On February 23, 2012, Rothman and Pascrell met for their first debate.[14]
Israel
In early 2012, a group of New Jersey synagogues encouraged their members to vote for Rothman in the primary, citing his pro-Israel stance. This prompted American Arab Forum President Aref Assaf to write an Op-Ed against what he described as putting another country above the U.S. in voting decisions. Rothman responded that he does put America first, and Pascrell distanced himself from Assaf's comments.[15]
2010
On November 2, 2010, Rothman was re-elected to the United States House for an eighth term. He defeated Michael A. Agosta (R) and Patricia Alessandrini (Green).[16]
| United States House, New Jersey General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Steve Rothman Incumbent |
60.7% | 83,564 | |
| Republican | Michael A. Agosta | 37.8% | 52,082 | |
| Green | Patricia Alessandrini | 1.4% | 1,980 | |
| Total Votes | 137,626 | |||
Endorsements
2012
President Barack Obama has met with Rothman, which has been viewed as implicit support, although he has not officially endorsed either candidate in the race.[17]
Campaign donors
2010
| U.S. House, New Jersey, 2010 - Steve Rothman Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $1,085,315 |
| Total Spent | $1,279,072 |
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $193,590 |
| Total Spent by General Election Opponent | $192,895 |
| Top contributors to Steve Rothman's campaign committee | |
| Englewood Hospital & Medical Center | $20,100 |
| Inserra Supermarkets | $16,100 |
| NorPAC | $15,800 |
| American Assn for Justice | $10,000 |
| American Crystal Sugar | $10,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $98,900 |
| Health Professionals | $81,950 |
| Real Estate | $43,100 |
| Lobbyists | $43,043 |
| Pharmaceuticals/Health Products | $42,250 |
Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Rothman paid his congressional staff a total of $1,068,773 in 2011. Overall, New Jersey ranks 42nd in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[19]
Staff bonuses
According to an analysis by CNN, Rothman is one of nearly 25% of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Rothman's staff was given an apparent $12,800.00 in bonus money.[20]
Net worth
2011
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Heller's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,676,039 to $4,216,000. That averages to $2,946,019, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic House members in 2011 of $5,107,874.[21]
2010
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Rothman's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $1,920,058 to $5,051,000. Averaging to a net worth of $3,485,529 which was lower than the average net worth of Democrats in 2010 of $4,465,875.[22]
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. Rothman tied with two other members of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 68th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[23]
2011
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Rothman ranked 129th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[24]
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, Steve Rothman voted with the Democratic Party 92.9% of the time, which ranked 88th among the 192 House Democratic members in December 2011.[25]
Personal
Steve is a proud father of two children, John and Karen Rothman.[26]
External links
- Congressman Steve Rothman official U.S. House site
- Congressman Steve Rothman official campaign site
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media coverage:
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 WYNC "Live! NJ Election Results," June 5, 2012
- ↑ Gov Track "Rothman" Accessed May 25, 2012
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "ROTHMAN, Steven, (1952 - )"
- ↑ Representative Steve Rothman, Proudly Serving Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties "Representative Steven Rothman "
- ↑ Representative Steve Rothman, Proudly Serving Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties "Representative Steven Rothman "
- ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
- ↑ Examiner "Another Democratic primary matchup to watch," January 13, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 North Jersey.com "Harrison: New Jersey's competitive primaries," April 22, 2012
- ↑ New Jersey Secretary of State "2012 Primary Results"
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedpolitico - ↑ Politico "Congress 2012: The 5 ugliest member vs. member battles" Accessed April 18, 2012
- ↑ Roll Call "N.J. 9th district race pits county vs. county," May 7, 2012
- ↑ New Jersey Star-Ledger "With cheap shots at Pascrell, Rothman tarnishes his own integrity," May 14, 2012
- ↑ Two New Jersey incumbents thrown together by redistricting hold debate
- ↑ PolitickerNJ "Politics in Pascrell v. Rothman spills into religion," February 24, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
- ↑ Huffington Post "Steve Rothman Meets With Obama, But POTUS Doesn't Endorse Him," June 1, 2012
- ↑ Open Secrets "Steven R. Rothman 2010 Election Data," Accessed December 1, 2011
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Steven R. Rothman," Accessed October 2, 2012
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," March 8, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org "Steven R. Rothman (D-NJ), 2011," accessed February 14, 2014
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Steven R. Rothman (D-NJ), 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"
- ↑ Representative Steve Rothman, Proudly Serving Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties "Representative Steven Rothman "
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert Torricelli |
U.S. House of Representatives - New Jersey District 9 1997-2013 |
Succeeded by Bill Pascrell (D) |
| Preceded by ' |
Bergen County Surrogate Court Judge 1993-1996 |
Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by ' |
Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey 1983-1989 |
Succeeded by ' |
| |||||||||||||
