Jerry McNerney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jerry McNerney | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Richard Pombo |
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| Born | June 18, 1951 Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mary McNerney |
| Residence | Pleasanton, California |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Gerald "Jerry" McNerney (born June 18, 1951) is an engineer, energy specialist, and politician from the U.S. state of California. McNerney, a Democrat, won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2006 House election, defeating incumbent Richard Pombo in California's 11th congressional district, which includes parts of San Joaquin County in the Central Valley as well as parts of Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara counties in the Bay Area.
McNerney is an expert in wind engineering and renewable energy and holds a Ph.D in mathematics.[1]
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[edit] Biography
McNerney was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended St. Joseph's Military Academy in Hays, Kansas and later the United States Military Academy, but resigned in 1971 in opposition to the Vietnam War. He registered with the draft board, and transferred to the University of New Mexico.[2] He received a bachelor's degree, master's degree, and, in 1981, a Ph.D in mathematics from that university. McNerney and Mary, his wife of 29 years, have lived and raised their children in Pleasanton since 1990.[1] Their oldest son, Michael, is a reserve officer in the US Air Force. Daughter Windy is a graduate student at the University of New Mexico, and youngest son, Greg, is studying biophysics at UC Davis.
McNerney served several years as a contractor to Sandia National Laboratories on Kirtland Air Force Base, working on national security programs. In 1985, he accepted a senior engineering position with U.S. Windpower (Kenetech), and in 1994 began working as an energy consultant for PG&E, FloWind, The Electric Power Research Institute, and other utility companies. McNerney is now the CEO of a start-up company that intends to manufacture wind turbines.
During his career in wind energy, McNerney's work contributed to saving the equivalent of approximately 30 million barrels of oil, or 8.3 million tons of carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas — as well as other harmful pollutants.
His oldest son Michael volunteered to serve in the military soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
[edit] Environmental work
His career in wind energy has contributed to saving the equivalent of approximately 30 million barrels of oil, or 8.3 million tons of carbon dioxide.[1]
[edit] Congressional campaigns
[edit] 2004
McNerney was inspired to run for Congress by his son Michael, who in response to the attacks of September 11, sought and received a commission in the Air Force. Michael suggested that his father serve his country by running for Congress. McNerney first ran for Congress against Richard Pombo in California's 11th congressional district in the 2004 House elections. He entered the race two weeks before the primary election as a write-in candidate. He qualified by one vote and got on the ballot as the Democratic candidate in November. He lost the November general election, 61 to 39 percent.
[edit] 2006
McNerney launched his 2006 campaign early in the fall of 2005. In June 2006 he won the Democratic primary with 52.8% of the vote, defeating Steve Filson and Stevan Thomas.
He has stated his support of the position of Representative John Murtha, for a phased withdrawal during a 9 to 12 month period from Iraq, with an over-the-horizon Marine rapid reaction force in the region. In late July, Republicans Pete McCloskey and Tom Benigno (both of whom ran in the Republican primary against Pombo) endorsed McNerney.[3]
In September analysis of the campaign was changed from "Republican safe" to "Republican favored" due to the emergence of McNerney's campaign. The report noted "a [GOP] party spokesman says it's because they want to win decisively but others speculate that internal polling has delivered bad news for the incumbent."[4]
On October 3, 2006, a poll commissioned by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund was released with McNerney leading Pombo 48 percent to 46 percent.[5]. There were two polls commissioned by the NRCC, but results weren't released. Based on these events, in early October, CQPolitics.com changed their rating of this race from Republican Favored to Leans Republican[6]
On November 7, 2006, Pombo was voted out of office in favor of McNerney.[7] McNerney had 53.3 percent of the vote, while Pombo got 46.7 percent.
[edit] 2008
The 2008 District 11 congressional election will be hotly contested[8], and has already been listed as one of the hot house races of 2008.[9] The only announced Republican challenger is former Assemblyman Dean Andal, a Stockton businessman controversial for his role in real estate developments. No Democrats have announced a primary challenge to McNerney.
[edit] Committee Assignments
- Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
- Committee on Science and Technology
- Research and Science Education
- Energy and Environment
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
- Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Jerry McNerney (2006-09-02). Biographical detail in op-ed: "Three-ring Pombo Cash Circus Comes to Stockton". YubaNet.com.
- ^ Hank Shaw. "Politics turns to war in Pombo's district", The Record, ONI Stockton, Inc., 2006-05-17.
- ^ missingauthor. "missingtitle", Washington Post, 2006-07-24.
- ^ Lisa Vorderbrueggen (2006-09-23). News and observations, some serious, some not, on the East Bay political scene. ContraCostaTimes Politics Weblog.
- ^ Hank Shaw. "Poll shows Pombo, McNerney just 2 points apart", The Record, ONI Stockton, Inc., 2006-10-03. Retrieved on 2006-08-18.
- ^ Ryan Kelly. "Competitive Race Lies Beneath Flurry of GOP Activity in Calif. 11", CQPolitics.com, 2006-10-03.
- ^ "McNerney Unseats Pombo; Doolittle Beats Brown", KCRA, November 8, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
- ^ Josh Kraushaar. "GOP Sets Sights on Recapturing Bay Area Seat", The Politico, 2007-03-28. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ mole333. "Top House Races for 2008", Actblue. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Representative Jerry McNerney official House site
- Jerry McNerney at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Jerry McNerney campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Jerry McNerney issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Jerry McNerney campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Gerald 'Jerry' McNerney (CA) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Jerry McNerney profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Jerry McNerney voting record
- Jerry McNerney for Congress official campaign site
- 2006 primary election results, 11th District
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Pombo |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 11th congressional district 2007– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
