Joe Sestak

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

Joe Sestak
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Curt Weldon
Born	December 12, 1951 (1951-12-12) (age 56) Secane, Pennsylvania
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Susan L. Clark
Religion	Roman Catholic

Joseph A. "Joe" Sestak, Jr. (born December 12, 1951) is a retired United States Navy Rear Admiral and is the Congressman for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district (map). He is a Democrat and the highest-ranking former military officer to serve in Congress.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Personal

Sestak was born in Secane, Pennsylvania and graduated from Cardinal O'Hara High School in nearby Springfield, Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Martin, came to America from the village of Dolné Lovčice in Slovakia in 1922, after World War I, while his father Joseph (age 3), was sent to America in 1924 to join Martin. Sestak's father graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1942, and then fought in both the Atlantic and the Pacific during World War II. Following in his father's footsteps, Sestak graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree in American Political Systems.^[1] Between tours at sea, Sestak earned a master's degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University in 1980 and 1984 respectively.^[2]

Sestak is married to the former Susan L. Clark and they have a daughter, Alexandra.

[edit] Naval career

Joseph Sestak
Place of birth	Secane, Pennsylvania
Allegiance	United States Navy
Years of service	1974–2005
Rank	Vice Admiral (retired as Rear Admiral)
Commands held	Director of Navy Operations Group
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal (3) Navy Distinguished Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit (2) Meritorious Service Medal (2) Joint Service Commendation Medal
Other work	U.S. Congress

As a surface warfare officer, Sestak served division officer tours as damage control assistant, combat information center officer and weapons officer on the guided missile destroyer USS Richard E. Byrd, and then was weapons officer on the guided missile destroyer USS Hoel. He then served as aide and flag lieutenant to the admiral in charge of United States Navy surface forces in the Pacific.

In January 1986, Sestak became executive officer of the guided missile frigate USS Underwood. He then served in the Politico-Military Assessment Division of the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On August 30, 1991, Sestak took command of the guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts, which was named the Atlantic Fleet's best surface combatant in the 1993 Battenberg Cup competition.

In July 1993 , Sestak became the head of the Strategy and Concepts Branch in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations. From November 1994 to March 1997, he was the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff at the White House, where he was responsible for national security and defense strategy, policies, programs, inter-agency and congressional coordination and regional political-military advice. In May 1997, he became the commander of Destroyer Squadron 14.^[1]

Vice Admiral Sestak

Sestak then directed the CNO's Strategy and Policy Division (N51), and led the Navy's efforts toward the 2000 Quadrennial Defense Review, for which he analyzed the economic value of U.S. defense spending. After September 11th, he became the first director of the Navy Operations Group (Deep Blue), which sought to redefine strategic, operational and budgetary policies in the Global War on Terrorism. He reported directly to chief of naval operations Vern Clark as policy adviser and administrator. Sestak told The Hill that as the designated policy adviser and administrator to Clark, it was his job to revamp the Navy, a process that necessarily ruffled feathers. “Change is very challenging,” Sestak said. “It did not sit well with a lot of people...I worked hard, and I did not ask anyone to work harder than me."^[3]

In the summer of 2005, Sestak was administratively reassigned from his position as DCNO. His removal was one of the first changes made by Adm. Michael Mullen when he took over as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) in July, according to Navy Times.

Sestak's decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merit awards, two Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, three Navy Commendation Medals and the Navy Achievement Medal.^[4]

However, because Sestak left the Navy before he had been a Vice Admiral long enough to be able to retire at that rank, he actually retired at the lower rank of a two star Rear Admiral.^[5]

[edit] 2006 Congressional campaign

Main article: Pennsylvania 7th congressional district election, 2006

In 2006, Sestak challenged ten-term incumbent Curt Weldon in a race for the 7th district Congressional seat. Sestak proved a capable fund-raiser. In the second quarter of 2006, he raised $704,000 to Weldon's $692,000; in the third, $1.14 million to $912,000. As of September 30, 2006, Sestak had $1.53 million cash on hand, while Weldon had $1.12 million in the bank after making a $500,000 TV ad buy that had not started as of the close of the third quarter.^[6]

On October 6, 2006, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report re-rated the race from "Lean Republican" to "Toss Up."[2] A poll released in late September 2006 showed Sestak and Weldon locked in a statistical dead heat. Sestak led Weldon 44-43 among likely voters in a Franklin & Marshall College Keystone Poll released September 29. The poll also found that 49 percent of registered voters in the district felt it was time for change in the district and only 37 percent said Weldon deserved re-election.^[7] The poll numbers suggest Sestak had seriously eroded Weldon's previous lead; a poll conducted in April 2006 by the pro-Democratic Party organization Democracy Corps had Weldon leading 51 to 41 percent. An October 8–10 survey by nonpartisan pollster Constituent Dynamics put Sestak ahead 51-44.^[8] On October 13, 2006, CQPolitics changed their rating on the race, from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite."^[9]

Sestak was elected to represent the 7th Congressional District of Pennsylvania on November 7, 2006, defeating Weldon by a 14-point margin (57-43). He is only the second Democrat to represent the Delaware County-based district and its various permutations since the Civil War.

Sestak received campaign funds from famed people around the world, including performer Jimmy Buffett, the Clintons, and many Naval officers.

[edit] Congressional career

Sestak is vice-chairman of the Small Business Committee. He is also a member of the Education and Labor and Armed Services committees. To date, he is the highest-ranking military officer ever to serve in Congress.

He is being challenged by former U.S. Marine W. Craig Williams for his first election as the incumbent Representative.

On April 22, 2008, he was interviewed as part of the Colbert Report's Better Know A District series. He said that he supports Senator Hillary Clinton for president, "because she has watched and observed the proper use of military force, not as the first step, like the Bush administration did; they walk, they clobber things with a big stick, and then we have to deal with the mess they've given us." When asked if he ever felt like a mushroom, Sestak joked, "Sometimes I feel as though my staff keeps me in the dark and feeds me ...", a reference to the use of compost in mushroom production.^[10]

[edit] Criticism

Sestak was criticized by Americans Against Hate for accepting an invitation to speak at a fundraiser for CAIR. Republican activist Joe Kaufman, chairman of Americans Against Hate, said, "The congressman should be working to shut down this organization for its ties to Hamas."^[11]

Sestak has also "developed a reputation for being a temperamental and demanding boss" due to reports that thirteen staffers have quit his employment in 2007. Aides are purportedly expected to work seven days a week, including holidays, for 14 hours a day. Sestak justifies these hours, which are considered long even by the standards of Capitol Hill, by presuming to instill a military-minded "toughness" in his civilian staff.^[12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Congressman Joe Sestak official U.S. House website
• Joe Sestak For Congress official campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Biography at United States Navy

Articles

• PA-7 Watch — Blog about the 2006 PA-7 Congressional race
• "GOP's Financial Edge Shrinks — Challengers Gain On Incumbents" The Washington Post, August 20, 2006
• "Sestak's command raises questions" Times Herald, April 1, 2006
• "War Vs. More War for Congress" The Washington Post, February 13, 2006
• Undated campaign photograph of Sestak
• Undated family photograph of Sestak
• Joe Sestak's Interview with The Young Turks.