Sue W. Kelly
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Sue Weisenbarger Kelly (née Madelyn Sue Weisenbarger; born September 26, 1936) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as a Republican member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
from 1995 to 2007, representing New York's 19th District. She was elected to the seat that had been held by Republican
Hamilton Fish IV Hamilton Fish IV or Hamilton Fish Jr. (June 3, 1926 – July 23, 1996) was an American Republican politician who represented parts of New York's Hudson Valley region in the United States House of Representatives for thirteen terms from 1969 to ...
after he dropped out of the 1994 race due to prostate cancer. Kelly defeated his son,
Hamilton Fish V Hamilton Fish V (born September 5, 1951), also known as "Ham", is a U.S. publisher, social entrepreneur, environmental advocate, and film producer in New York City. He is currently the publisher and editor of the monthly independent political pe ...
, in that race and served until
John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...
defeated her in the 2006 congressional election. Kelly served from February 1999 to April 2001 as Chair of the House Page Board, which came under fire during the
Mark Foley Mark Adam Foley (born September 8, 1954) is an American former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republic ...
scandal.


Early life and career

Sue Kelly was born in
Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...
, on September 26, 1936. She was raised Presbyterian and graduated from
Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...
in 1958. She also holds a
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
from
Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...
. She held jobs as a small business owner, patient advocate, rape counselor, and educator. She first became involved in politics by working as an advisor and campaign manager for Hamilton Fish IV, who represented Kelly’s home area in New York’s Hudson Valley.


Campaigns

When Congressman
Hamilton Fish IV Hamilton Fish IV or Hamilton Fish Jr. (June 3, 1926 – July 23, 1996) was an American Republican politician who represented parts of New York's Hudson Valley region in the United States House of Representatives for thirteen terms from 1969 to ...
, a Republican, decided not to seek re-election in 1994, Kelly sought and won the nomination for the congressional seat. Kelly defeated Fish's son,
Hamilton Fish V Hamilton Fish V (born September 5, 1951), also known as "Ham", is a U.S. publisher, social entrepreneur, environmental advocate, and film producer in New York City. He is currently the publisher and editor of the monthly independent political pe ...
, who ran as a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
, and
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
candidate Joseph DioGuardi, who had been defeated by her in the Republican primary but continued campaigning. She was re-elected by a seven-point margin in 1996 and had comfortable victory margins in her campaigns thereafter. In 2004, Kelly easily won re-election with 67% of the vote in New York's 19th Congressional district although ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described Kelly's opponents in previous races as "token opposition".


Views

Kelly highlighted a socially moderate and fiscally conservative voting record. A 2006 survey of congressional power and effectiveness by the nonpartisan company, Knowlegis, indicated that Rep. Kelly was among the 100 most powerful lawmakers in the 435-member
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. The survey also labelled Kelly as the second most powerful
congressperson A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
in the New York
delegation Delegation is the assignment of authority to another person (normally from a manager to a subordinate) to carry out specific activities. It is the process of distributing and entrusting work to another person,Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole ...
, second only to
Thomas M. Reynolds Thomas M. Reynolds (born September 3, 1950) is an American politician from the U.S. state of New York, formerly representing the state's 27th and 26th Congressional districts in the United States House of Representatives. Reynolds was chairm ...
, who was chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.


2006 election

On November 7, 2006, Kelly was narrowly defeated by Democratic opponent
John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...
by less than 4700 votes. On November 16, nine days after the election, she conceded the election. The state certified the official voting results on December 15, 2006. It is notable that although Hall barely outperformed Kelly's previous Democratic challengers in 2004, 2002, and 2000, Kelly herself received over 80,000 fewer votes than she had in 2004. Initially, Hall's candidacy was considered a "long-shot," but he gained momentum after Kelly faced criticism in October 2006 for her connection to the
Mark Foley scandal The Mark Foley scandal, which broke in late September 2006, centers on soliciting emails and sexually suggestive instant messages sent by Mark Foley Mark Adam Foley (born September 8, 1954) is an American former politician who served as a ...
. Kelly refused to speak to a reporter from a local news network about the matter and also did not appear at a televised debate sponsored by the
League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...
. Kelly was represented by an empty chair at the debate. Kelly was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group. Her score of 92% was the highest among any Republican Member of Congress in 2006. Kelly had earned a 17% score from the LCV in 2005, but attributed that score to the many missed votes that came in the several days she was absent due to a death in the family. Kelly stated she was an "independent voice" in Congress, but the ''Times Herald Record'' noted that in 25 of the closest House votes during her last session, Kelly sided with the Republican leadership 24 of those times. In 2006, comedian Stephen Colbert invited Kelly to an interview for his "
Better Know a District Better Know a District (also known as BKAD) was a recurring segment on ''The Colbert Report''. It offered a humorous examination of a different United States congressional district in each segment and generally included an interview with that dis ...
" segment on ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...
''. Upon Kelly's refusal, Colbert interviewed Kelly's challenger,
John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...
. Colbert took credit for Hall's election win on the November 8, 2006, edition of ''The Colbert Report''.


Ratings from special interest groups

Kelly was a member of The
Republican Majority For Choice The Republican Majority for Choice (RMC) was a Republican organization in the United States dedicated to preserving legal access to abortion. The group also supported federal funding for all kinds of stem cell research, including embryonic stem cel ...
, Republicans for Choice, The Wish List, The Republican Main Street Partnership, and
Republicans for Environmental Protection ConservAmerica, formerly known as Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), is a national nonprofit organization formed in 1995. REP's stated purpose is to strengthen the Republican Party's stance on environmental issues and support effor ...
. She received an average score of 30% from
NARAL NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...
from 1994 to 2005, and an average of 71% from 2000–2005. Her
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
rating of 63% was 8th highest among Republicans during her congressional career, and 159th overall in the House. Some seniors advocacy groups have questioned her votes on
Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
and Medicare. The Sierra Club chose to endorse her competitor in 2006. She has a lifetime rating of 64% from the
American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...
demonstrating a moderate to conservative voting record. Kelly, a former
small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...
owner, received a 22% rating from the US Women's Chamber of Commerce. She received a grade of a C+ from the
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) veterans organization founded by Paul Rieckhoff, an American writer, social entrepreneur, advocate, activist and veteran of the United States Army and the Iraq War. He serv ...
, an issue which she felt strongly on because of her nephew's service in Iraq and Afghanistan with the United States Special Forces. Kelly voted in favor of so-called " pork amendments 84% of the time according to the conservative Club for Growth, and has declined to answer questions from the
National Taxpayers Union The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is a fiscally conservative taxpayer advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1977 by James Dale Davidson. NTU says that it is the oldest taxpayer advocacy organization in the ...
, a non-partisan group focused on taxpayer's waste. In February 2006, the House voted 216 to 214 to cut domestic spending by $39 billion, primarily by cutting $11 billion from
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
and another $12.7 billion from federal student loans, which led to protest in her district. Sue Kelly and
Frank LoBiondo Frank Alo LoBiondo (: born May 12, 1946) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. He represented all of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Sa ...
( NJ-02) were the deciding votes. She voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and in 2006, a bill to permanently ban gay marriage in all states. These votes cost her the endorsement of the
Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
, which had supported her campaigns prior to 2004. Her rating on the Human Rights Campaign Congressional Scorecard is 25%.


Personal life

She is married to Edward Kelly, and they live in Katonah, New York. They have four children and eight grandchildren.


See also

* Women in the United States House of Representatives


References


External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Sue 1936 births Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American Presbyterians Denison University alumni Female members of the United States House of Representatives People from Katonah, New York Politicians from Lima, Ohio Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Politicians from Rockland County, New York Sarah Lawrence College alumni Politicians from Westchester County, New York Women in New York (state) politics