John Tierney | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2009 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's6th district | |
| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Peter G. Torkildsen |
| Succeeded by | Seth Moulton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1951-09-18)September 18, 1951 (age 74) Salem, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Residence(s) | Salem, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Salem State College (BA) Suffolk University (JD) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
John F. Tierney (born September 18, 1951) is an American politician who served as aU.S. Representative fromMassachusetts from 1997 to 2015. He is aDemocrat who represented the state's6th district, which includes the state'sNorth Shore andCape Ann.
Born and raised inSalem, Massachusetts, Tierney graduated fromSalem State College andSuffolk University Law School. He worked in private law and served on the SalemChamber of Commerce from 1976 to 1997. Tierney first ran for the House of Representatives in 1994 againstRepublican incumbentPeter G. Torkildsen, losing by a small margin. He defeated Torkildsen in a rematch in 1996.
Aliberal member of Congress, Tierney voted along with other Democratic Representatives from Massachusetts. He sat on theHouse Committee on Education and Labor, where his priorities includedgreen energy and increased college access. He co-authored several pieces of legislation, including theGreen Jobs Act of 2007 and the College Affordability and Accountability Act of 2008. He is the former chairman of theSubcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, where he helped establish theCommission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. From 1998 to 2010, Tierney comfortably won re-election in each cycle. He faced tougher challenges after his wife Patrice was convicted of felonytax fraud in 2010, narrowly defeating his Republican opponentin 2012. In the2014 election, he lost the Democratic primary toSeth Moulton, who went on to hold the seat in the general election.[1] In February 2016, Tierney was appointed the executive director of theCouncil for a Livable World and the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation,[2] the council's affiliated education and research organization.
John F. Tierney was born September 18, 1951, inSalem, Massachusetts. His mother, Doris H. (née Gelineau) Tierney, was a Salem native who worked a split shift at the New England Telephone Company, where she remained for 42 years. His father, Albert R. Tierney, was a bookkeeper forNabisco and a local fuel company.[3][4] Tierney was one of three children, along with his brother Michael A. and sister Catherine.[4] His father was of Irish descent and his mother was of half French-Canadian and half Irish ancestry.[5] He moved with his family to his grandmother's home when he was five years old. He began working at the Kernwood Country Club in Salem as acaddie when he was 8 and soon adopted a paper route.[6] He later attendedSalem High School. When he was young, Tierney campaigned for his uncle, aPeabodyward councilor, and he ascribes his political interest in part to this experience.[7][8]
Tierney attendedSalem State College, majoring inpolitical science. While in college he performedwork study, while also stocking shelves at a grocery store, working in sales at a clothing store, and performing deliveries. For three years he was president of his class, and in his final year he served as President of the Salem State Student Government Association (SGA). As SGA president Tierney responded to racial incidents on campus by organizing a school-wide meeting leading to several days of discussion. He graduated in 1973, and returned in 2009 to give acommencement address, receiving anhonorary degree.[6]
While working as a law office clerk and aState House janitor, Tierney attendedSuffolk University Law School.[6] Tierney graduated with aJuris Doctor in 1976, and wasadmitted to the Massachusetts bar. Tierney worked as a solo practitioner until 1981, when he became a partner at theNorth Shore communitylaw firm Tierney, Kalis, & Lucas. Tierney remained at the firm until taking office in 1997. Tierney served on the Salem Chamber of Commerce from 1976 to 1997, becoming the organization's president in 1995.[9]
.jpg)
Tierney first ran for Congress in 1994 against one-termRepublican incumbentPeter G. Torkildsen, having won a competitive Democratic primary with a plurality of 33.8 percent.[10] He ran on a platform promoting a stronger federal focus on drug abuse, federal aid to promote after-school programs, consideration ofmeans testing forSocial Security, andsingle-payer health care.[7][11] A primary issue in the campaign was crime: Tierney criticized Torkildsen for his vote against a 1994 crime bill, and advocated stronger gun control, while Torkildsen criticized Tierney's positions on gun control and drug legalization. Tierney was defeated in the general election by 4%.[8][12] Tierney successfully ran for Congress in 1996, defeating Torkildsen by a narrow margin and increasing his margin in a 1998 rematch.[13][14] Over the next five elections, Tierney won with over 68% of the vote.[13][14] In2010, he faced a stronger challenge from Republican candidate Bill Hudak, after his wife Patrice was convicted of felony tax fraud; he won with 57% of the vote.[15][dead link]
In his2012 race for re-election, Tierney faced formerState Senator and2010 nominee forLieutenant GovernorRichard Tisei. Tisei, who is openly gay,[16] was endorsed by theLog Cabin Republicans. He was also endorsed byThe Rainbow Times, aBoston-basedLGBT newspaper.[17] Gay Democratic CongressmanBarney Frank endorsed Tierney, likening gay Republicans toUncle Tom.[18] Tierney narrowly won re-election on November 6, 2012, with 48% of the vote to Tisei's 47%.[19]
Tierney ran for re-election against four challengers for the Democratic nominationin 2014. With 27 percent of precincts reporting, Tierney trailedSeth Moulton 51 percent to 40 percent and conceded.[1]
| Committee assignments |
|---|
| 113th Congress(2013–15)[20] |
Tierney, described as "an unwavering liberal" byCQ's Politics in America, has consistently high approval ratings from Democratic and liberal interest groups such asAmericans for Democratic Action, and low approval ratings from conservative groups such as theAmerican Conservative Union. His votes have been closely aligned with the other Democratic representatives from his state.[21] Described as "a favorite of the House Democratic leadership,"[22] he maintains a close relationship with formerHouse SpeakerNancy Pelosi; her daughterChristine Pelosi served as hischief of staff from 2001 to 2005.[21] Tierney was speculated as a candidate to succeed United States SenatorTed Kennedy in aspecial election after Kennedy's death in 2009, but he decided not to run.[22] In 2010Washington paperThe Hill published a speculation that Tierney, with a $1.3 millionwar chest, was a likely candidate to run against Kennedy's successorScott Brown in the2012 election.[23] Tierney later stated that he would not contest the Senate seat and would instead seek a ninth term as Congressman.
Tierney and Rep.Hilda Solis coauthored the Green Jobs Act of 2007, which allocated $125 million to green jobs training. The bill was incorporated into theEnergy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and signed into law.[21][24] Tierney was initially opposed to theTroubled Asset Relief Program proposal of 2008, although he ultimately voted for the bill, saying, "The state of panic in the markets compels Congress to act."[21]
The House included several of his proposals in theHigher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, one which prevented states from cutting education funding as federal aid increased, and one which forgave federal loans for students who went into some public service professions.[21] Throughout his career, Tierney has repeatedly introduced a bill called "Clean Money, Clean Elections", which would create a national, publicly financedclean elections system. With little support in Congress, the proposal has been unsuccessful.[21]
Tierney is a supporter ofuniversal health care.[21] In early 2010, Tierney came under fire from some in his district for his support of thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[25]
On March 6, 2013 Tierney and several House Democrats walked out on a Committee on Education and the Workforce vote, accusing Republican counterparts on the committee of not negotiating "in a bipartisan manner." Tierney has introduced a version ofElizabeth Warren's "Bank on Student Loans Fairness Act" into the House, which would reduce federally subsidized education loans to 0.75%, the rate paid by banks.[26]
A February 2012Washington Post report 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.[27] According to the investigation, 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.[28]
Tierney was a member of theHouse Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and chairman of theSubcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs during the 110th and 111th Congresses. Tierney introduced the 2007 House legislation that created theCommission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to study government contracting related to theAfghanistan War and theIraq War.[21][29] The same year Tierney chaired a congressional hearing over conditions atWalter Reed Army Medical Center. The center had been criticized in the press for its dilapidated conditions and inadequate care, as well as for prioritizing a "VIP ward" for non-soldiers.[30][31] The House approved Tierney's amendment to direct $75,000,000 to secular school construction inPakistan to compete againstIslamicmadrassas.[21][32]
Tierney is a critic of U.S. investment in missile defense, and has called for large budget cuts to theMissile Defense Agency.[33] He introduced an amendment to redirect $966 million in funding from missile defense systems to other military initiatives. The proposal, opposed byArmed Services Committee leaders as "going too far", was rejected in a House vote.[21][34]
Tierney dated Patrice M. (Eremian) Chew ofMarblehead throughout his 1996 campaign.[35] They married in a small ceremony in April 1997[36] and now live in Salem, where Patrice works as a jewelry designer.[37] Tierney has three stepchildren from his wife's first marriage.[35] In June 2000, Tierney's stepson John Chew was arrested when about 25 grams (0.9 oz) ofcocaine and $1,000 in cash were found in his Marblehead apartment.[36][38]
In August 2010, Tierney's wife Patrice's brothers Robert and Daniel Eremian were indicted in federal court for operating an illegalinternet gambling business.[35][39] Robert had allegedly, with Daniel's help, operated the business out ofSt. John's,Antigua and Barbuda, and funneled a portion of the profits into aBank of America account in Massachusetts. In October 2010, Patrice was charged inU.S. District Court with four counts of "aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns" by Robert.[35] John Tierney issued a statement announcing his wife's intention to plead guilty, stating that Patrice accepted "full responsibility for being 'willfully blind' to what her brother was doing."[35] Patrice pleaded guilty on October 6, 2010,[40] and on January 13, 2011, was sentenced to 30 days in prison followed by five months of house arrest.[41] The conviction bolstered the campaign of Bill Hudak, Tierney's Republican opponent in the November 2010 election, but Tierney was re-elected.[42][43][44] In June 2012, a federal judge ordered Daniel Eremian to forfeit $7.7 million in assets for his role in the illegal offshore sports betting scheme.[45] Following his sentencing, Daniel Eremian told reporters that the congressman "knew everything that was going on", a charge which Tierney rebutted.[46][47]
| Year | Winning candidate | Party | Pct | Opponent | Party | Pct | Opponent | Party | Pct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Peter G. Torkildsen (inc.) | Republican | 50.5% | John F. Tierney | Democratic | 47.4% | Benjamin A. Gatchell | Independent | 2.1% | |
| 1996 | John F. Tierney | Democratic | 49.3% | Peter G. Torkildsen (inc.) | Republican | 49.2% | Martin J. McNulty | Independent | 1.6% | |
| 1998 | John F. Tierney (inc.) | Democratic | 54.6% | Peter G. Torkildsen | Republican | 42.4% | Randal C. Fritz | Independent | 3.0% | |
| 2000 | John F. Tierney (inc.) | Democratic | 71.1% | Paul McCarthy | Republican | 28.9% | ||||
| 2002 | John F. Tierney (inc.) | Democratic | 68.3% | Mark C. Smith | Republican | 31.7% | ||||
| 2004 | John F. Tierney (inc.) | Democratic | 70.0% | Stephen P. O'Malley, Jr. | Republican | 30.0% | ||||
| 2006 | John F. Tierney (inc.) | Democratic | 69.7% | Richard W. Barton | Republican | 30.3% | ||||
| 2008 | John F. Tierney (inc.) | Democratic | 70.5% | Richard A. Baker | Republican | 29.5% | ||||
| 2010 | John F. Tierney (inc.) | Democratic | 56.9% | Bill Hudak | Republican | 43.1% | ||||
| 2012 | John F. Tierney (inc.) | Democratic | 48.2% | Richard Tisei | Republican | 47.2% | Daniel Fishman | Libertarian | 4.6% | |
| Year | Candidate | Result | Opponent | Result | Opponent | Pct | Opponent | Pct | Opponent | Pct |
| 2014 | Seth Moulton | 50.8% | John F. Tierney | 40.1% | Marisa DeFranco | 6.1% | John Devine | 2.1% | John Gutta | 1.0% |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).Salem Statement (Salem State College): pp. 24–25. Retrieved July 3, 2010.| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 6th congressional district January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2015 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative | Succeeded byas Former US Representative |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
