Tim Mahoney | |
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Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's16th district | |
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Mark Foley |
Succeeded by | Tom Rooney |
Personal details | |
Born | Timothy Edward Mahoney (1956-08-16)August 16, 1956 (age 68) Aurora, Illinois, U.S. |
Political party | Republican (before 2005) Democratic (2005–present) |
Spouse |
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Residence(s) | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S. |
Alma mater | |
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Timothy Edward Mahoney (born August 16, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as theU.S. representative forFlorida's 16th congressional district from 2007 to 2009. A member of theDemocratic Party, he was elected in November 2006 after his opponent, six-termRepublican incumbentMark Foley, resigned on September 29, 2006, after questions were raised about an email exchange with acongressional page.
Mahoney was born inAurora, located inKane County, Illinois, but was raised inSummit, New Jersey. He received aBachelor of Arts degree in computer science and business fromWest Virginia University in 1978 and aMaster of Business Administration fromGeorge Washington University in 1983. After graduating university, Mahoney became a computer executive working for Tecmar. In 1986, he moved to Florida, where he became president ofRodime. He co-founded Union Atlantic, LLC, in 1995, and in 1998, he bought vfinance.com, a website for entrepreneurs, and merged the two. Mahoney served as chairman and COO of vFinance, and also formed the Center for Innovative Entrepreneurship, a nonprofit organization centered around measuring the impact of "innovative entrepreneurship" on the economy.
In 2006, Mahoney ran forU.S. Congress to representFlorida's 16th congressional district as aDemocrat, challenging the incumbent Representative,Republican Mark Foley, in what was initially rated as a safe seat for Foley. After Foley was forced to resign due to ascandal involving him sending sexual messages to acongressional page, the race became more competitive, and Mahoney narrowly beat the replacement nominee, state representativeJoe Negron, in the November election, with 49.55% of the vote. Mahoney was sworn in on January 3, 2007, to the110th Congress. While in Congress, Mahoney joined the moderateBlue Dog Coalition andNew Democrat Coalition groups, and has been described as a moderate and conservative Democrat.
In October 2008, media outlets began reporting allegations that Mahoney paidhush money to a mistress to conceal an extramarital affair.[1][2] Mahoney's wife filed for divorce in October 2008, and Mahoney, running for re-election, lost the November 4 election to Republican nomineeTom Rooney by 20 points. Mahoney left office in January 2009, and continues to reside inPalm Beach Gardens.
Mahoney was born inAurora, Illinois on August 16, 1956, the son of anAT&T computer programmer.[3][4][5] He grew up inSummit, New Jersey, and graduated fromSummit High School in 1974.[6] Mahoney obtained aBachelor of Arts degree in computer science and business fromWest Virginia University in 1978 and aMaster of Business Administration degree fromGeorge Washington University in 1983.[4][5]
After graduating university, Mahoney began his career in the computer business. After seven years, he attained wealth when a company he was working for, Tecmar, which sold personal computer accessories, was sold. In 1986, he moved to Florida and became president ofRodime Systems, a division of Rodime Inc. Rodime, for which Mahoney was also vice president of marketing and sales, manufactured disc drives that were packaged for the retail market by Rodime Systems. Rodime's manufacturing plant was relocated toSingapore in 1989, and Mahoney sold Rodime Systems.[5] In 1995, Mahoney and his business partner, Lenny Sokolow, started Union Atlantic, LLC, a venture capital firm. His inability to get the firm listed on vfinance.com, a website for venture capitalists, led him and Sokolow to purchase the website in 1998 for $100,000, merging it with Union Atlantic.[5][7]
After purchasing the website, Mahoney served as chairman and chief operating officer of vFinance, Inc., which he expanded into a venture capital and financial services firm located inBoca Raton.[5][8][9] The company initially grew quickly after buying several other broker-dealer and financial services customers, including its acquisition of Sterling Financial Investment Group.[5][8] vFinance employed more than 200 workers in 30 offices around the U.S. and managed greater than $1 billion in assets.[10] Mahoney continued to upgrade the website, and added numerous features which customers could use.[7] Sokolow replaced Mahoney as chairman and COO in 2007, and vFinance eventually merged with National Holdings Corporation.[8]
Mahoney also co-founded and served as president of the Center for Innovative Entrepreneurship (CIE), a nonprofit organization.[citation needed]
Mahoney, who was inspired byRonald Reagan to originally become a Republican, switched his party affiliation to theDemocratic Party in 2005, although still holding his conservative viewpoints, due to alleged "disillusionment" while in the GOP.[6][5][11]
Mahoney ran for Congress as a first-time political candidate in 2006 to representFlorida's 16th congressional district.[6][12][13] The district comprised eight counties, including part ofPalm Beach County andSt. Lucie County.[5][14] Mahoney said that he decided to run largely due to frustration with Congressional Republicans and the Bush administration.[15] Mahoney was unopposed in the September 5 Democratic primary election.[16] In the general election, Mahoney faced six-termRepublican incumbentMark Foley, who had represented the district since 1995 and went unopposed in the Republican primary.[16] In 2006, 42% of the voters in this district were registered Republicans, and 36% were registered Democrats, with the district having aCPVI of R+2.[17][18][19][20]George W. Bush won the district with 54% of the vote, a margin of greater than 8% over Democratic nomineeJohn Kerry, in the2004 presidential election.[21] In the previous 2004 election for the seat, Foley won with 68% of the vote over the Democratic challenger.[22] Mahoney was behind Foley in polls for the race, and trailed by double digits, despite spending almost $400,000 of his own money in the race.[11][23][24] At the time, the race was not expected to be competitive, with Foley predicted to win easily over Mahoney.[23][24][12]
During the campaign, Mahoney ran on a platform of moderation, including describingRonald Reagan as a "hero" and describing himself as a "conservative Christian".[11] Mahoney stated that there was a need to reduceabortions without fully banning them, and also said that he favored repealing theestate tax and opposed further gun restriction laws.[11] Mahoney ran as a conservative "common sense" businessman and stated that he was "as conservative as you can get", but said that the Republican Party had been "hijacked by a very radical group of people" who he didn't believe represented Republican values.[6][25][26] Mahoney also criticized Foley's voting record and his support of theBush administration's positions, including their policies on theIraq War and government spending.[15] In August, Mahoney was endorsed by GeneralWesley Clark, a former candidate forpresident of the United States in the 2004 election.[27][12] Mahoney also filed a lawsuit against the Foley campaign for what he called "misleading" television advertisements about his business career.[28]
On September 28, 2006,ABC News reported that Foley had sent email messages, from his personalAOL account, to a then-16-year-old formercongressional page, asking the page to send a photo of himself to Foley, among other things that were overtly sexual in nature.[29] The messages showed Foley, under the username "Maf54", trying to meet the teenage page, as well as referencing the page's sexual orientation.[30][31] Mahoney called for an investigation into the matter, and Foley resigned the next day.[23] Foley's resignation gave Democrats an opportunity of taking the seat, and the race quickly became more competitive.[23][12] Mahoney denied allegations that his staff was responsible for the leaks.[15] After the scandal became public, Mahoney starting campaigning on a platform to restore integrity and dignity to the seat and reduce corruption in Washington.[11][12][32][33] Mahoney's campaign included the slogan "Restoring America's values begins at home."[33][1] Mahoney became the favorite to win the seat, and was endorsed by numerous high-profile Democrats, includingMark Warner andJohn Kerry, who campaigned with Mahoney.[11][12] Mahoney's campaign also released a 30-second television advertisement titled "Graham Man" featuring former governor of Florida and U.S. senatorBob Graham, which was cut before the scandal broke, but aired promptly after.[25][12] Mahoney quickly rose to the top of the polls, and gained a lead of 7 points.[12][34]Congressional Quarterly (CQ) shifted the race from safe Republican to tossup, and eventually to favoring Mahoney.[35]
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Foley's resignation originally left Mahoney without a Republican opponent in the election.[15] However, on October 2, 2006, theFlorida Republican Party Executive Committee selectedJoe Negron, a member of theFlorida House of Representatives from the 82nd district and former candidate forFlorida Attorney General, as Mahoney's new opponent.[36][37] Under Florida law, Negron's name did not appear on the ballot; he only received votes cast for Foley, whose name remained on the ballot.[3] TheFlorida Democratic Party filed an emergency injunction to prevent elections supervisors from placing signs at polling places stating that a vote for Foley would go to Negron, arguing that it would violate state laws that prohibit the soliciting of voters.[38] Negron ran on a campaign which reminded voters to "Punch Foley for Joe", and said that the district's voters would not be "defined by the disgraceful actions" of Foley.[34][3] Mahoney's campaign sought to portray Negron as a political insider who favored insurers over homeowners.[34][26] Mahoney generally avoided the Foley scandal while campaigning, saying that he "wish[ed] the best for [Foley]" and all people involved.[39] Mahoney was endorsed by theSarasota Herald-Tribune, citing his successful business career and his moderate policies.[40] However, while Mahoney still led in the polls, multiple predictors changed their ratings from favoring Mahoney to tossup.[34] On election day, Mahoney narrowly defeated Negron with aplurality of 49.55%, a margin of 4,417 votes and 1.89 percentage points, withIndependent candidate Emmie Lee Ross taking 2.79 percent of the vote.[41] While Negron carried most of the more conservative areas of the district nearFort Myers, Mahoney carried the two largest counties in the district,Palm Beach andSt. Lucie counties, by a combined margin of 10,723 votes, far more than the actual margin of victory.[42] Negron called Mahoney to congratulate him, and publicly conceded to his supporters at the Hutchinson Island Marriott.[28] Mahoney gathered his supporters at the Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa, where he held his victory celebration.[28][43]
Mahoney was sworn in on January 3, 2007, to the110th U.S. Congress.
Mahoney ran for re-election to Congress in 2008, and went unopposed in the Democratic primary.[44] Mahoney faced Republican challengerTom Rooney in the general election. Rooney defeated State RepresentativeGayle Harrell and former Palm Beach Gardens councilman Hal Valeche in the Republican primary.[45][46] Mahoney had been a top target for defeat in 2008, due to the district's Republican voting history, and was seen as the only Democrat from South Florida to be vulnerable to defeat.[47][48][49] However, Mahoney initially led in surveys of the race. At one point in the campaign, Mahoney was shown to have a 20-point lead in the polls.[32][50] In September 2008, a poll of 400 likely voters conducted by Rooney's campaign showed Mahoney with a 48 to 41 point lead over Rooney with a margin of error of 4 points.[48][51][52]
Revelations of his extramarital affair severely hampered his re-election chances.[53] House SpeakerNancy Pelosi called for aHouse Ethics Committee investigation concerning the matter.[54][52] Mahoney said he requested an ethics investigation as well, stating that the allegations were "based on hearsay" but his constituents "need a full accounting".[52][55] Two days later, CQ Politics changed their forecast on the race from "No Clear Favorite" to "Leans Republican".[56] Mahoney pulled out of attending a debate with his opponent due to the organizers refusing to prohibit television media from covering the event, leaving Rooney as the sole candidate at the debate.[50][53][57] Due to his conservative positions on gun rights, Mahoney was endorsed by theNational Rifle Association of America.[58] In light of the scandal, Democratic Pennsylvania State RepresentativeTimothy S. Mahoney issued a press release explaining that he was not involved in an extramarital affair, due to both politicians' similar names.[59][60] Mahoney raised over $3 million, and spent $2,756,453 on the race.[61] However, in the November election, Mahoney was soundly defeated by former assistant state Attorney GeneralTom Rooney. Mahoney won only 40 percent of the vote to Rooney's 60 percent, the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent in the 2008 cycle.[62]
Mahoney was generally considered to be a moderate Democrat, and he considered himself to be aconservative Democrat.[6][11] His positions are described below:
He was a member of theBlue Dog Coalition, a group of Democratic members of Congress known for moderate to conservative stances, especially onfiscal issues.[63][64][65] Mahoney also was a member of theNew Democrat Coalition, a centrist group of Democrats in Congress.[63][14]
On September 29, 2008, Mahoney voted for theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.[66]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
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Democratic | Tim Mahoney | 115,832 | 49.55 | |||
Republican | Mark Foley | 111,415 | 47.66 | |||
Independent | Emmie Lee Ross | 6,526 | 2.79 | |||
Total votes | 223,799 | 100.00 | ||||
Democraticgain fromRepublican |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
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Republican | Tom Rooney | 209,874 | 60.1 | |||
Democratic | Tim Mahoney (incumbent) | 139,373 | 39.9 | |||
Total votes | 349,247 | 100.00 | ||||
Republicangain fromDemocratic |
Mahoney hinted at a potential run for his former seat in the2010 elections against Tom Rooney, stating that he was "seriously thinking about doing it" and that he "learned a lot of lessons".[67] However, Mahoney ultimately decided not to run, stating that he would instead work with the Democratic Party to "elect moderate Democrats who will work for the people of Florida" and defeat Republicans in the state.[68] Rooney was re-elected against Democrat Jim Horn in 2010 by a margin of 33.7%.[69]
In March 2013, Mahoney, along with fellow CongressmenAllen Boyd andMike Arcuri, formed Cannae Policy Group, LLC, a government affairs firm located inWashington, D.C.[70][71] The firm takes its name from theCannae Tactic, a strategic military move which involves a double pincer movement that was originally used in theBattle of Cannae.[72] Mahoney also is owner and founder of Caribou, LLC, an advisory firm which he founded in 2009, and has served on the board of directors of Agrify, a developer of growing solutions for indoor cannabis & hemp cultivation, since December 17, 2020.[71][73][74]
In 2021, Mahoney wrote an op-ed published in theTreasure Coast Newspapers in which he stated that congressmenBill Posey,Brian Mast, and other Republicans in Congress should apologize and resign for "sedition" related toattempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election and the2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[75] Regarding former presidentDonald Trump's residency atMar-a-Lago, Mahoney stated that Trump should "live up to his agreement" set in 1993, which prohibited permanent residence at the club.[76]
Mahoney has a home inPalm Beach Gardens, though he was described in the official House roll as residing inVenus.[14] He also owns a cattle ranch in southernHighlands County.[5] He is divorced and has a daughter named Bailey Mahoney, a former scholarship equestrian athlete atOklahoma State University who now practices law inDenver,Colorado after earning aJuris Doctor degree from theUniversity of Denver College of Law, as well as 2 other children, Vivian and JJ.[73][63][77] Mahoney, aMethodist, describes himself as a "fundamental Christian".[5] Mahoney and his wife Terry were members of the Venus United Methodist Church, located in Venus.[10][14]
After news of his extramarital affair was revealed, Mahoney's wife, Terry Ellen Mahoney, filed for divorce on October 20, 2008, less than a month before Mahoney lost re-election to Congress. The divorce was finalized in 2010, with Mahoney and his wife splitting $2.83 million in assets, and Mahoney keeping their property in the PGA National Resort and Spa, which he used as his residence while in Congress, with his wife keeping their property in Oklahoma.[78]
On September 18, 2008, the Capitol Hill newspaperRoll Call ran an article questioning Mahoney's residency status.[79] It alleged that Mahoney had registered to vote at "a horse barn" for the purposes of having residency in his congressional district, while his primary residence was actually in another district. The issue came to light after Mahoney missed a rent payment on his Capitol Hill apartment in July 2007. The case itself was dismissed on September 6, 2007. While Mahoney's opponent,Tom Rooney, attempted to make light of the allegations, the attack proved ineffective after Democrats revealed that Rooney himself was registered to vote at a dog track.[80] While members of the House are only required to live in the state they wish to represent, it has become a strong convention that they live in or near the district they represent as well.[citation needed]
On October 13, 2008,ABC News reported that Mahoney had agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him.[1] Because Mahoney won this seat in 2006 after a sex scandal forced the incumbent to resign, several[52][81] considered it ironic that a sex scandal of his own coming to light a month before the election, especially since he first campaigned against such corruption.[82] Some professional political pundits, includingCharlie Cook, reclassified the race as "Leans" or "Likely Republican."[83][84] The FBI investigated whether Mahoney hired the first mistress and put her on the federal payroll in order for her to keep their affair secret.[85]
Mahoney admitted to having "numerous" affairs, stating that he had "certainly more than two."[86][87] Mahoney's wife Terry filed for divorce in Palm BeachCounty court on October 20, 2008.[88][87]
On August 6, 2011, Mahoney was booked into the Palm Beach County jail and charged with a DUI offense after being found asleep in his car by a North Palm Beach police officer at around 3:00 a.m.[89][90] According to jail records, Mahoney was booked at 7:12 a.m. and was released at 11:15 a.m. on his ownrecognizance.[90] Regarding the arrest, Mahoney said "I got arrested for DUI last night and it's regrettable," and also stated to reporters "I'd like to thank law enforcement for all they do. They do an outstanding job."[89][91] Mahoney said that he planned to plead innocent due to his "conscious decision not to drive."[89][90]
Considered the only Democratic incumbent in South Florida who might have trouble, Mahoney has seemingly put himself in a good position with his mostly centrist legislative record, having become very accessible to his constituents, and, like other incumbents, bankrolling a sizeable early lead in fundraising among all the candidates.
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 16th congressional district 2007–2009 | 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 |