Information AboutJim Moran |
|
James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16 , 1945 in Buffalo, New York ) is a United States Congressman. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House Of Representatives since 1991 , representing the Eighth Congressional District of Virginia ( map ). EARLY LIFE Moran attended the College Of The Holy Cross and the University Of Pittsburgh , graduating with a Masters Degree in Public Administration . He was elected to the Alexandria, Virginia City Council in 1979 , serving as deputy Mayor from 1982 to 1984 , when he was forced to resign as part of a ''nolo contendre'' plea bargain to a misdemeanor conflict of interest charge. The conviction was later erased. Moran subsequently ran and was elected mayor of Alexandria in 1985 . His brother, Brian Moran , is a member of the Virginia House Of Delegates . CONGRESS Elected to the House in 1990 , he serves on the House Appropriations Committee . In 1998, during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Moran was one of 31 House Democrats who voted with Republicans to launch a formal Impeachment inquiry into President Bill Clinton . During his time in the House, Moran has seen a few controversies—largely related to his personal financial dealings with lobbyists and business interests. He served as the chief Democratic sponsor of a bankruptcy reform bill after a major credit card issuer gave him a large home equity loan under favorable terms. Moran contended in press accounts that his support for the bankruptcy bill had nothing to do with this loan. Politically, Moran is a New Democrat , and is affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Council . On economic issues he often breaks with his party, supporting CAFTA and other Free Trade agreements, harsher bankruptcy laws and increased restrictions on the right to bring class action suits. On other issues he is liberal. He strongly supports gay rights and gun control, and voted against the Defense Of Marriage Act . At different times he has voted to ban flag-burning and partial-birth abortions, though he has reversed his positions on both issues. CONTROVERSY Prior to the 2003 Iraq War he told an antiwar audience in Reston, Virginia on March 3 , 2003 , that "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq , we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should." This remark proved controversial. Writing in the December 22, 2003 edition of The Nation , Letty Cottin Pogrebin charged that "Representative James Moran of Virginia stirred up another incendiary canard-Jewish influence-by attributing America's war with Iraq to 'the strong support of the Jewish community.'" In 2004 Moran for the first time faced a Democratic primary challenger, Andy Rosenberg. 58.5% of the district voted for Moran versus 41.5% for Rosenberg. Moran went on to be re-elected to the U.S. Congress in the general election for his eighth term. Moran once famously fought with ex-Congressman Duke Cunningham outside of the Capitol building. The two had to be separated by Capitol Police. 2006 ELECTION Every two years, all 435 United States Congressmen must be re-elected to their position or not return. Jim Moran is the incumbent and is unopposed by Democrats ; however, there are two Republicans putting in a bid for his seat in the 8th Congressional District of Virginia. Republican Mark Ellmore , founder of a Christian organization and vice president of a bank in Northern Virginia , is one of the two Republican opponents. The other Republican is Tom O'Donoghue, a Marine who served in the Iraq war in 2003 . The deadline to file to become a candidate for the Democratic congressional nomination was April 14, 2006, so it is guaranteed that Jim Moran will be the Democratic nominee and he is heavily favored to win in the 2006 November General Election. EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|