Four New Floridians to Capitol Hill

Amy Keller | 1/1/2009

Rep. Alan Grayson (D)
Age: 50
8th District — Parts of Orlando and surrounding Orange County as well as parts of Osceola, Lake and Marion counties
Occupation: Attorney
Background: Alan Grayson beat out a crowded field of Democratic challengers to topple incumbent Rep. Ric Keller (R) last fall, thus becoming only the first Democrat to represent the district in 24 years. Grayson has a true rags-to-riches story. He grew up in the “projects” of the Bronx, and did well enough in high school to get into Harvard. He worked his way through college, cleaning toilets and working as a night watchman to help pay for his schooling and graduated in three years with honors.

He also excelled in the business world. In 1990, he started a telecommunications company called IDT Corp., a Fortune 1000 public company with over $2 billion a year in sales. But the Harvard-educated attorney is best known for his more recent exploits — suing war profiteers on behalf of whistleblowers. Grayson has filed dozens of lawsuits against private defense contractors in Iraq on behalf of corporate whistleblowers.

On the campaign trail, Grayson railed against the $700 billion “Wall Street Bailout” and argued that Republicans “tax cuts for the rich” and unbalanced trade policies have increased the burdens on working families and have weakened the economy. He has pledged to support tax breaks for middle-class and working-class families, take on abusive and predatory lenders, raise the minimum wage, and strengthen labor laws and enforce workplace protections. He supports universal health care for all Americans and favors ending the War in Iraq “as quickly as possible.”


Rep. Bill Posey (R)
Age: 61
15th District — Indian River County and parts of Brevard, Osceola and Polk counties
Occupation: Former state lawmaker; founder and president of Posey & Co. Realtors
Background: Former state Sen. Bill Posey cruised to an easy victory in the Space Coast’s 15th District. He replaces Republican Rep. Dave Weldon, who retired after seven terms in Congress to return to his medical practice and devote more time to his family. Posey, who at one time worked at the Kennedy Space Center, is the founder and president of Posey & Co. Realtors and served in the state Legislature from 1992 to 2008.

Posey’s chief issue in Congress will be one he championed in the state legislature — government accountability. (The American Legislative Exchange, a bipartisan, nonprofit association of lawmakers, said the accountability bill he got passed in Florida was the “best legislation to come out of any state in a decade.”) Energy and immigration were two other key topics Posey emphasized on the campaign trial. Posey supports passing an energy policy that makes the U.S. less dependent on foreign sources of energy and one that would allow for an increase in domestic drilling, promotion of alternative fuel sources, an increase in domestic refinery capacity and opening up western oil shale reserves. He has taken a hard stance on immigration: “We must secure our borders now and we must deport every illegal who has committed a crime — and there are thousands of them.”


Rep. Tom Rooney (R)
Age: 38
16th District — Parts of Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties
Occupation: Attorney
Background: Scandal seems to haunt Florida’s 16th Congressional District seat. In 2006, then-Rep. Mark Foley (R) resigned in disgrace when it was revealed that he had sent sexually explicit instant messages to a congressional page. Last year, Foley’s replacement, Rep. Tim Mahoney (D), succumbed to defeat after it was revealed that he had had multiple affairs and allegedly paid a $121,000 settlement to one mistress who had threatened to sue him. Mahoney’s peccadilloes helped pave the path the victory for Tom Rooney, grandson of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney. Rooney played college football at Syracuse University and Washington and Jefferson College in Pittsburgh. After graduating, he worked for Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), in Washington D.C. before returning to Florida to earn a master’s degree at the University of Florida and a law degree at the University of Miami. Rooney spent four years as a JAG officer in the U.S. Army, which included a stint as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney at Fort Hood, Texas, prosecuting all civilian crimes on post. He later taught Constitutional and Criminal Law at West Point and then returned to Florida becoming as Assistant Attorney General under Charlie Crist, before heading into private practice.

Rooney calls himself a “traditional” conservative who believes in fewer taxes, less spending and “more freedom.” He is “100% pro-life,” opposes gay marriage and has pledged to fight tax laws that “penalize marriage” and “weaken parental rights.” In campaigns ads, he vowed to fight against wasteful spending, reduce the deficit and lower taxes on working families. He promises to get “tough” on illegal immigrants — “no amnesty, no probation” — and supports a comprehensive energy policy that includes drilling.



Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D)
Age: 64
24th Congressional District — Parts of Brevard, Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties
Occupation: Owner, Prestige Properties, a New Smyrna real estate company
Background: Last June, Florida Trend predicted that former state Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D) would be a formidable challenger to embattled Rep. Tom Feeney. She proved us right in November, when she beat embattled Republican Congressman by more than 59,000 votes. Feeney had plenty of baggage going into the race, his image having been tarnished by his connection to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. But Orlando-area voters seemed unwillingly to accept the explanation and apology Feeney made for his behavior in a 30-second television spot — that he has made a “rookie mistake” when he took a 2003 golf trip to Scotland paid for by Abramoff. Feeney’s attempt to link Kosmas to 9-11 hijacker Mohamed Atta in another ad claming that Kosmas “wanted driver’s licenses for illegals and terrorists” got him nationwide attention, but for all the wrong reasons. The press said the distorted attack ad proved just how desperate he was.

Elected with 57.2% of the vote, Kosmas says ethics reform will be one of her top priorities in office. She has vowed to not to accept a pay raise while in Congress — she’ll send any pay raise back to the federal treasury — and she’s promised that she won’t become a lobbyist when her career in Congress come to an end. Kosmas earned a reputation as a consensus builder during her career in the Florida House of Representatives, where she served from 1996-2004. Her top priorities in Congress include lower taxes, balanced budget and improving access to quality, affordable health care. She also opposes the war in Iraq and supports withdrawing American troops with benchmarks that will require the Iraqis to provide for their own security and protection.

Tags: Politics & Law, Government/Politics & Law