Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 01:43, 21 November 2020

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2020)

Jerry McNerney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Richard Pombo
Constituency	11th district (2007–2013) 9th district (2013–present)
Personal details
Born	(1951-06-18) June 18, 1951 (age 73) Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Martine ​(m. 1977)​
Children	3
Education	United States Military Academy University of New Mexico (BS, MS, PhD)
Website	House website

Gerald Mark McNerney /məkˈnɜːrni/ (born June 18, 1951) is an American businessman, politician, and the U.S. Representative for California's 9th congressional district, serving in Congress since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 11th district until 2013, is based in Stockton and includes parts of San Joaquin County, East Contra Costa County, and southern Sacramento County. McNerney holds a Ph.D in mathematics.

Early life, education, and business career

McNerney was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of Rosemary (née Tischhauser) and Col. John E. McNerney. He is of Swiss and Irish descent. He attended St. Joseph's Military Academy in Hays, Kansas, and, for two years, the United States Military Academy at West Point. After leaving West Point in 1971 in protest of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, he enrolled at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where he received bachelor's and master's degrees and, in 1981, a Ph.D. in Mathematics, with a doctoral dissertation in differential geometry focusing on a generalization of the Laplace–Beltrami operator.

McNerney served several years as a contractor to Sandia National Laboratories at Kirtland Air Force Base on national security programs. In 1985, he accepted a senior engineering position with U.S. Windpower (Kenetech). In 1994, he began working as an energy consultant for PG&E, FloWind, The Electric Power Research Institute, and other utility companies. Before being elected to Congress, Jerry served as the CEO of a 2004 start-up company manufacturing wind turbines, named HAWT Power (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Power). A 1992 article that he co-authored in an IEEE journal is a good example of his writings during this period.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2004

McNerney first ran for Congress against Richard Pombo in California's 11th congressional district in the 2004 House elections. He entered the race two weeks before the primary election as a write-in candidate, encouraged by his son. He qualified to be a write-in candidate for the March 2004 primary by a small margin. Having no primary opponent, he won the primary and qualified for the November general election ballot as the Democratic nominee. He lost the general election, 61%-39%.

2006

McNerney launched his 2006 campaign early in the fall of 2005. In June 2006 he won the Democratic primary with 52.8% of the vote, defeating Steve Filson, who had been endorsed by the DCCC, and Stevan Thomas.

In late July, Republicans Pete McCloskey and Tom Benigno (both of whom ran in the Republican primary against Pombo) endorsed McNerney. In September, analysis of the campaign was changed from "Republican safe" to "Republican favored" due to the emergence of McNerney's campaign. The report noted "a party spokesman says it's because they want to win decisively but others speculate that internal polling has delivered bad news for the incumbent." On October 3, 2006, a poll commissioned by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund was released with McNerney leading Pombo 48 percent to 46 percent. Based on these events, in early October, CQPolitics.com changed their rating of this race from Republican Favored to Leans Republican

On November 7, 2006, McNerney defeated Pombo 53–47%.

2008

McNerney won re-election 55% to 45% over Republican nominee Dean Andal.

2010

McNerney won re-election 48–47%, defeating Republican nominee David Harmer.

2012

For his first three terms, McNerney represented a district that encompassed eastern Alameda County, most of San Joaquin County–including all of Stockton–and a small portion of Santa Clara County. After redistricting, his district was renumbered as the 9th district. It lost its portion of Alameda County, including McNerney's home in Pleasanton, while picking up part of Sacramento County. After the new map was announced, McNerney announced he would move to San Joaquin County in the new 9th. While the old 11th was a hybrid Bay Area/Central Valley district, the new 9th was more of a Central Valley district. It is, however, slightly more Democratic than its predecessor. He eventually bought a home in Stockton. He won re-election 56–44%, defeating Republican nominee Ricky Gill.

Tenure

Veterans

In 2010, President Obama signed into law a bill written by McNerney which improves care of returning service members with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) by establishing an evaluation panel to assess the Veteran's Administration treatments for TBI and recommend improvements. He also wrote a bill in 2013 that allowed veterans to keep receiving their benefits during the government shutdown.

McNerney was one of the first lawmakers to call for the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki following revelations in the news media about delays in care at VA health care facilities.

Energy

McNerney is a proponent of renewable energy and supports cap and trade. He has voted for tax incentives for renewable energy and for allowing states to impose stricter emissions standards. He opposes drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf.

McNerney co-sponsored the bill To require the Secretary of Energy to prepare a report on the impact of thermal insulation on both energy and water use for potable hot water (H.R. 4801; 113th Congress), would require the United States Secretary of Energy to prepare a report on the effects that thermal insulation has on both energy consumption and systems for providing potable water in federal buildings. McNerney said that "it is important for us to look for ways to save taxpayer money and ensure the federal government is doing its part to preserve our natural resources." McNerney argued it would be a good way to collect data so that "we can use the findings from this study and make sure we are doing everything we can in both federal and private buildings to maximize energy and water efficiency."

Drug legislation

In 2007, McNerney voted against legislation that would have prevented the DEA from enforcing prohibition in the twelve states (including California) which allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

In 2013, McNerney introduced the Methamphetamine Education, Treatment and Hope (METH) Act to modernize and expand programs that combat methamphetamine abuse by expanding treatment for addicts, particularly mothers or pregnant women, and provide grants to provide substance abuse and mental health services in rural areas.

Other issues

McNerney voted in favor of legislation allowing employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation. In 2009, McNerney voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He has opposed free trade agreements, voting against CAFTA, GATT, and the U.S.-Peru free trade agreement.

In April 2018, McNerney, together with Jared Huffman, Jamie Raskin, and Dan Kildee, launched the Congressional Freethought Caucus. Its stated goals include "pushing public policy formed on the basis of reason, science, and moral values", promoting the "separation of church and state," opposing discrimination against "atheists, agnostics, humanists, seekers, religious and nonreligious persons", among others. Huffman and Raskin will act as co-chairs.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Power
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Economy
• Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Energy

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Arthritis Caucus
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
• Grid Innovation Caucus
• Congressional Freethought Caucus
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
• Climate Solutions Caucus

Electoral history

Personal life

McNerney resides in Stockton, California. He and his wife, Mary, have three children: Michael, Windy and Greg. McNerney is Roman Catholic.

References

1. Jerry McNerney (2006-09-02). "Biographical detail in op-ed: "Three-ring Pombo Cash Circus Comes to Stockton"". YubaNet.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
2. Profile, freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com; accessed November 20, 2014.
3. Profile Archived 2011-09-17 at the Wayback Machine, opencongress.org; accessed November 20, 2014.
4. "Mathematics Genealogy Project". Retrieved November 20, 2014.
5. G. McNerney and R. Richardson, "The Statistical Smoothing of Power Delivered to Utilities by Multiple Wind Turbines", IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion 7:4 (Dec. 1992), pp. 644–47.
6. Upton, John (November 4, 2006). "Being Jerry McNerney". Tracy Press. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
7. Brand, Madeleine; Chadwick, Alex (October 30, 2006). "A Tightly Contested Rematch in California". NPR. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
8. missingauthor (2006-07-24). "missingtitle". Washington Post.
9. Lisa Vorderbrueggen (2006-09-23). "News and observations, some serious, some not, on the East Bay political scene". ContraCostaTimes Politics Weblog. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
10. Hank Shaw (2006-10-03). "Poll shows Pombo, McNerney just 2 points apart". The Record. ONI Stockton, Inc. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
11. Ryan Kelly (2006-10-03). "Competitive Race Lies Beneath Flurry of GOP Activity in Calif. 11". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-26.
12. Gordon, Rachel; Writer, Chronicle Staff (November 8, 2006). "Challenger defeats Pombo in a stunner". SFGate.
13. Profile, smartvoter.org, November 2, 2010; accessed November 20, 2014.
14. Garofoli, Joe (28 July 2011). "Jerry McNerney looks at new political map, moves to San Joaquin County". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
15. Office of the California Secretary of State Archived 2013-10-19 at the Wayback Machine "United States Representative in Congress"; retrieved January 21, 2014.
16. "McNerney Sponsors Bill to Help Process Veterans' Claims". Central Valley Business Journal.
17. McNerney calls for resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, eastcountytoday.tumblr.com; accessed November 20, 2014.
18. Lockhead, Carolyn (July 27, 2009). "Pelosi gets landmark bill through". The San Francisco Chronicle.
19. "Jerry McNerney". OntheIssues.org. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
20. "CBO – H.R. 4801". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
21. "House committee approves Rep. Jerry McNerney energy bill". Lodi News-Sentinel. June 12, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
22. "Energy and Commerce Committee Approves Bill with Mechanical Insulation Language". Central States Insulation Association. June 11, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
23. Epstein, Edward (July 27, 2007). "McNerney draws fire from backers of medicinal pot". The San Francisco Chronicle.
24. "McNerney Bill Targets Meth". The Stockton Record. February 16, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
25. "Jerry McNerney". OntheIssues.org. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
26. "Jerry McNerney". OntheIssues.org. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
27. Manchester, Julia. "Dem lawmakers launch 'Freethought' congressional caucus". The Hill. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
28. "Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
29. "Members". Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
30. "90 Current Climate Solutions Caucus Members". Citizen´s Climate Lobby. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
31. Office of the California Secretary of State Archived 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine "United States Representative in Congress" (retrieved on July 29, 2009)
32. Office of the California Secretary of State Archived 2008-12-21 at the Wayback Machine "United States Representative in Congress," (retrieved on July 29, 2009)
33. Office of the California Secretary of State Archived 2010-11-17 at the Wayback Machine "United States Representative in Congress" (retrieved on November 24, 2010).
34. Sacramento Bee Archived 2013-08-01 at the Wayback Machine "Election Results," (retrieved on June 14, 2013)
35. 2014 general election results
36. Office of the California Secretary of State Archived 2020-10-18 at the Wayback Machine "United States Representative by District" (retrieved on October 26, 2020)
37. Office of the California Secretary of State Error in Webarchive template: Timestamp not a number. "United States Representative by District" (retrieved on October 26, 2020)
38. Vorderbrueggen, Lisa (9 January 2007). "Mr. McNerney goes to Washington". East Bay Times. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
39. "Rep.-Elect Jerry McNerney (D—Calif.) - New York Times". New York Times. Retrieved 21 November 2020.

External links

• Congressman Jerry McNerney official U.S. House website
• Jerry McNerney for Congress
• Template:Dmoz

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN

• 1951 births
• 21st-century American politicians
• American people of Irish descent
• American people of Swiss descent
• California Democrats
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
• Engineers from California
• Living people
• Mathematicians from California
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• New Mexico Democrats
• People from Pleasanton, California
• Politicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico
• United States Military Academy alumni
• University of New Mexico alumni