Tom Rooney is Florida Republican US House Candidate: Tom Rooney FL 16th District Candidate

Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FL) is up for re-election in November 2010 for Florida's 16th district House seat. Rooney's Democrat opponent is former St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Craft. The following is Tom Rooney's biography. See a video below.

Tom Rooney

Professional Life: Rep. Rooney won the House seat in the 111th Congress from scandal-tainted Democrat Tim Mahoney in November 2008.Tom Rooney is a former U.S. Army Captain and U.S. Army JAG Corps member. He taught Constitutional and Criminal Law at West Point and says the five semesters there were the greatest experience of his life.  He is the recipient of two Army Commendation medals. He remains a JAG Corps officer in the Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR) of the U.S. Army Reserve.

Tom served as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney at Fort Hood, Texas prosecuting all civilian crimes on the base. He prosecuted more than ten trials successfully and won hundreds of convictions.

After his time at West Point, Rooney returned to Florida and went to work for Florida governor, Charlie Crist, as an Assistant Attorney General.

Rooney is an Associate at the law firm of Kramer, Sopko and Levenstein, P.A. in Stuart, Florida. Rooney is active in numerous children's charities. He holds two coveted committee appointments on the House Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee.

District Map:

On the issues, Rooney is anti-abortion except when the life of the mother is at risk, he opposes same-sex marriage, is strongly for low taxes and small government, and supports offshore oil drilling. His greatest interest in The People's House is in foreign policy and national security.

Rooney opposed the $787 billion stimulus bill and his Democrat opponent, Chris Craft began running radio ads and automated phone calls in January 2009 slamming Rooney for opposing Obama. I wonder how that's working our for Craft these days. The National Republican Congressional Committee's (NRCC) Andy Sere went for the jugular, calling Craft, who has said he would have voted for ObamaCare, the "job-killing army of one" and blaming him for St. Lucie County's high unemployment rate. Craft was previously a Coca Cola sales market manager?

Rooney has voted with the Republican majority 93.% of the time. See Rooney's voting record here - he voted no on health care.

Education: He graduated the Benjamin School in North Palm Beach. He played football as a tight end and longsnapper for Syracuse University and Washington and Jefferson College where he earned his B.A. in English Literature in 1993. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

Rooney worked as a staff assistant for Sen. Connie Mack (R-FL) in Washington D.C. then returned to Florida and gained his Masters in political science at the University of Florida. He received his J.D. from the University of Miami Law School and joined the Florida Bar in 1999.

Family: Tom Rooney was born on November 21, 1970 in Philadelphia. He is 39 years old. His grandfather, Art Rooney, Sr., was the founder and owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. His father Pat, is one of Art Rooney's five sons. His uncle, Dan Rooney is now the primary owner of the Steelers, and is Barack Obama's ambassador to Ireland. Dan Rooney endorsed Obama in the 2008 elections.

Rooney's teenage years were spent in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. His family owned a dog racing track and a "gambling company." As a teenager, he worked summers for the Steelers as a ball boy, he cleaned lockers and washed dishes.

Rooney met his wife, Tara, while in law school. Both of them spent over four years in the U.S. Army Jag Corps. The couple live in Tequesta, FL with their three sons, Tom Jr., Sean and Seamus. They are Roman Catholic.

According to a Facebook page, Mrs. Rooney is a real estate attorney and a licensed realtor. The Rooney's are avid campers. Tom enjoys reading American history and politics, gardening and a variety of sports including NASCAR.

Fun Stuff: PoliticoClick interviewed Tom Rooney. Here are snippets:

Politico: Who's your closest friend in Congress?
Rooney: Marcia Fudge, even though she's from Cleveland

Politico: And the biggest surprise?
Rooney: There really are Redskins fans

Politico: What's your favorite thing about the Capitol:
Rooney: Hanging out in Boehner's office, where he likes to remind me how fat I'm getting.

Politico: What'd you think about Rush Limbaugh wanting to buy the St. Louis Rams?
Rooney: He's a traitor! He was supposed to be a Steelers fan.

Read more at PoliticoClick

In the video below, Rep. Rooney talks about the unconstitutionality of Obama's health care legislation/law:




Tom Rooney on House Floor talking about Health Care (video)