Jim Saxton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jim Saxton | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 6, 1984– |
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| Preceded by | Frank Pallone, Jr. |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | January 22, 1943 (age 64) Nicholson, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | divorced |
| Religion | Methodist |
Hugh James "Jim" Saxton (born January 22, 1943) is an American Republican Party politician. He has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1984, where he represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district until 1993. Since that time he has represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, (map), which is essentially a renumbering of his previous district due to reapportionment after the 1990 census.
Born in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, he attended East Stroudsburg State College (now East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania) and Temple University, then pursued a career as an elementary public school teacher and small business owner. Saxton served in the New Jersey General Assembly (the lower chamber of the New Jersey Legislature) from 1976 to 1981 and in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 1984, when he was elected to the House in a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of 13th District Congressman Edwin B. Forsythe.
He is a high ranking member of the Armed Services Committee and the Resources Committee and Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee made up of U.S. Senators and U.S. House members.
In the United States House elections, 2006, Saxton was challenged by Democrat Rich Sexton, a lawyer and U.S. Navy veteran from Mount Laurel. Unofficial numbers indicate that Saxton won reelection 58%-41%.
Saxton is widely praised across South Jersey for taking Fort Dix off the Pentagon's closure list in 1989 and again in 1991 and McGuire AFB off the list in 1993, as well as helping Lakehurst Navy base off the list in 1995. From 1993-2005, he worked to foster joint military facilties at the three installations. In the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure legislation (which is now law), Saxton's work was rewarded with the creation of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, AKA the "megabase." The bases' 17,000 jobs were not only saved, but another 1,500 jobs and additional aircraft were directed to the new joint base. Saxton also saved the NJ National Guard 108th Air Refueling Wing from oblivion, by directing that it receive a squadron of newer planes.
His other recent accompishments include a beach erosion repair project on popular tourist destination Long Beach Island (which saw a 2006 groundbreaking), and a hospital Medicare funding initiative that brought $80 million to NJ hopsitals in 2005 and 2006.
On May 26, 2006, Saxton was the source of a report of loud gunfire-type noise in the Rayburn House Office Building that led to the building being shut down for several hours, after he heard what was later determined to be a construction worker discharging a pneumatic hammer in an elevator shaft near the garage. Saxton asked a member of his staff to report the noise to Capitol Police to investigate the source. Capitol police officers who subsequently asked the workers to recreate the noise agreed it sounded like gunfire[1].
[edit] Political positions
Saxton is conservative on social issues earning him a 100% by the Christian Coalition from 2003 to 2005[2]. He has voted against partial birth abortion, taxpayer-funded human embryo experimentation, and human cloning; he has voted for bills favoring federal campaign finance reform such as Shays-Meehan (McCain-Feingold), and gun control, such as the Brady Bill and the assault weapons ban. He voted against NAFTA; however he voted for CAFTA as a means to help reverse abject poverty and hunger, and ease potential political unrest in impoverished Latin America.[3]
Saxton supports the call for long-term solvency of Social Security with a bipartisan compromise. As a former public school teacher, he does not support school vouchers.
That said, the American Conservative Union counts his lifetime score [4] as similar to conservative Democrat Gene Taylor's.[5] In 2006, the non-partisan National Journal listed him as one of the Congress's centrists. In a possibly related vein, his record is supportive of environmentalism or conservationism. This led him to be one of the few Republicans that the Sierra Club endorsed in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006.[6] He has also received generally favorable ratings by other environmental groups.[7] Groups such as the League of Conservation Voters, Ocean Champions and the New Jersey Environmental Federation have endorsed Saxton in 2006. Publicly supporting him and his record in 2006 are such groups that include the Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Nature Conservancy, who regularly give him high marks and various awards for his work on conservation issues. An exception to that are groups concerned with overpopulation.
Saxton is a Member of both the Republican Main Street Partnership and Republicans for Environmental Protection
[edit] References
- ^ Rayburn Reopens After Gunfire Report: Police Say Construction Probably Caused the Noise of Shots, The Washington Post, May 26, 2006
- ^ Vote Smart: Representative H. James 'Jim' Saxton (NJ), accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ On the Issues: Jim Saxton, accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ American Conservative Union rating for Gene Taylor, accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ American Conservative Union rating for Jim Saxton, accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ Vote Smart: Sierra Club endorsements, accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ Vote Smart - Jim Saxton; Environmental Issues, accessed June 28, 2006
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Jim Saxton official House site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission - H. J Saxton campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues - Jim Saxton issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org - Jim Saxton campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart - Representative H. James 'Jim' Saxton (NJ) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia - Jim Saxton profile
- Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Jim Saxton voting record
| Preceded by Edwin B. Forsythe |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 13th congressional district 1984–1993 |
Succeeded by Bob Menendez |
| Preceded by Frank Pallone, Jr. |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district 1993–present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Saxon, Hugh James |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Saxon, Jim |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | United States Congressman from New Jersey |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 22, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nicholson, Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
