| Jeff Flake | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Matt Salmon |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | December 31 1962 Snowflake, Arizona |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Cheryl Flake |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
Jeffry "Jeff" Flake (born December 31, 1962), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing Arizona's 6th congressional district. He was born in Snowflake, Arizona (named in part for his great-great-grandfather, William J. Flake),[1] was educated at Brigham Young University and was a Mormon missionary. He served as Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy in Namibia and Executive Director of the Goldwater Institute before entering the House. Flake opposes pork barrel spending and advocates reducing federal spending.[2]
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Congressional career
Jeff Flake is known as one of the more libertarian of the Republicans in the House, often among a handful of Republicans joining Ron Paul in casting 'no' votes on bills most of his party supports.[3] Some believe Flake harbors further political ambitions, including possible future runs for Governor of Arizona or the United States Senate. The conservative Club for Growth recruited him to run against John McCain (who represented Flake's district from 1983 to 1987) in 2004. He also serves on the Liberty Caucus (sometimes called the Liberty Committee), a group of liberty-minded congressional representatives from both sides of the aisle.[4] Other members include Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee, Virgil Goode of Virginia, Ron Paul of Texas, Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Zach Wamp of Tennessee and Walter B. Jones of North Carolina.[5]
Issues and positions
Flake supports creating a temporary worker program for border security, leading some anti-illegal immigration conservative activists to give Flake the Republican In Name Only label.[6] However, others consider him one of the most consistently conservative members of the House and strongly support him. He is one of only eight Congressmen in the entire House to receive a 100% approval rating from the respected American Conservative Union.[6] Flake voted against No Child Left Behind, Sarbanes-Oxley, Medicare Part D, Homeland Security Act[3], and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. He joined John McCain and Jim Kolbe in sponsoring bills to increase legal immigration and establish a guest worker program. He has expressed interest in abolishing the U.S. Department of Education . Flake initially supported the Patriot Act and the Iraq War, but more recently has changed his position to one of cautious opposition, including voting against appropriations for both. He also supports ending the Cuba Trade Embargo and has been a proponent of reform in the House, particularly in the wake of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ethical and fundraising controversies. He co-authored a letter with now former Congressman Charlie Bass of New Hampshire, which called for DeLay to step down — a possible factor in DeLay's decision not to retake his post once his legal troubles end.
"The Flake Hour"
Rep. Flake is opposed to the current and former earmarking processes, frequently challenging earmarks proposed by other members of Congress. Since May 2006, he has become prominent with the "Flake Hour," a tradition at the end of spending bill debates in which he asks earmark sponsors to come to the House floor and justify why "taxpayers should pay for their "pet projects."[7] Flake issues a press release listing an "egregious earmark of the week" every Friday.[2] His willingness to stand up to appropriators resulted in his removal from the Judiciary Committee in the year 2007, as the Republican appropriators on the Steering Committee sought revenge for his so-called "bad behavior."[8] Rep. Flake once said of Congressman Jose Serrano's $150,000 earmark to fix plumbing in Italian restaurants, "I would argue this is one cannoli the taxpayer doesn’t want to take a bite of."[1] In July 2007, Flake was ruled the least profligate spender in Congress by Citizens Against Government Waste and designated a "taxpayer superhero."[2]
Elections
Rep. Flake was first elected (to what was then the First district) in the year 2000, after the incumbent, Republican Matt Salmon, stepped down in honor of a self-imposed term limit. The district was then renumbered "the 6th" as Arizona gained two Congressional seats due to the results of the 2000 census. In his campaign of the year 2000, Mr. Flake had pledged to serve no more than three terms in Congress, leaving no later than January of the year 2007, but in early 2005, shortly after being elected for a third time, Rep. Flake announced that he had changed his mind and would in fact run for re-election in the year 2006. "It was a mistake to limit my own terms," Rep. Flake said.[9] Rep. Flake's departures from the Republican party-line on certain issues earned him a closely watched primary challenge in the year 2004. He easily defeated the challenger.[10] In that same election, three out of five mayors in his home district opposed his re-election as he did not "bring pork barrel spending" to the mayors' cities.[1] In the year 2006, several Democrats had announced their intention to run for the seat, however, only one met the June filing deadline and that particular filing was rejected due to an insufficient amount of nominating signatures. "I did expect to have a primary opponent. I deserve one," Flake said, referring to the term-limit pledge which he had broken. "By all rights, I ought to have an opponent. I just got lucky, I guess."[11] In the 2006 mid-term elections, Rep. Flake had no Democratic party opponent and easily defeated the Libertarian Party candidate, Jason Blair, with 74% of the vote over Mr. Blair's 26%.[12]
Personal life
Jeff Flake is married to Cheryl Flake and they have five children. They are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He spent time in Zimbabwe and South Africa as a Mormon missionary.[1][13] The Flakes have been married for 22 years. [2] Flake's uncle Jake Flake is an Arizona state senator. When Sen. Jake Flake wanted $3.1 million in federal dollars for a project in his district, he knew not to ask his nephew and instead asked another congressperson.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e CBS 60 Minutes, Rep. Flake On Cutting Congressional Pork. Consulted on July 27, 2007.
- ^ a b c d It's gotta be the hair. East Valley Tribune (2007-07-12). Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ a b Reason Magazine, Who Deserves the Libertarian Vote?. Consulted on July 27, 2007.
- ^ The Liberty Committee. Retrieved on 2007-06-24.
- ^ Caldwell, Christopher. "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul", 'The New York Times Magazine', 2007-07-22. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
- ^ See "American Patrol" at http://www.americanpatrol.com/_WEB2004/040117.html
- ^ Rogers, David. "Tilting at Appropriations". The Wall Street Journal. June 29, 2006. A4. [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Stone, Andrea. "Term-limit pledges get left behind". USA Today. April 12, 2006. [3]
- ^ Arizona Secretary of State website: [4] accessed January 7, 2006
- ^ Paul Giblin, "Flake faces solo race after judge removes hopeful", East Valley Tribune, July 12, 2006
- ^ CNN [5]
- ^ Lynch, Michael W. (February 2001). Reason Magazine, Soundbite: The Missionary's Positions Consulted on July 28, 2007.
External links
- U.S. Congressman Jeff Flake official House site
- Jeff Flake at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Mr. Jeff Flake campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Jeff Flake issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Jeff Flake campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Jeff Flake (AZ) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Jeff Flake profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Jeff Flake voting record
| Preceded by Matt Salmon |
U.S. Representative for Arizona's 1st Congressional District 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Rick Renzi |
| Preceded by J.D. Hayworth |
U.S. Representative for Arizona's 6th Congressional District 2003–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Arizona's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
|---|---|
| Senators | John McCain (R), Jon Kyl (R) |
| Representative(s) | Rick Renzi (R), Trent Franks (R), John Shadegg (R), Ed Pastor (D), Harry Mitchell (D), Jeff Flake (R), Raúl Grijalva (D), Gabrielle Giffords (D) |
| All delegations | Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands |
