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John Adler

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Streeling (talk | contribs) at 21:17, 23 September 2010 (→Legislation: critiques of its efficacy can be found on the ARRA page itself, a critique here of the legislation is only tangential to the topic (listing the legislation and his votes)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

John Adler
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2009
Preceded byLee B. Laskin[1]
Succeeded byJames Beach[2]
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 6th district
In office
January 1992 – January 2009
Personal details
Born (1959-08-23) August 23, 1959 (age 65)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseShelley Levitan Adler
ResidenceCherry Hill Township, New Jersey
Alma materHarvard College,
Harvard Law School
ProfessionAttorney
Websitehttp://adler.house.gov/

John Herbert Adler (born August 23, 1959) is the Congressman for New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. The district stretches from the suburbs of Philadelphia to Ocean County.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was a member of the New Jersey State Senate from 1992 to 2009, where he represented the 6th Legislative District.

Early life

Adler was born in Philadelphia and moved to Haddonfield, New Jersey when he was two years old. Adler’s father owned a small dry cleaning store. While Adler was in high school, his father passed away after a series of heart attacks. Adler and his mother lost the family business, and survived off his father’s Social Security benefits for widows and minors.

Adler is an alumnus of West Deptford High School. He went on to receive an B.A. from Harvard College in Government, and earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School.[3] He paid for law school through student loans, grants and working odd jobs throughout college.

He met his wife, Shelley, in law school. After they graduated, they returned to South Jersey and settled down in Cherry Hill. He currently resides in Cherry Hill with his four sons, Jeffrey, Alexander, Andrew, and Oliver. He converted to Judaism in 1985, having been raised an Episcopalian.[4]

Town Councilman

From 1988 until 1989, Adler served on the Cherry Hill Township Council. While serving on the Council, Adler passed the township’s ethics ordinance.[5]

In 1990, Adler challenged incumbent Jim Saxton for his seat in New Jersey's 13th congressional district. Adler was defeated by Saxton by a margin of 60% to 40%.[6]

New Jersey State Senate

Adler was elected in 1991 to the New Jersey State Senate, where he served from 1992 until his inauguration into the U.S. House of Representatives in 2009. While in the New Jersey State Senate, Adler served on the Judiciary Committee (as Chair) and the Environment Committee. He served on the New Jersey Israel Commission since 1995, and on the New Jersey Intergovernmental Relations Commission from 1994-2002.[3]

Adler applauds a motion of the New Jersey Legislature.

Legislation

Adler was co-sponsor of the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act, enacted in 2006, which banned smoking in almost all public places.[7] Adler is one of three co-sponsors of a Senate bill submitted in 2008 that would extend the smoking ban to casinos and simulcasting facilities, which had been exempted in the earlier version of the ban.[8]

Adler also co-sponsored legislation that strips government pensions from public employees who are convicted of or plead guilty to corruption charges.[9]

Adler co-sponsored a bill that would expand voting rights for military personnel and New Jersey citizens overseas to include state and local elections. The bill was signed into law on August 12, 2008 by Governor Corzine.[10]

2004 Presidential election

On October 7, 2003, along with Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey's 8th Congressional District, Adler formally endorsed Senator John Kerry for President and became the Co-Chairman of John Kerry's campaign in the Garden State. Shortly afterwards on December 19, 2003, Governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey and most of the New Jersey Democratic Party came out in support of Former Governor of Vermont Howard Dean for President. Because of this endorsement for Kerry, and Kerry's decisive win in the Democratic Primary, Adler was rumored to be the frontrunner for U.S. Attorney for New Jersey if the Senator from Massachusetts had won the 2004 presidential election.

2008 run for U.S. House

On September 20, 2007, Adler announced that he planned to challenge Saxton in New Jersey's 3rd congressional district.[11] On November 9, 2007, Saxton announced that he would not seek reelection in 2008, citing prostate cancer, leaving the seat open in the upcoming congressional elections.[12] He was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and faced Republican Medford Mayor, Lockheed Martin executive, and Gulf War veteran Chris Myers.[13]

During the 2008 election cycle, Adler was one of the first elected officials in New Jersey to endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination in a state where the party establishment supported Hillary Clinton.

Adler held a financial advantage over his opponent through all of the race, holding a 10-1 or 5-1 funding edge over Myers for a majority of the campaign.[14] Adler had raised the most money in the country of any non-incumbent congressional candidate.[15][16]

Adler received a number of endorsements for the election, including those from the Teamsters, Fraternal Order of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey,[17] New Jersey Environmental Federation, The Sierra Club, the Humane Society Legislative Fund, The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Health Care, and the Recreational Fishing Alliance.[18][19][20]

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee committed $1.7 million in ad buys to Adler's campaign [21] In comparison, the NRCC committed $84,200 in coordinated ad buys with the Myers campaign, in addition to help the NRCC gave in financing an internal poll in September with the Myers campaign.[22]

Myers also benefited from two ad buys by the 501(c)(4) organization Freedom's Watch, which attacked John Adler on his tax record, his legislative history, and contributions he received from subprime mortgage companies.[23][24]

Adler won a majority of newspaper endorsements. He was endorsed by the Press of Atlantic City, [25], the Philadelphia Inquirer,[26] the New York Times,[27] The Burlington County Times,[28] and the Courier-Post. [29] Myers did, however, receive the endorsement of the Asbury Park Press.[30]

The 3rd district race was the last one to be called in New Jersey on Election Night 2008. Adler ultimately defeated Myers with 52.08% of the vote to Myers' 47.92% [31]. He was sworn into his position as the Congressman from the 3rd district of New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives on January 6, 2009, the first Democrat to represent this district in 123 years.[citation needed]

U.S. House of Representatives

Committees

Legislation

  • In November 2009 and March 2010, Adler voted against House and the Senate Health Care bills.[32][33][34]
  • Adler was in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the $787 billion dollar "stimulus bill".[35]
  • Adler voted against the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), commonly known as the bank and auto bailouts, and has voted to end the program.[36]
  • Adler voted in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which is commonly known as the "Cap and Trade" bill.[37]
  • Congressman Adler has voted for the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which re-regulates the financial markets. He also voted for legislation that would prevent credit card companies from taking advantage of consumers by banning commonly occurred abuses.[38][39]
  • In January 2009, Adler announced his first bill as a U.S. Representative: the Safeguarding America's Seniors and Veterans Act. A version of this bill passed and provided a $250 one-time economic recovery payment for seniors and disabled veterans.[40] The bill was designed to provide non-working seniors and veterans with the same $500 tax credit that all working Americans received through the "Making Work Pay" tax credit in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[41]

Rating

U.S. Congressman Adler was ranked one of the ten most centrist Members in the House of Representatives. He is ranked as 50.5 percent liberal and 49.5 percent conservative.[42]

2010 Congressional campaign

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 2010 § District 3

Adler will face off against former Philadelphia Eagles star Jon Runyan, a Mount Laurel resident, in the general election of 2010. Republicans will be heavily targeting this seat in this election cycle.[43] A potential warning sign for Adler came in the New Jersey gubernatorial race in 2009, when Republican candidate Chris Christie carried Adler's district by 17 points over Democrat Governor Jon Corzine [44]

Controversies

  • Adler, who serves on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, picked a fight with the Philadelphia VA Medical Center after it was revealed that over 100 veterans with cancer were mistreated.[45] He has introduced legislation that would bring stricter oversight and accountability over their cancer programs.[46]
  • In September 2008, Adler was criticized for holding stock in Dow Chemical, a primary polluter of Lake Huron. This is seen as hypocritical, as Adler calls himself a champion of the environment.[47] In September 2008, it was revealed that Adler held stock in Petro China, a company linked to the actions of genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Adler voted to divest New Jersey state funds from Sudanese interests, but did not remove his own finances from Petro China — thus prompting his opponent to bring the issue into public.[47] Adler had, in fact, divested from the company in August 2008, before the subject was even brought up by Myers.[48]
  • During his 2010 reelection campaign, Adler sent out an email attacking Jon Runyan for investing his personal money into Goldman Sachs.[49] Yet, Adler himself has accepted nearly $10,000 from Goldman Sachs in 2010 alone and received $186,211 from various Wall Street firms.[50][51]
  • Yet another controversy that occurred during his re-election campaign had to do with ex-staffers and campaign workers helping divide the vote by "planting" a 3rd party candidate. DeStefano was completely unknown until Adler's internal poll showed DeStefano had 12% of the vote.[52] Adler has stated that no current staffers had interacted with Peter DeStefano.[53] However, there are many links to the Camden County Democrats and the Norcross machine. Marshall Spevak, an ex staffer was one of DeStefano's petition signers.[54]

References

  1. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=15301
  2. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=338597
  3. ^ a b Senator Adler's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  4. ^ Forward, The. "Record Number of Jews slated for next U.S. Congress - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  5. ^ Adler for Congress website biography. Accessed March 22nd, 2010.
  6. ^ King, Wayne. " The 1990 Elections: New Jersey - Congressional Races; Voters Angry, but Not at Incumbents", The New York Times, November 7, 1990. Retrieved August 11, 2008.
  7. ^ Gurney, Kaitlin. "N.J. ban on indoor smoking passes: The Assembly sent the bill, with an exemption for casino floors, to Gov. Codey. He is expected to sign it Sunday.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 10, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  8. ^ 213th Legislature: S236, New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  9. ^ Della Santi, Angela via the Associated Press. "Convicted N.J. pols stand to lose hefty pensions", Burlington County Times, August 12, 2007. Accessed August 7, 2008. "'This is the cornerstone of the Legislature's anti-corruption legislation, which aims to make clear to prospective wrongdoers that there will be serious penalties for public corruption,' said Sen. John Adler, who co-sponsored the measure."
  10. ^ Staff. "Governor Signs Legislation Allowing Deployed Troops to Vote in State Races", Cape May County Herald, August 13, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  11. ^ Hester Jr., Tom (Associated Press). "State Sen. Adler to challenge Saxton for Congress", Newsday, September 20, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  12. ^ Hernandez, Raymond. "Citing Health, Lawmaker Announces Plan to Retire", The New York Times, November 10, 2007. Accessed December 1, 2007. "Representative Jim Saxton of New Jersey, a Republican who has served in Congress since 1984, said Friday that he would not seek re-election next year because he has prostate cancer."
  13. ^ About Chris, Chris Myers (New Jersey). Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  14. ^ Smith, Bridget. "Adler has big edge over Myers in raising campaign funds", Courier-Post, August 3, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  15. ^ "Winners and Losers", PolitickerNJ.com, July 18, 2008. Accessed August 6, 2008. "Democrat John Adler is a clear winner: he's raised $1.9 million for his third district race -- that's more than any non-incumbent candidate nationally."
  16. ^ 2008 Race: New Jersey District 03 - Total Raised and Spent, Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  17. ^ "Adler campaign announces new slew of endorsements | John Adler for Congress". Adlerforcongress.com. 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  18. ^ "Adler gets endorsement of Teamsters, Police Union, Sierra Club | John Adler for Congress". Adlerforcongress.com. 2008-07-11. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  19. ^ “Humane Society Legislative Fund Announces Endorsements”, Humane Society” May 22, 2008. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
  20. ^ “National Committee Endorsement” PolitickernNJ October 22. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
  21. ^ http://dccc.org/newsroom/entry/asbury_park_press_national_gop_buys_no_ads_for_myers_in_3rd_district/
  22. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  23. ^ “”. "Crisis NJ". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ “” (2008-09-26). "Enough NJ". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ “3rd Congressional District: Elect Adler”, “Press of Atlantic City” October 19, 2008. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
  26. ^ “Editorial: N.J. Districts: House”, “Trading Markets” October 20, 2008. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
  27. ^ “Editorial-For the House”, “New York Times” October 25, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
  28. ^ [http://www.adlerforcongress.com/ “Burlington County Times Endorsement” Burlington County Times October 26, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  29. ^ “In 3rd District, Adler is the Choice”, “Courier Post” ]” October 22, 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
  30. ^ [2][dead link‍]
  31. ^ http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2008results/08generalelection/08-official-gen-elect-tallies-house-122908.pdf
  32. ^ Fitzgerald, Thomas (2010-03-18). "S.J. Democrat gives thumbs down to health-care reform | Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/18/2010". Philly.com. Retrieved 2010-07-12. [dead link‍]
  33. ^ [3][dead link‍]
  34. ^ Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger. "U.S. Rep. John Adler opposes health-care bill, despite pleas from Obama | NJ.com". Blog.nj.com. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  35. ^ "Project Vote Smart - HR 1 Appropriations, Tax Law Amendments, and Unemployment Benefit Amendments ("Stimulus Bill") Member Vote List". Votesmart.org. 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  36. ^ "Adler Votes Against Additional Bailout Funding". Adler.house.gov. 2009-01-21. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  37. ^ "House Roll Call #477 Details". OpenCongress. 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  38. ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll968.xml
  39. ^ "Adler Urges Credit Card Companies to Halt Unfair Rate Hikes". Adler.house.gov. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  40. ^ "Bill Text - 111th Congress (2009-2010) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)". Thomas.loc.gov. 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  41. ^ [4][dead link‍]
  42. ^ "The National Journal ranks Rep. John Adler one of the 10 most "Centrist" lawmakers | John Adler for Congress". Adlerforcongress.com. 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  43. ^ "If GOP can't beat Adler in '10, he'll get a safe seat until he runs statewide". Politicker NJ. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  44. ^ "Christie won Adler's district by 17 points". Politicker NJ. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  45. ^ Marot, Michael (2010-03-03). "Manning recovering from neck surgery". PhillyBurbs.com. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  46. ^ [5][dead link‍]
  47. ^ a b [6][dead link‍]
  48. ^ http://pfds.opensecrets.org/N00000812_2008.pdf
  49. ^ http://runyanforcongress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/adler-email.png
  50. ^ "John H. Adler: Campaign Finance/Money - Industries - Career". OpenSecrets. 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  51. ^ "John H. Adler: Campaign Finance/Money - Top Donors - Congressman 2010". OpenSecrets. 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  52. ^ Miller, Sean J. (2010-07-13). "Poll shows Adler leading as ex-NFL star closes money gap - The Hill's Ballot Box". Thehill.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  53. ^ http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100805/NEWS01/8050341/Adler-Staff-not-behind-petition
  54. ^ Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger. "Did Adler camp plant a fake candidate? | NJ.com". Blog.nj.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district
2009–present 		Incumbent
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by
Lee Laskin
 New Jersey State Senator - District 6
1992 - 2009 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Adler&oldid=386619164"