Connie Mack IV

Connie Mack IV
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 14th district
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Porter Goss
Succeeded by	Kathy Castor
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 91st district
In office January 3, 2001 – October 9, 2003
Preceded by	Debby Sanderson
Succeeded by	Ellyn Bogdanoff
Personal details
Born	Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV August 12, 1967 Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Ann Galuzzo (1992–2006) Mary Bono (2007–2013)
Children	Addison Connie
Residence	Fort Lauderdale, Florida (c. 1992-2004) Fort Myers, Florida (2004-present)
Alma mater	Santa Fe College University of Florida

Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV^[1] (born August 12, 1967), popularly known as Connie Mack, is the former U.S. Representative for Florida's 14th congressional district, serving from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he was the Republican nominee for Senate in 2012, but lost to Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.^[2] He subsequently became a partner at five lobbying firms^[3] and currently represents Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.^[4] Mack, born in Fort Myers, Florida, is the son of former Republican U.S. Senator Connie Mack III.

Early life, education, and family

Mack was born in Fort Myers, Florida, the son of cancer prevention advocate Ludie Priscilla (née Hobbs) and former U.S. Senator Connie Mack III.^[5][6] His father represented the district from 1983 to 1989 (when it was numbered as the 13th District), before serving two terms in the U.S. Senate.

Through his father, Mack is the great-grandson of Connie Mack, the manager and owner of baseball's Philadelphia Athletics and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame; the great-grandson of Morris Sheppard, U.S. Senator and Representative from Texas; and the great-great-grandson of John Levi Sheppard, a U.S. Representative from Texas.^[7]

In June 1988, Mack earned his Associate of Arts from Santa Fe Community College^[8] and In 1993, Mack earned his Bachelor of Arts^[9] from the University of Florida. After college, Mack became a marketing executive, working as a consultant to promote the restaurant chain Hooters.^[10]

Florida House of Representatives

In 2000, incumbent Republican State Representative Debby Sanderson decided to retire to run for a seat in the Florida Senate. Mack decided to run for the open seat in the Fort Lauderdale based-91st House District. He defeated Democratic nominee Kevin Rader 56%–44%.^[11] In 2002, he won re-election with 79% of the vote.^[12]

Mack was Chairman of the Committee on State Administration, and in his second term he became the Deputy Majority Leader.^[13]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 2003, incumbent Republican Congressman Porter Goss, who had succeeded Connie III in Congress, announced his intention to retire in order to serve as Director of the CIA. That October, Mack resigned from his seat in the State Legislature and moved back to his hometown of Fort Myers to run for his father's old seat.^[14] Had he not resigned his state house seat, he would have been unable to vote for himself in the primary or general election in the 14th District, as the Florida Constitution requires state legislators to be residents of the district they represent. Mack stated, "The people of the 14th District deserve to be represented in Washington by someone who shares our mainstream conservative Republican values in the mold of my father and Congressman Porter Goss".^[15] He narrowly won a four-way Republican primary—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—with a plurality of 36% of the vote, defeating more experienced challengers State Representative Carole Green and Lee County Commissioner Andy Coy.^[16] He won the general election with 68% of the vote.^[17]

Mack consistently won re-election without serious difficulty, with his closest bid in 2008, when he won 59% in a three-way election.^[18][19][20]

Tenure

Mack is a vocal supporter of cutting federal spending and lower taxes. He is a signer of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Additionally, he is a co-sponsor of a constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget and was one of the most outspoken opponents of federal bailouts. Mack was also been a prominent advocate for greater congressional oversight of government surveillance. He voted against George W. Bush's domestic eavesdropping program in 2006 and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Reform in 2007.^[21]

Mack was an outspoken critic of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez,^[22] as well as one of the most vocal opponents of the pan-Latin American TV network teleSUR.^[23] He is also a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mack helped secure over $81 million to expand Interstate 75 in Southwest Florida, a project of significant concern to the region.

Unlike many members of Congress, Mack has been a vigorous and outspoken defender of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.^[24] Mack said that although WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange "are no heroes", he believes there needs to be more transparency in government, and that he opposes any "attempt to suppress information from the general public".^[25]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
  • Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere (Chairman)
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy
  • Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management (Vice Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending

2012 U.S. Senate election

Mack speaking to a conservative group in February 2012.

Early in the election cycle, Mack was considered a potential candidate against incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson in the 2012 Senate election. However, he declined to run on March 25, 2011, citing family and his work in the House of Representatives.^[26] On October 26, 2011, it was announced Mack had changed his mind and that he would seek the Republican nomination because he felt no one in the current field was able to defeat Nelson.^[27] His opponent in the Primary was former Representative Dave Weldon, whom Mack defeated, winning 58% of the vote. Mack was then defeated by Nelson by over one million votes.

Electoral history

Post-Congressional career

In 2013, Mack was hired as a partner at lobbying firm Liberty Partners Group, where his father was a chairman emeritus.^[3] Following his unsuccessful bid for the Senate, Mack founded two lobbying and consulting firms, Mack Strategies and Liberty International Group. In March 2014, he registered to become a lobbyist for American Task Force Argentina. As of September 2014, he was an executive vice president of public relations firm Levick as well as a registered lobbyist for Levick, Doral Financial and Las Vegas Sands.^[29] Mack has also worked extensively as a lobbyist for the government of Hungary.^[4][30]

Personal life

Mack has been married twice. His wives have been:

• Ann Galluzzo, whom he married in 1996 and divorced in 2006.^[1][31] They have two children:
  • Addison McGillicudy (born 3 March 2000)
  • Cornelius McGillicudy V (born 14 October 2002)
• Former US Representative Mary Bono (R-CA), former wife of Glenn Baxley and widow of Sonny Bono.^[32] They married in 2007 in Asheville, North Carolina.^[33] By this marriage, he has two stepchildren, Chesare and Chianna Bono. Mary Bono and Connie Mack IV announced their divorce in a joint press release in May 2013.^[34]

References

1. Zambo, Kristen (5 August 2006). "Mack divorce proceedings include sale of $825,000 home". Naples Daily News. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
2. Siegel, Elyse (November 6, 2012). "Bill Nelson Projected Winner Of Florida Senate Race". Huffington Post.
3. "Former Rep. Connie Mack joins lobby firm". TheHill.
4. "Diplomatic Dust-Up Means Big Bucks For Former GOP Congressman Connie Mack IV". Huffington Post. November 20, 2014.
5. Biography – About Connie Mack – Congressman Connie Mack
6. "mack". ancestry.com.
7. Archived March 7, 2004, at the Wayback Machine.
8. "George LeMieux says Connie Mack 'took 7 1/2 years to finish college'". @politifact.
9. http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/meet-connie-mack-iv-who-says-hes-a-proud-mainstream-conservative/1258812
10. "Connie Mack preaches penny-pinching on campaign trail, but has past of debt and liens". Tampa Bay Times.
11. "Our Campaigns - FL State House 091 Race - Nov 07, 2000". ourcampaigns.com.
12. "Our Campaigns - FL State House 091 Race - Nov 05, 2002". ourcampaigns.com.
13. Sandler, Michael (April 15, 2003). "Workers' comp bill stripped, replaced". St. Petersburg Times.
14. "Connie Mack IV to Run for U.S. House". TheLedger.com.
15. "Younger Mack to seek dad's old House seat Series: AROUND THE STATE". St. Petersburg Times. October 8, 2003.
16. "Our Campaigns - FL - District 14 - R Primary Race - Aug 31, 2004". ourcampaigns.com.
17. "Our Campaigns - FL - District 14 Race - Nov 02, 2004". ourcampaigns.com.
18. "Our Campaigns - FL - District 14 Race - Nov 07, 2006". ourcampaigns.com.
19. "Our Campaigns - FL - District 14 Race - Nov 04, 2008". ourcampaigns.com.
20. Our Campaigns – FL – District 14 Race – Nov 02, 2010
21. Connie Mack IV on the Issues
22. RedState <http://www.crosstabs.org/stories/foreign_affairs/rep_mack_free_trade_is_key_to_combating_chavez>
23. Congressman works to counter socialist air time, on Connie Mack's HOR website <http://mack.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Articles.View&ContentRecord_id=108>
24. Levy-Baker, Cooper Rep. Mack once again stands up for WikiLeaks, Florida Independent
25. Rahn, Will (26 December 2010). "10 Questions with Connie Mack". The Daily Caller. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
26. Smith, Adam (March 25, 2011). "Connie Mack will not run for U.S. Senate". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
27. Catanese, Dave (October 26, 2011). "Connie Mack to enter Fla. Senate Race". Politico. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
28. "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2007-07-25. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
29. Ho, Catherine (September 28, 2014). "Crisis communications firm Levick continues push to grow lobbying business, hires former Fla. congressman". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
30. Goad, Ben (16 September 2015). "Hungary taps ex-congressman as US spokesman". The Hill. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
31. "Florida House of Representatives - Connie Mack - 2014 - 2016 { Crisafulli }". myfloridahouse.gov.
32. Slind-Flor, Victoria (March 20, 2013). "Biogen, HTC, Boston, MIT, Mary Bono: Intellectual Property". Bloomberg Business.
33. "Fox News, GOP House Members Mary Bono and Connie Mack Marry in North Carolina". Foxnews.com. 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
34. Edwards, Breanna (May 24, 2013). "Connie, Mary Bono Mack divorcing". Politico.

External links

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