David Dreier
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David Timothy Dreier (born July 5 1952), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1981, representing the 26th District of California (map (http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/ca26_109.gif)). Elected at age 28, he is the longest serving Republican member of the California delegation to Congress.
He was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, where his family continues to be active in real estate development. He graduated from Claremont Men’s College (now Claremont McKenna College) in 1975, and was director of corporate relations for that college before entering the House.
Dreier has served as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee since 1999. He has also served as chairman of California's Republican Congressional Delegation since 2001. Dreier was a major player in helping elect Arnold Schwarzenegger in California's 2003 recall election, and is a frequent guest on the political talk show circuit.
Throughout his early Congressional service, Dreier established a record as a strong supporter of tax cuts and of President Reagan's anti-Communist foreign policy. One of the youngest as well as the first Californian Rules Chairman in history, David Dreier plays a pivotal role in fashioning legislation promoting Republican Party positions on Social Security, child education, taxes, and national security.
Locally Dreier is well known for supporting local institutions such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Metro Gold Line, and advocates for transportation improvements such as railroad grade separations and highway expansion.
Campaign 2004
In the fall of 2004, Dreier came under increasing scrutiny from gay rights groups because of what they characterize as an anti-gay voting record in Congress, which includes support of the Defense of Marriage Act (signed by President Clinton), as well as votes against gay people adopting children, and against inclusion of homosexuality as a protected status in hate crime and employment discrimination legislation. Many consider his record to be especially disturbing in light of recent speculation and reporting that he himself is gay [1] (http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/david_dreier_outed_brad_smith_gay_920.htm) [2] (http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/david_dreier_cynthia_matthews_outed_outing_gay_926.htm), although other people believe that Dreier's votes on legislation concerning the rights of gay people have merely reflected his constituents' wishes and that his own sexual orientation is a private matter and irrelevant. Dreier was formally "outed" in print by journalist Doug Ireland in an alternative newspaper, L.A. Weekly, in its issue of September 24-30, 2004.[3] (http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/44/news-ireland.php)[4] (http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/45/news-ireland.php) The L.A. Weekly reported that Dreier has a romantic relationship with his longtime (male) chief of staff, Brad W. Smith, who collects a $156,600 government salary for his services to Dreier. Smith collects the highest possible salary allowed by law for a committee staff member,[5] (http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=298), and is reportedly the highest-paid chief of staff working for any House of Representatives committee chair. ("By comparison," wrote Ireland, "the chief of staff to the chair of the House Judiciary Committee makes $126,000, while the chief of staff to the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee makes just $100,696.")[6] (http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/44/news-ireland.php)
Dreier's 1998 and 2000 Democratic opponent, Janice Nelson, came forward to claim that his relationship to Smith had been an open secret for many years. His 2004 opponent, Cynthia Matthews, came out of the closet and demanded that Dreier do the same. Dreier did not publicly respond to these charges, which were widely discussed on local radio programs in his district. So far, the mainstream print media has not picked the story up.
In the midst of the controversy, Dreier voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment on September 30, 2004.
While being hit from the left, Dreier was also attacked from the right, due to what some radio talk show hosts viewed as a lax policy on curbing illegal immigration.[7] (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/10181726.htm?1c) Dreier was accused of advocating for federal funds for services provided to illegal immigrants such as jails and medical care, and supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants. The immigration attacks were especially damaging. Dreier filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against one radio talk show (The "John and Ken Show," on Los Angeles station KFI-AM) alleging that the hosts, employees of Clear Channel Corporation, were engaging in an illegal contribution to Matthews's campaign. In spite of outspending his opponent by nearly 30-1 [8] (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/11/15/state0333EST0020.DTL), having his opponent ostracized by the Democratic Party, and being in a solidly Republican district, Dreier won his 2004 race with 54% of the vote, the lowest incumbent win for any U.S. representative from California [9] (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/CA/) and his worst total since 1980. Anti-illegal immigration advocates predict that he will face a formidable conservative challenger in his 2006 primary, although most political observers believe that the Republican Party will support Dreier's bid for re-election.
Dreier has served for many years as a trustee of Claremont McKenna College. According to Roll Call magazine, Dreier has a personal fortune in excess of $7.5 million.[10] (http://www.nndb.com/people/980/000036872/)
26th District statistics
As of 2002, there are 639,088 people in the 26th District of California.
- 35.4% are registered Democratic
- 46.4% are registered Republican
- 5.2% are African American
- 16.7% are Asian-American
- 24.4% are Hispanic
In the 2000 general election, the voters of the 26th District of California voted:
- 43.3% for Al Gore
- 52.5% for George W Bush
Median Household Income: $58,968
- 8.4% are below the poverty line
Occupation:
- 17.3% blue collar
- 70.7% white collar
External links
- Official Website (http://dreier.house.gov/)
- David Dreier profile, NNDB (http://www.nndb.com/people/980/000036872/)
- Media News Group (http://www.medianewsgroup.com/)
- Congress.org (http://congress.org/congressorg/bio/keyvotes/?id=650&lvl=C/)
- Fire Dreier (http://www.firedreier.com) - anti-Dreier site