Check out the website: https://lenspoliticalnotes.com Look at the recent Political Notes and Len’s Letters on the website.
NORTHEAST: Political Note #406 Inc Jared Golden ME 02, Political Note #440 Heather Mizeur MD 01, Political Note #385 Inc Chris Pappas NH 01, Political Note #363 Inc Tom Malinowski NJ 07, Political Note #448 Sean Patrick Maloney NY 18, Political Note #394 Inc Susan Wild PA 07, Political Note #397 Eugene DePasquale PA 10
MIDWEST: Political Note #445 Liz Mathis Iowa 01, Political Note #411 Christina Bohannan IA 02, Political Note #428 Inc Cynthia Axne IA 03, Political Note #376 Inc Lauren Underwood IL 14, Political Note #412 Inc Sharice Davids KS 03, Political Note #446 Hilary Scholten MI 03, Political Note #378 Inc Elissa Slotkin MI 08, Political Note #357 Inc Haley Stevens MI 11, Political Note #355 Inc Angie Craig MN 02, Political Note #430 Inc Marcy Kaptur OH 09, Political Note #393 Allison Russo OH 15, Political Note #418 Brad Pfaff WI 03
SOUTHEAST: Political Note #410 Charles Evans NC 08, Political Note #388 Inc Elaine Luria VA 02, Political Note #438 Abigail Spanberger VA 07
SOUTHWEST: Political Note #389 Inc Tom O’Halleran AZ 01 (now AZ 02), Political Note #444 Dina Titus NV 01, Political Note #356 Inc Susie Lee NV 03, Political Note #375 Inc Steven Horsford NV 04, Political Note #382 Inc Melanie Stansbury NM 01, Political Note #423 Gabe Vasquez NM 02, Political Note #417 Abby Broyles OK 05, Political Note #377 Inc Lizzie Fletcher TX 07, Political Note #362 Inc Vicente Gonzalez TX 15 (now TX 34), Political Note #424 John Lira TX 23, Political Note #399 Inc Colin Allred TX 32
WEST: Political Note #439 Kermit Jones CA 03, Political Note #422 Christy Smith CA 25 (now CA 27), Political Note #405 Jay Chen CA 39 (now CA 45), Political Note #390 Inc Kim Schrier WA 08,
022222 Political Note #448 Sean Patrick Maloney NY 18
2022 General Election
I have a bone to pick with Sean Patrick Maloney https://www.seanmaloney.com . My displeasure is with his role as Chair of the DCCC. I was disappointed that the DCCC did not use its weight on behalf of Jana Lynn Sanchez’s special election candidacy in Texas’s Sixth Congressional District in 2021. The previous DCCC Chair understood the importance of supporting a candidate early in non-partisan primaries – the system in many states in the south (including Texas) for special elections and the system in for all elections in the States of California and Washington. Early support minimizes the likelihood of two Republicans in the run-off, which is what happened in TX 06. I am hoping he doesn’t keep the same hands-off position for California and Washington – even if his candidate is not my choice.
Despite my issue, Sean Patrick Maloney is an admirable Democratic Member of Congress. An openly gay man, he has been elected to Congress five times in a district in which there is an even chance that a Democrat or a Republican would win. This District, which has included Northeastern Westchester County, Orange County, Putnam County, and southern Duchess County is not particularly friendly to Democrats or gay men. The reconfigured district looks like the eastern half of his old district, bulging farther north and farther south. Fortunately for Sean Patrick Maloney and for us, the district is slightly more Democratic and has a D+3 Lean.
Sean Patrick Maloney was born in Canada to American parents. One of six children in a Roman Catholic family, his dad was working in Canada in the lumber industry. Sean Patrick Maloney grew up in the US, in Hanover, New Hampshire but did not go to Dartmouth — the local college. He left for Georgetown then transferred to the University of Virginia where he completed his BA and graduated from law school. Between his BA and law school, he worked with the Jesuits, volunteering in Peru.
While completing his law degree, Sean Patrick Maloney worked in Bill Clinton’s campaign as a deputy scheduler. He completed his JD, practiced law until 1992, then joined Clinton’s reelection campaign. During the campaign, he worked on planning the convention in New York. While in New York, he found a partner to whom he is now married, a marriage made possible because same sex marriage is legal. Not long after they became a couple, he and his partner took in and eventually adopted a son of people they knew whose lives had become entirely dysfunctional. They knew the parents through Sean Patrick Maloney’s partner’s work. After the adoption, Sean Patrick Maloney came out to his parents.
After Clinton was reelected, Sean Patrick Maloney continued working with Clinton in his administration. Initially he worked with Chief of Staff John Podesta and eventually was a Senior Advisor to the President. While working in the White House, he was sent to represent the President at Matthew Shepard’s funeral. He retained enough of a connection with the Shepards and the Matthew Shepard Foundation that when he returned to the practice of law after the Bill Clinton presidency, he became a Trustee of the Foundation and served as its legal advisor.
In 2006, Sean Patrick Maloney ran unsuccessfully to be New York’s Attorney General, losing in the primary to Andrew Cuomo. In 2007, he joined Eliot Spitzer’s short-lived administration. He continued as an advisor to David Paterson after his elevation as Governor, but left Albany in 2008 for business and law. In 2012, he announced a campaign for Congress against a freshman Republican, Nan Hayworth. He defeated her a second time in 2014, winning by less than 3,000 votes. His electoral victories as a Congressman since then have been decisive.
In Congress, Sean Patrick Maloney has established himself as a moderate Democrat. He joined the Problem Solvers Caucus whose members range from moderate to conservative as well as the more centrist New Democratic Coalition. Progressive groups criticized his vote to delay implementation of the Affordable Care Act, his opposition to balancing military and domestic spending (He argued he was defending funds for West Point), for his vote supporting repeal of a portion of the Dodd-Frank Act (Elizabeth Warren called that bill the Bank Lobbyist Act).
Sean Patrick Maloney has supported action against human trafficking, taken progressive positions on cultural issues, and has positioned himself as an opponent of Donald Trump and his agenda. He was elected chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee because his colleagues see him as understanding how to be a strong campaigner in moderate to conservative districts, the swing districts Democrats have to win to keep control of Congress.
Though he has been able to win recent elections by double digit percentages, it is not so clear that he will be able to win as easily after redistricting. Help Sean Patrick Maloney https://www.seanmaloney.com get himself reelected while he helps Democrats get reelected throughout the country.
Organizations to support that are not part of the Democratic establishment
Fair Fight https://fairfight.com Stacey Abrams organization to support fair elections
The New Georgia Project https://newgeorgiaproject.org A non-profit registering voters.
The New North Carolina Project https://newnorthcarolinaproject.org A non-profit registering voters. I had a great conversation with their Executive Director
The New Pennsylvania Project https://www.newpaproject.org A non-profit registering voters.
The Lincoln Project https://lincolnproject.us. Ex Republicans with tough messaging.
Democratic Party Establishment Organizations to support
The Democratic National Committee (DNC). https://democrats.org
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) https://www.dscc.org
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) https://dccc.org
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) https://democraticgovernors.org
The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) https://dems.ag
The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State (DASS) https://demsofstate.org
The Democratic (State) Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) https://dlcc.org
National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NRDC) https://democraticredistricting.com Led by Eric Holder
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