Gwen Moore

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Gwen Moore
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Jerry Kleczka
Born	April 18, 1951 (1951-04-18) (age 57) Racine, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	single
Religion	Baptist

This article is about the Wisconsin Congresswoman. For the California legislator, see Gwen Moore (California politician).

Gwendolynne Sophia Moore (born April 18, 1951), a Democrat from Wisconsin, is a congresswoman representing Wisconsin's 4th congressional district.^[1] The district is based in Milwaukee and also includes South Milwaukee, Cudahy and St. Francis. She is the first woman to represent the district.

[edit] Political career

Moore was born in Racine, Wisconsin, but has spent most of her life in Milwaukee.

Moore was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004, earning 69.6 percent of the vote and defeating Republican attorney Gerald Boyle in the general election.

Prior to her election to Congress, Moore worked as a city development specialist and as an organizer with Volunteers In Service to America. She was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1989 and served two terms before winning the election to the Wisconsin State Senate, in which she served from 1993 to 2004. Moore was the first African-American woman to be elected to the upper chamber of the Wisconsin legislature.

Moore was one of a handful of African-Americans to have been elected to Congress as freshmen in 2004, and she was the first black and second woman (after Tammy Baldwin) to represent Wisconsin in Congress. In the House, Moore has been a reliable party loyalist, earning, over the first session of the 109th Congress, 90 percent-plus legislative agenda approval scores from Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Sierra Club of Wisconsin, and the Service Employees International Union. Moore has focused herself legislatively on traditional Democratic and progressive issues, believing that the federal government should play a significant role in the amelioration of poverty and the resolution of difficult local problems.

During her first term, Moore introduced legislation to provide certain economic incentives and tax cuts to small businesses to promote job creation, and also cosponsored legislation in support of community block grants, continued and expanded Medicaid funding, the amendment of the Truth in Lending Act to prevent so-called "predatory lending", and the removal of troops from Iraq; Moore is also a cosponsor of two prospective amendments to the US Constitution, providing for uniform national election standards and prohibiting gender discrimination under law.

Upon her entry to Congress, Moore was appointed to two committees on which she continues to serve: the Financial Services Committee and the Small Business Committee.

On May 6, 2006, Moore and eight fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus were arrested and ticketed for unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct after they stepped onto the grounds of the Embassy of the Sudan to call attention to the ongoing Darfur conflict in Sudan. Moore said that the group expected ex ante to be arrested but that they were pleased to participate in a "peaceful act of civil disobedience".^[2]

[edit] Family and background

Moore was the eighth of nine children born to a factory worker father and public school teacher mother. After graduating from North Division High School, she attended Marquette University as an expectant mother, receiving welfare benefits to aid her in her pursuit of a degree. On her campaign website, Moore recalled, "I was on welfare and just shy of 19 when my first daughter was born, but I was encouraged to take advantage of my ability and drive and remained in school." [1] Moore gradudated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and in 2000 received a Certificate for Senior Executives in State and Local Government from Harvard University.

Moore is a single parent and has three children. A son, Sowande Ajumoke Omokunde, aged 26, was arrested in connection with the November 2, 2004, (election day), tire-slashing of Republican party vehicles in Milwaukee; he was charged with a felony in connection with the event on January 24, 2005, but agreed, on January 20, 2006, to plead no contest in exchange for a sentencing recommendation of restitution and probation. [2] However, on April 26, 2006, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael Brennan threw out the plea deal and sentenced Omokunde to serve four months in prison and to pay $2,305 in fines and restitution. In response, Moore said, "I love my son very much. I'm very proud of him. He's accepted responsibility." Gwen Moore has sponsored 7 bills since Jan 4, 2005, of which 5 haven't made it out of committee (Average) and 0 were successfully enacted (Average, relative to peers). Moore has cosponsored 343 bills during the same time period (Many, relative to peers). [3]

[edit] Electoral history

• 2006 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 4th District
  • Gwen Moore (D), 72%
  • Perfecto Rivera (R), 28%

• 2004 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 4th District
  • Gwen Moore (D), 70%
  • Gerald Boyle (R), 30%

• 2004 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — Democratic Primary
  • Gwen Moore (D), 64%
  • Matt Flynn (D), 25%
  • Tim Carpenter (D), 10%

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Congresswoman Gwen Moore official U.S. House website
• Gwen Moore for U.S. Congress campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Democratic Party of Wisconsin — Gwen Moore biography