Jerry McNerney

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Jerry McNerney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Richard Pombo
Constituency	11th district (2007–2013) 9th district (2013–present)
Personal details
Born	(1951-06-18) June 18, 1951 (age 70) Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mary Martine ​ (m. 1977)​
Children	3
Residence	Stockton, California, U.S.
Education	United States Military Academy University of New Mexico (BS, MS, PhD)
Website	House website
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics
Thesis	A (1,1) Tensor Generalization of the Laplace-Beltrami Operator (1981)
Doctoral advisor	Alexander P. Stone

Gerald Mark McNerney /məkˈnɜːrni/ (born June 18, 1951) is an American businessman, politician, and the U.S. Representative for California's 9th congressional district, serving in Congress since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district, numbered as the 11th district until 2013, is based in Stockton and includes parts of San Joaquin County, East Contra Costa County, and southern Sacramento County. McNerney holds a Ph.D in mathematics.^[1]

Early life, education, and business career[]

McNerney was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of Rosemary (née Tischhauser) and John E. McNerney. He is of Swiss and Irish descent.^[2] He attended St. Joseph's Military Academy in Hays, Kansas, and, for two years, the United States Military Academy at West Point. After leaving West Point in 1971 in protest of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War,^[3] he enrolled at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where he received bachelor's and master's degrees and, in 1981, a Ph.D. in mathematics, with a doctoral dissertation in differential geometry focusing on a generalization of the Laplace–Beltrami operator.^[4]

McNerney served several years as a contractor to Sandia National Laboratories at Kirtland Air Force Base on national security programs. In 1985, he accepted a senior engineering position with U.S. Windpower (Kenetech). In 1994, he began working as an energy consultant for PG&E, FloWind, The Electric Power Research Institute, and other utility companies. Before being elected to Congress, McNerney served as the CEO of a start-up company manufacturing wind turbines, HAWT Power (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Power).^[5]

U.S. House of Representatives[]

Elections[]

2004[]

McNerney first ran for Congress against Richard Pombo in California's 11th congressional district in the 2004 House elections. He entered the race two weeks before the primary election as a write-in candidate, encouraged by his son. He qualified as a write-in candidate for the March primary by a small margin. With no opponent, he won the primary and qualified for the November general election ballot as the Democratic nominee. He lost the general election, 61%-39%.^[6][7]

2006[]

McNerney launched his 2006 campaign early in the fall of 2005. In June 2006 he won the Democratic primary with 52.8% of the vote, defeating Steve Filson, who had been endorsed by the DCCC, and Stevan Thomas.^{[citation needed]}

Rep. Mary Fallin, Keith Ellison, and Jerry McNerney among Congressional deligate meet with Commander of Multi-National Force – Iraq General David Petraeus in 2007

In late July, Republicans Pete McCloskey and Tom Benigno (both of whom ran in the Republican primary against Pombo) endorsed McNerney.^[8] In September, analysis of the campaign was changed from "Republican safe" to "Republican favored" due to the emergence of McNerney's campaign. The report noted "a [GOP] party spokesman says it's because they want to win decisively but others speculate that internal polling has delivered bad news for the incumbent."^[9] On October 3, a poll commissioned by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund was released with McNerney leading Pombo, 48% to 46%.^[10] Based on these events, in early October, CQPolitics.com changed their rating of this race from Republican Favored to Leans Republican^[11]

On November 7, 2006, McNerney defeated Pombo, 53–47%.^[12]

2008[]

McNerney was reelected, 55% to 45%, over Republican nominee Dean Andal.

2010[]

McNerney was reelected, 48%–47%, defeating Republican nominee David Harmer.^[13]

2012[]

For his first three terms, McNerney represented a district that encompassed eastern Alameda County, most of San Joaquin County–including all of Stockton–and a small portion of Santa Clara County. After redistricting, his district was renumbered as the 9th district. It lost its portion of Alameda County, including McNerney's home in Pleasanton, while picking up part of Sacramento County. After the new map was announced, McNerney announced he would move to San Joaquin County in the new 9th. While the old 11th was a hybrid Bay Area/Central Valley district, the new 9th was more of a Central Valley district. It is slightly more Democratic than its predecessor.^[14] McNerney eventually bought a home in Stockton. He was reelected, 56%–44%, defeating Republican nominee Ricky Gill.^[15]

Tenure[]

McNerney presenting Chesley Sullenberger with a framed flag, as part of a January 24, 2009 celebration honoring the pilot in his hometown of Danville, California.

Veterans

In 2010, President Obama signed into law a bill McNerney wrote that improves care of returning service members with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) by establishing an evaluation panel to assess the Veteran's Administration treatments for TBI and recommend improvements. McNerney also wrote a bill in 2013 that allowed veterans to keep receiving their benefits during the government shutdown.^[16]

McNerney was one of the first lawmakers to call for the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki after revelations about delays in care at VA health care facilities.^[17]

Energy

McNerney is a proponent of renewable energy and supports cap and trade.^[18] He has voted for tax incentives for renewable energy and to allow states to impose stricter emissions standards. He opposes drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf.^[19]

McNerney co-sponsored the bill To require the Secretary of Energy to prepare a report on the impact of thermal insulation on both energy and water use for potable hot water (H.R. 4801; 113th Congress), would require the United States Secretary of Energy to prepare a report on the effects of thermal insulation on both energy consumption and systems for providing potable water in federal buildings.^[20] McNerney said, "it is important for us to look for ways to save taxpayer money and ensure the federal government is doing its part to preserve our natural resources."^[21] He argued it would be a good way to collect data so that "we can use the findings from this study and make sure we are doing everything we can in both federal and private buildings to maximize energy and water efficiency."^[22]

Drug legislation

In 2007, McNerney voted against legislation that would have prevented the DEA from enforcing prohibition in the 12 states (including California) that allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.^[23]

In 2013, McNerney introduced the Methamphetamine Education, Treatment and Hope (METH) Act to modernize and expand programs that combat methamphetamine abuse by expanding treatment for addicts, particularly mothers or pregnant women, and provide grants to provide substance abuse and mental health services in rural areas.^[24]

Other issues

McNerney voted for legislation allowing employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.^[25] In 2009, he voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He has opposed free trade agreements, voting against CAFTA, GATT, and the U.S.-Peru free trade agreement.^[26]

In April 2018, McNerney, Jared Huffman, Jamie Raskin, and Dan Kildee launched the Congressional Freethought Caucus. Its stated goals include "pushing public policy formed on the basis of reason, science, and moral values", promoting the "separation of church and state", and opposing discrimination against "atheists, agnostics, humanists, seekers, religious and nonreligious persons", among others. Huffman and Raskin act as co-chairs.^[27]

Committee assignments[]

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Power
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Economy
• Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Energy

Caucus memberships[]

• Congressional Arthritis Caucus
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus^[28]
• Grid Innovation Caucus
• Congressional Freethought Caucus
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus^[29]
• Climate Solutions Caucus^[30]
• Medicare for All Caucus

Electoral history[]

Personal life[]

McNerney resides in Stockton, California. He and his wife, Mary, have three children.^[38] McNerney is Roman Catholic.^[39]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jerry McNerney.

• Congressman Jerry McNerney official U.S. House website
• Jerry McNerney for Congress
• Jerry McNerney at Curlie

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