John Luigi Mica (born January 27, 1943) is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 7th congressional district, serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, starting January 3, 2011 until December 2012.
Contents
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Early life, education, and business career 1
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Early political career 2
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U.S. House of Representatives 3
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Elections 3.1
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Tenure 3.2
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Committee assignments 3.3
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Personal life 4
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References 5
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External links 6
Early life, education, and business career
Mica was born in Binghamton, New York, but grew up in Florida and was educated at Miami Edison High School, Miami-Dade Community College and the University of Florida. Mica received a degree in education and was a member of Delta Chi Fraternity and Florida Blue Key while attending UF. Mica had been a businessman, serving in capacities in the real estate, telecommunications, government affairs, and consulting fields.
John Mica while a member of the Florida state legislature.
Early political career
Mica was a member of the Florida House of Representatives for two terms from 1976 to 1980. There he served on several committees and was a leading Republican on the powerful Appropriations Committee. He was a staff member for Senator Paula F. Hawkins from 1981 to 1985, rising to become her chief of staff. After returning to private industry, he ran for Congress in 1992.[1]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
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1992
In 1992, Mica opted to run for Congress in the 7th District. The district had previously been the 4th District, represented by two-term Republican Craig T. James.
Mica won the Republican primary with 53% of the vote, defeating State Representative Richard Graham (34%) and Vaughn Forrest (13%).[2] In the general election, he defeated Democrat Dan Webster 56%–44%.[3]
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1994–2004
During this time period, he won re-election every two years with at least 60% of the vote.[1]
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2006
Despite the gains made by Democrats during the 2006 elections, Mica's seat remained safe. Jack Chagnon, a former teacher and Marine officer was unable to unseat the conservative incumbent in this heavily Republican district. Mica defeated Chagnon 63%–37%.[4]
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2008
Mica defeated Democratic candidate Faye Armitage 62%–38%.[5]
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2010
Mica defeated Democratic nominee Heather Beaven 69%–31%.[6]
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2012
On August 14, 2012, election day, Mica defeated Adams 61%–39%.
In the 2012 election Mica’s total amount of money raised was $1,953,992, while he ended up spending $2,124,854 in his campaign. Mica’s top contributing groups to his run for office were CSX Corporation, HNTB Holdings, and the FedEx Corporation. Overall his top industry contributors were Air Transport, and Construction Services. His spending left him with no debt and $381,221 cash-on-hand.[7]
In the general election, Mica defeated Democrat Jason Kendall 59%–41%.[8]
Tenure
Mica also lists himself as a strong supporter of military issues. The Orlando Sentinel named Mica the 4th most powerful person in Central Florida.[9]
Mica’s political positions in areas such as abortion, gun control, health care, immigration, business and consumers, and National Security have stayed consistently conservative and are therefore rated very highly by interest groups that support Republicans. Some examples of these groups are the National Rifle Association, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, American Security Council Foundation, and the National Right to Life Committee, as well as many others. On the opposing side of these positions are some Democratic-leaning interest groups, who rate John Mica as very low in areas such as abortion, sexual orientation and gay marriage rights, civil liberties and civil rights, and protecting the environment. Some of the interest groups that have given these lower ratings are Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, American Civil Liberties Union, Environment America, Human Rights Campaign, and more. Representative Mica's views have stayed consistent in these and many other areas. One example of an area in which he has changed his ratings is the support of Arts and Humanities. His Americans for the Arts Action Fund ratings increased from 20% and 65% from 2000 to 2008 and then to 100% in 2011.[10]
As chairman of the House Oversight Committee's subcommittee on government operations, Mica has convened hearings on marijuana in every month of 2014 except April, earning him the title of "one of the most obsessive drug warriors in Congress," by Marijuana Majority.[11]
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Abortion
Mica’s view on abortion is pro-life “except in the case of rape, incest or life of the mother.” This position has gained him high ratings from Republican interest groups such as the [12]
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Budget
Mica believes that balancing the budget is, and should be, a priority of Congress. He however does not agree with the majority of his party that Medicare and Medicaid spending should be reduced.[12] The Conservative interest group ratings on Mica’s budget goals and position range from 86 to 90%, while the Liberal interest group ratings reward Mica with an average of 10%.[10]
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Amtrak privatization
Mica has gained a reputation for being a strong supporter of Amtrak privatization.[13] In 2009, Mica earmarked $13 million for the Central Commuter Rail, a major initiative supported by one of Mica's daughter's clients.[14][15]
Committee assignments
Personal life
Mica is married to Patricia, a school teacher, and has two grown children. He lives in Winter Park, Florida. He is the brother of former Representative Daniel A. Mica, while his other brother, David is a former ranking staffer of Senator Lawton Chiles. He is a member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, and the Coast Guard Academy Board of Visitors.
References
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^ a b "Candidate – John L. Mica". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
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^ "FL District 07 – R Primary Race – Sep 01, 1992". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
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^ "FL District 07 Race – Nov 03, 1992". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
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^ "FL – District 07 Race – Nov 07, 2006". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
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^ "FL – District 07 Race – Nov 04, 2008". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
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^ "FL – District 07 Race – Nov 02, 2010". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
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^ "Representative John L Mica's Campaign Finances". Project Vote Smart.
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^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=736117
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^ Maxwell, Scott (2008-12-29). "Who is the most powerful person in Central Florida?". Orlando Sentinel.
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^ a b c "Representative John L. Mica's Special Interest Group Ratings". Project Vote Smart.
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^ Itkowitz, Colby. "Rep. Mica holds (another) hearing on being stoned". www.washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
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^ a b "Representative John L Mica's Political Positions". Project Vote Smart.
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^ Hannan, Larry (June 16, 2011). "John Mica, Corrine Brown split over privatizing Amtrak in Northeast".
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^ Mosk, Matthew (January 12, 2010). "DUI Arrest Puts Spotlight on Florida Congressman".
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^ Ward, Kenric (March 28, 2012). "Report: Two Florida Congressmen Kept Earmarks in the Family". Sunshine State News. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
External links
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