Stuart, FL – The Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association has endorsed Tom Rooney in his bid for Florida’s 16th District in the U.S House of Representatives.
“We will ask our members, their friends and families – and all citizens in Palm Beach County who respect the strong and efficient enforcement of our laws, to cast their ballots in support of Tom Rooney,” wrote association President John Kazanjian in a letter to the campaign.
The Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association represents law enforcement personnel in Palm Beach and Martin Counties.
“As a former prosecutor I am deeply honored to have the support of the men and women of law enforcement who I have worked with to keep our communities safe,” said Rooney.
Tom Rooney served as a Assistant Attorney General for Florida and as Captain in the U.S. Army as a JAG Officer, and taught Constitutional and Military Law at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
May 27th, 2008
Congressional Candidate Tom Rooney gave the Memorial Address at this weekend’s Memorial Day Parade of Flags at Fernhill Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum in Stuart, Florida. He was accompanied by his 6 year old son, Tommy Rooney, Jr. Tom and his wife Tara are both U.S. Army vets having served on Active Duty from 2000-2004.
“Army Master SGT Davy Weever, Barnesville, GA, Marine CPL William Cooper, Europa, Mississippi Navy Lt. Jeffrey Ammon, Oren, UT, Army 1st LT Jeffrey Deprimo, Pittston, PA. Published in the newspaper in recent days of those who died in Iraq or Afghanistan. Every day since the war began, I have made it a practice to read the names and where they are from. Even though I served 4 and a half years on active duty in the Army and taught 2 years at West Point and made the acquaintance of hundreds of soldiers, I thank God I have yet to come across a name I personally knew. But even though I haven’t met any of those who gave their lives wearing our uniforms, fighting under our flag, I do know them.
The Army had a slogan not too long ago which read ‘An Army of One.’ It’s true, we are one. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen - we will always share an indescribable common bond. And we are here to remember those brothers and sisters who did not come home - to remember those who gave their lives so others could return to the America worth fighting for and worth dying for. And the reason they fight and some die is not only for a way of life but for each other and each of you here today. You are the America they gave their lives for. They gave their lives so we could survive.
Originally called Decoration Day after the Civil War so families could decorate the graves of their dead service members, Memorial Day today is a day we remember all those who fought and died in all our wars and conflicts. We all remember in our own way. Today, I remember my Uncle Tom, a U.S. Marine who died on Guam in World War II. Tom was the younger brother of my grandfather, Art Rooney, who went onto football prominence in Western Pennsylvania. But it was Tom who my father named me after - an 18 year old kid who I would never meet, who died almost 30 years before I was born. But I will always carry his name.
Now I want to introduce you to my son Tommy Rooney, age 6. We all remember in our own way. On this and every Memorial Day, we remember you Uncle Tom. I know you are with God. And I know you are with us today. For all of you and your lost sons and brothers and daughters, and for all your Private Tommy Rooney’s, I wish you all a HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!”
May 26th, 2008
From Highlands Today
By Gary Pinnell
SEBRING — Tom Rooney is almost stereotypically Irish. He’s tall, red-haired, flush-faced, freckled, and built like a lumberjack. Actually, he’s a former tight end, an Army veteran and an attorney. His favorite rockers, according to his Facebook page, are the Dublin group U2.
Rooney, 37, is running for the 16th congressional district seat currently occupied by Tim Mahoney. He was in Highlands County for the 20th time in the past year, on this occasion to attend a rally for sheriff candidate Ron Grimming.
“I’m the only non-politician in the race,” Rooney pointed out. Both his Republican primary opponents are in office: Gayle Harrell is a state representative; Hal Valeche is a Palm Beach Gardens city councilman.
He’s also the only non-millionaire in the race, although he’s a lawyer, and his wife, Tara, is an attorney and a real estate agent. Rooney said he’s still making payments on his Ford F-150 pickup truck, and Tara is still paying off her student loans.
The couple lives in Tequesta, a village on the Loxahatchee River, less than a mile from Jupiter and the Atlantic Ocean, but Rooney said their house is worth far less than $1 million.
Football Family
But Rooney is from a Pittsburgh family of millionaires. The family patriarch was his grandfather, Art Rooney Jr., the 1933 founder of the Pittsburgh Pirates, later renamed the Steelers.
Roll Call referred to him as “Pittsburgh Steelers heir Tom Rooney.”
“Yeah, I saw that,” Rooney grinned. “My wife likes that.”
Forbes.com estimates the football team is worth $900 million. But he won’t inherit that much, Tom Rooney informed.
Art Rooney Jr. had five sons, including Dan, the president of the team, and Pat, the No. 4 son, who’s Tom’s father. But Tom Rooney has four brothers, two sisters, and 35 first cousins. Each, presumably, has a shot at some inheritance.
Rooney’s real connection to the Steelers was that he was a waterboy when he was 15.
When Tom was 14, his father moved to Florida to operate Palm Beach Kennel Club. Racing is the other family passion.
Rooney graduated from the Benjamin School, a private academy in North Palm Beach, and earned a spot as a tight end and deep snapper on the Syracuse Orangemen football team. He described major college football as the most exhausting, draining experience of his life, more than Army boot camp.
When the coach asked the freshmen class how many planned to turn pro, they all raised their hands. Except Rooney, who knew how exceptional pro footballers really are. After one year at Syracuse, Rooney transferred to Washington and Jefferson College outside Pittsburgh, where he played football and golf for three years and earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature.
Rooney and Tara met in the University of Miami law school, and both enlisted in the Army to serve in the judge advocate general’s corps. Both left as captains, but not before Rooney was assigned to teach military law at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point.
“Those five semesters were the greatest experience of my life,” Rooney declared. He served three times as a prosecutor: in the Army, with the U.S. attorney’s office in Waco, and for Attorney Gen. Charlie Crist. He currently practices civil law at Kramer, Sopko & Levenstein in Stuart.
Congressional Race
Among Republican candidates, Rooney is the best financed, with $550,000 in contributions through December. The March report is expected to put him above $750,000. About one-fifth of the donations are from Pennsylvania.
“Some people have criticized that,” Rooney said. “But my family is from Pennsylvania. We have long and deep ties there. To not ask them to help me would be a disservice to the campaign, to give myself a fighting chance.”
He estimates Mahoney will raise $4 million, so the campaign will need at least $3 million, if he is the nominee.
The former prosecutor thinks it’s a travesty that the federal government doesn’t deport illegal aliens when they’re arrested for crimes. One of his first acts as a congressman would be sponsor a bill to correct that.
He wouldn’t allow illegal aliens to get a driver’s license, wouldn’t allow them access to health care, but waffles on whether the children of illegals should be allowed to attend schools.
“There you get into the crux of the problem,” Rooney said. Florida schools are overcrowded, but he used to run an orphanage in Palm Beach County, so it goes against his grain to deny education to children.
He won’t blame the problem of 11 million to 20 million illegals in America on Reagan, Bush or Clinton, but he would have the next administration enforce the law, and send illegals currently in this country to the back of the application line.
“I would hate to send people home though, and shut down the economy,” Rooney said.
He acknowledged that George W. Bush’s spending is out of control, but he has pledged not to raise taxes. He would reduce spending to get a grip on the deficit problem.
Some of his West Point students are currently in Iraq, and writing to him about what they face there. His solution there is to draw down forces to a couple of brigades or a division, and let Iraqis and Afghans deal with their own problems.
May 26th, 2008
By the Directors of RedState
Posted 5/6/08
In 2006 with Mark Foley’s unexpected resignation from Florida 16, the historically Republican district elected Democrat Tim Mahoney. It’s time to take back the seat.
To take back Florida 16, the Republicans will need to elect someone who fits the district. It is a conservative district that stretches across the state. It is a very good fit for Tom Rooney, the conservative Republican running.
Tom Rooney is a native to the area. He and his wife both served the military in the Army JAG Corps. In 2002, Tom went to teach law at West Point before heading home to serve as an Assistant Attorney General. Tom Rooney is active in the community, serving on the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach Board of Directors, while maintaining his law practice. He, his wife, and their three sons live in Tequesta, Florida.
More importantly for us at RedState, Tom Rooney is a small government, pro-life conservative. He doesn’t just want to cut taxes, he wants to cut spending. We trust Tom to remain consistently conservative when he gets to Washington, D.C.
Men like Tom Rooney are needed to take back the GOP. While we’ve looked at his opponents, we are convinced that Tom is the best fit for the district and is least likely to go off the conservative reservation.
RedState has also started a new vetting process. To make sure we’ve got a good understanding of a candidate’s positions, I sent Mr. Rooney a questionnaire asking him to outline his positions on various issues — worded to make sure he’d have to give us more than a yes or no. I think you’ll agree when you review them that he is worth supporting. See the questionnaire here.
It’s been some time since we’ve asked you to open your wallet for a candidate. We need candidates like Tom Rooney to make up ground in the Congress. Tom Rooney has the best shot at beating Congressman Mahoney, but he has to get out of his primary. So give what you can today.
And remember, the more we’re willing to put our money where our mouth is, the more we’ll grow in influence. For that reason, it is important for online conservative activists to give.
If you have one, add Tom Rooney to your Slatecard. If you don’t have one, get a Slatecard.
Read RedState post here
May 6th, 2008
