Eric Massa

Eric James Joseph Massa[1] (born September 16, 1959) is a former American politician who served as a U.S. Representative for the 29th Congressional District of New York. A Democrat, he served in Congress from January 2009 until his resignation in March 2010.[2][3] Massa resigned during a pending House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Massa identified his declining health and the ongoing ethics investigation as the reasons for his resignation;[4] however, he later said that there was a conspiracy "to oust him because he had voted against overhauling health care."[5][6]

Eric Massa
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 29th district
In office
January 3, 2009 – March 8, 2010
Preceded byRandy Kuhl
Succeeded byTom Reed
Personal details
Born
Eric James Joseph Massa

(1959-09-16) September 16, 1959
Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Beverly Massa
EducationUnited States Naval Academy (BS)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1981–2004
Rank Lieutenant Commander

It was reported in 2017 that Congress had paid nearly $100,000 to settle the harassment claims made by two male staffers against Massa.[7]

Early life and career

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, the son of a career naval officer, Massa grew up in various locations, including Argentina and New Orleans. Massa graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1981 and went on to serve in the Navy for 24 years. He qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer on the USS New Jersey (BB-62), and eventually served as aide to former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, General Wesley Clark. Near the end of his Navy career he was diagnosed with lymphoma, from which he later recovered.

Upon retirement from the military, Massa moved to Corning, New York, to work for the Corning Glass Company as a project manager for the Corning Photonics division.[8] A former Republican, he left his party over the issue of the Iraq War, among other issues, and campaigned in New Hampshire during the unsuccessful 2004 presidential bid of his former boss, Wesley Clark.

Massa is also active in Band of Brothers/Veterans for a Secure America whose goal is to help veterans who are running for Congress as Democrats. He also supported a system for universal health care.

Massa lives in Corning, New York, with his wife Beverly, daughter Alexandra, and son Justin. His eldest son Richard lives in California.

Political career

2006 election

In 2006, Massa chose to run in the 29th District on the strength of his military background, which it was hoped would appeal to veterans and to independents who favor a strong defense policy. During the campaign, Massa positioned himself as strongly opposed to the Iraq war and unrestricted free trade, favoring instead fair trade. Other issues in his platform included expanding farm aid programs, as well as bringing homeland security money to the 29th District.

On Election night, incumbent Congressman Randy Kuhl had garnered 52% of the vote, Massa 48% of the vote. Massa chose to request a recount and an accounting of absentee ballots due the fact that 6000 votes separated the two and 10K were left to be counted. After a week of waiting, the ballots were approximately even and Congressman Kuhl was re-elected. Massa conceded the election with a telephone call to Congressman Kuhl.[9]

2008 election

Almost immediately after conceding defeat in 2006, Massa prepared for a rematch against Kuhl in 2008. The race remained tight through the campaign; however, Massa emerged victorious, defeating Kuhl 51% to 49% (a margin of approximately 4000 votes), although Kuhl did not immediately concede defeat. All voting machines were impounded at Kuhl's request (pending a re-count), with 12,000 absentee ballots to be counted.[10] The recount yielded a margin of victory of 5,000 votes for Massa, and Kuhl conceded November 20.

Some press reports attribute Massa's victory to the plurality he attained among voters in Cattaraugus County, which voted for Kuhl in 2004 and 2006, in the latter by approximately 4,000 votes over Massa.[10] Others point to the 57%-43% margin of votes Massa garnered in the portion of the 29th district located in Monroe County, essentially southern suburbs of Rochester, traditionally the most Democratic portion of the district (which had also voted for Massa in 2006 and voted for Samara Barend in 2004).

111th Congress

Massa was openly seeking a position on the House Transportation Committee (Kuhl had also held a seat on the same committee), to advocate for the expansion of U.S. Route 219 in New York from Springville to Salamanca. However, he failed to retain that committee assignment.

Because he is a military veteran, he was given a seat on the House Armed Services Committee, though he did not seek it. He also inherited Kuhl's seat on the Agriculture Committee, and earned a seat the House Homeland Security Committee.[11] Massa was also a member of the Populist Caucus, formed in February 2009.

Massa voted in favor of, and generally supported, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but has said he finds faults with the legislation.[12] After the act failed to generate the expected stimulus to the Southern Tier economy, Massa claimed that virtually all of the stimulus funds were funneled to the state governments and diverted to interests in New York City.[13]

In April 2009, Massa was noted for his suggestion to close the United States-Mexico border as a response to the 2009 swine flu pandemic, which originated in Mexico.[14] He also was a leading critic of Time Warner Cable's abortive plan to charge a tiered service rate for its high-speed Internet service.[15]

Though he generally supported a health care reform plan, he opposed, and voted against, the plans put forth by the Obama administration, due to the cost, and preferred a single-payer health care system instead.[16]

During the 2009 Netroots Nation convention held in Pittsburgh, PA, Massa told a group of activists that he "will vote adamantly against the interests of my district if I actually think what I am doing is going to be helpful" in regard to a single-payer health care system.[17] Moments later Massa clarified that he meant he would vote against the "opinions" of his constituents if he thought it was the right thing to do. He also controversially exclaimed that Sen. Chuck Grassley's comments describing end-of-life care as "killing Grandma" constitute "an act of treason."[18]

Committee assignments
  • Committee on Agriculture
    • Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research
    • Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture
  • Committee on Armed Services
    • Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
    • Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces
  • Committee on Homeland Security
    • Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism
    • Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection

Sexual harassment allegations and resignation from Congress

On October 10, 2009, Massa announced his plans for re-election, saying, "I don't want to play games with people about speculation, I want to be very direct and candid."[19]

On a press conference call on March 3, 2010, Massa announced that his cancer had returned and that he would not seek re-election.[20] In his statement, Massa addressed allegations of sexual harassment, but claimed he would stay on for the remainder of his term.[21]

The next day, March 4, 2010, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer confirmed that the House Ethics Committee was investigating allegations against Massa of sexual misconduct as the result of a complaint that a senior member of Massa's staff had filed with the committee on February 8, 2010. The investigation was said to involve alleged sexual advances and harassment toward a younger male member of Massa's staff.[20][22][23][24]

At a press conference, Massa described his behavior and his language as "salty," claiming that he had apologized to the parties in question, did not know of the specific allegations, and did not make the decision to retire based upon such allegations.[25]

Massa announced on March 5, 2010, that he would resign his seat in Congress effective 5:00 p.m. on March 8, 2010. In a published statement on his website, Massa identified his declining health and the ongoing ethics investigation as the reasons for his departure. He apologized in response to the sexual harassment complaint, saying that "There is no doubt in my mind that I did in fact, use language in the privacy of my own home and in my inner office that, after 24 years in the navy, might make a Chief Petty Officer feel uncomfortable. In fact, there is no doubt that this ethics issue is my fault and mine alone."[4]

On March 7, 2010, in his weekly radio address on WKPQ, Massa accused White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel of orchestrating the ethics investigation in an effort to intimidate other first-term Democrats who oppose the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[26] Massa claimed that there was a conspiracy "to oust him because he had voted against overhauling health care."[5][6] Massa placed specific blame for his resignation on Emanuel, stating that Emanuel "is the son of the devil's spawn... He is an individual who would sell his mother to get a vote. He would strap his children to the front end of a steam locomotive."[5] Massa also commented on the following alleged confrontation with Emanuel in the congressional gym locker room: "I am sitting there showering, naked as a jaybird, and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me because I wasn't going to vote for the president's budget... He goes there to intimidate members of Congress... He's hated me since day one, and now he wins. He'll get rid of me, and this bill will pass."[27][28][29] A Democratic spokesperson denied the existence of the alleged conspiracy.[6]

On March 10, 2010, The Washington Post reported that Massa was under investigation for allegations that he had groped multiple male staffers working in his office.[30] The Washington Post article reported:

The freshman Democrat told Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck that "not only did I grope [a staffer], I tickled him until he couldn't breathe," then said hours later on CNN's "Larry King Live" that "it is not true" that he groped anyone on his staff. He told Beck that he resigned from the House because he made the mistake of "getting too familiar with my staff" members, but he told King that he left primarily for health reasons. Massa, 50, has survived non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but he said he is afraid that he is facing his "third major cancer-recurrence scare."

Massa claims that he contemplated vehicular suicide at least twice on his way back to his home in Corning, New York, following his resignation.[31] Later campaign finance filings revealed that his campaign funds were being used to fund his wife's salary well after his resignation, as well as to pay legal fees stemming from disputes with his staffers.[32] The payments to his wife continued until the end of 2012.[33]

Electoral history
US House election, 2006: New York District 29
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Randy Kuhl 99,926 51.5 +51.5
Democratic Eric Massa 93,974 48.5 +48.5
Majority 5,952 3.0 +3.0
Turnout 193,900 100
US House election, 2008: New York District 29
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Eric Massa 131,646 50.9 +2.4
Republican Randy Kuhl 127,232 49.1 -2.4
Majority 4,414 1.8 -1.2
Turnout 258,878 100 +64,978
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See also

References
  1. Haygood, Will; Leonnig, Carol D.; Pershing, Ben (March 16, 2010). "Eric Massa: Who is the man behind the hard stare?". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  2. "House Results - NY 29". CNN. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  3.   (October 29, 2009). "Massa ready to hit the ground running in Washington". news10now.com. Retrieved March 20, 2010.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  4. "Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Current Vacancies". Massa.house.gov. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  5. "Pelosi Says Democrats Didn't Push Massa to Resign (Update1)". Bloomberg. March 10, 2010.
  6. Condon, Stephanie (March 8, 2010). "Eric Massa Details Alleged Harassment, Blames Health Care Debate for Resignation". CBS News.
  7. Chris Sommerfeldt (November 30, 2017). "Congress reportedly paid nearly $100,000 to settle sexual harassment claims against disgraced N.Y. congressman". NY Daily News. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  8. "In his own words". April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on April 25, 2006.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  9. http://www.stargazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061115/NEWS01/61115029 Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Local Republicans may have had big hand in Massa success. Olean Times Herald. November 6, 2008.
  11. Miller, Rick. Massa steps into Indian tax fray. Olean Times Herald. December 18, 2008.
  12. Clark, Bob. Massa hosts town hall meet, ag summit Archived August 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. The Evening Tribune. February 14, 2009.
  13. Michel, Christopher. Massa: 'We didn't get our fair share'. Olean Times Herald. February 16, 2010.
  14. Hutchinson, Laura. Massa Asks Committee to Close Mexican Border Archived August 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. WENY-TV.
  15. Stiehl, Renata. Time Warner Cable to Shelve Consumption Billing Archived June 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. WENY-TV. April 16, 2009.
  16. Archived August 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  17. Picket, Kerry (August 16, 2009). "Rep. Massa: I will vote against the interests of my district - Water Cooler". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  18. "Chuck Grassley: August 2009 | TPMDC". Tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  19. "Massa announces bid for re-election". Corning Leader. October 11, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  20. "Massa Has Cancer, Won't Run for Re-Election". Rollcall.com. March 3, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  21. "Massa Won't Seek Re-Election, Cites Health Reasons". 13wham.com. March 3, 2010. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  22. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. Trygstad, Kyle (March 4, 2010). "Politics Nation - Hoyer Confirms Massa Ethics Charge". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  24. "Hoyer knew of Massa allegations - John Bresnahan and Josh Kraushaar". Politico.Com. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  25. "Disgraced ex-Rep. Eric Massa's long trail of bizarre behavior includes home shared with staffers". Nydailynews.com. New York. March 11, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  26. "inthrutheoutdoor.com". inthrutheoutdoor.com. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  27. Price, Rob (March 7, 2010). Points finger at Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel Archived November 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. WKPQ. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  28. Carroll, Sean. Blog: Rep. Massa speaks Archived March 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  29. Plants, Ron (March 7, 2010). Massa Leaves Office Today, Rips Dems On Radio. WGRZ. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  30. Leonnig, Carol D. (March 10, 2010). "Massa investigated for allegedly groping staffers". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  31. D'Agostino, Ryan (May 24, 2010). Eric Massa's Secret. Esquire. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  32. Leventhal, Dave. Massa quits paying wife from campaign account. Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Randy Kuhl		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 29th congressional district
2009–2010		 Succeeded by
Tom Reed
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