RIC KELLER

'Richard "Ric" Keller' (born September 5 1964) is an American politician, and has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing (map).

Contents

Personal information

Congressional campaigns

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

Political positions and actions

Food company responsibility for obesity

Iraq War

References

External links

Personal information

Keller was born in Johnson City, Tennessee. He received a bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University in 1986, and a law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1992. He was a lawyer before entering the House.
In March 2003, Keller and his wife of 10 years, Cathleen divorced. Keller agreed to pay $4,500 per month in child support and alimony; he and his wife split the custody of their two children.^[1] He has since remarried; he and his wife Dee Dee live in Orlando.^[2]
On October 18, 2005, Keller was hospitalized in Orlando, Florida, after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia. He was driving his car and blacked out and hit another car in a parking lot. He was told by his doctor not to drive for 6 months.

Congressional campaigns

2000

In Keller's first run for Congress, he finished second in the Republican primary with 31% of the vote, against fellow Republican Bill Sublette, who had 43%. Bob Hering finished a close third, and endorsed Keller after the primary.^[3] Keller defeated Sublette in the runoff election with 52% of that vote.
During the primary campaign, Keller publicly signed a terms limits pledge while Sublette refused to do so.^[4]Keller made his signing a major part of his campaign.
In the 2000 general election, Keller won with 51% of the vote against Democrat Linda Chapin, who had signed the same term limit pledge.

2002

After the 2001 Congressional re-apportionment, Florida's 8th District was redistricted from a near equal representation (Democrat-Republican) to one that included seven percent more Republicans than Democrats.
Keller readily won the 2002 Congressional election against Democrat Eddie Diaz, winning with 65% of the vote.

2004

In 2004 Keller won his third term with 60% of the vote against Democrat challenger Stephen Murray.

2006

Main articles: Florida U.S. House election, 2006

In 2006, Keller won the Republican primary with 72% of the vote, defeating businesswoman Elizabeth Doran. In the general election, Keller defeated Democrat Charlie Stuart, 53% to 46%.
In October, during a debate with Stuart, Keller was asked whether or not, if elected, he would seek a fifth term in 2008. "When I make that decision, I’ll let you know", Keller responded.

2008

Two weeks after winning in November 2006, Keller announced he would be running for reelection in 2008, breaking his signed pledge to serve no more than eight years in the U.S. House. Keller said "I don’t like making mistakes, but I admit that was a big one. As a rookie candidate, I underestimated the value of experience and seniority."
In late 2006, Todd Long, an Orlando personal injury attorney and radio talkshow host, announced he would challenge Keller in the Republican primary. Long said he would make an issue of the broken promise.^[5]Bob Hering, and Iraq war veteran and businessman, who finished third in the Republican primary and then endorsed Keller, is also a declared candidate in the Republican primary.
As of June 2007, the 8th Congressional District was one of five in Florida that Democrats hoped to win from the Republicans in 2008. Mike Smith, a former prosecutor and current trial lawyer, is running for Keller's seat.^[6] Charile Stuart, who lost to Keller by six percentage points in 2006, is also looking to run again.

Political positions and actions

Food company responsibility for obesity

In 2003, Keller was sponsor of H.R. 339, the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act. The bill would have shielded manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of food and beverages from lawsuits blaming them for "weight gain, obesity, or a health condition related to weight gain or obesity." Keller, who said he was about 20 pounds over his ideal weight, said that he thought consumers should stop blaming "fast food" sellers and "junk food" manufacturers for their weight issues.^[7] Keller did not vote on the bill; he was in the hospital after experiencing a cardiac arrhythmia the day before.^[8]

Iraq War

In June 2006, Keller voted to affirm that the war in Iraq was part of the Global War on Terror, and against any exit date for the war.
In February 2007, Keller announced during a speech that he was in favor of the Democratic proposal at the time for withdrawing from Iraq. He stated "Let me give you an analogy. Imagine your next door neighbor refuses to mow his lawn and the weeds are all the way up to his waist. You decide you’re going to mow his lawn for him every single week. The neighbor never says thank you. He hates you and sometimes he takes out a gun and shoots at you. Under these circumstances, do you keep mowing his lawn forever? Do you send even more of your family members over to mow his lawn? Or do you say to that neighbor, ‘You better step it up and mow your own lawn or there’s going to be serious consequences for you’?"^[9]

References

1. Jeffrey C. Billman and Jonathan Cunningham, "Ric Keller's Greatest Hits: Votes and quotes from Orlando's favorite congressman", ''Orlando Weekly'', November 2, 2006
2. House biography of Keller, accessed June 23, 2007
3. Josh Kraushaar, "Florida Rep. beset by challengers", ''Politico'', August 1, 2007
4. "Self-Limiter Ric Keller Wins FL-8 GOP Run-Off", Press release, U.S. Term Limits (organization), October 3, 2000
5. Rachel Kapochunas, "Keller’s Early ‘08 Opponent Focusing on Broken Term Limit Pledge", ''New York Times'', December 5, 2006
6. Brendan Farrington, "Florida will be a congressional battleground again in 2008", ''Herald Tribune'', June 23, 2007
7. "Keller, Kraft Weigh in on Obesity",Conrad F. Meier, ''Health Care News'', August 1, 2003.
8.
In 2005, Keller reintroduced the bill as H.R. 554, the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act of 2005. The bill passed the House but was never voted on by the Senate.H.R. 554, 109th Congress, GovTrack.us, accessed June 23, 2007
9. "Congressman Ric Keller’s Speech on Iraq Resolution", February 14, 2007

External links

★ U.S. Congressman Ric Keller 'official House site'

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★ Federal Election Commission — Richard A Keller campaign finance reports and data

★ On the Issues — Ric Keller issue positions and quotes

★ OpenSecrets.org — Ric Keller campaign contributions

★ Project Vote Smart — Representative Ric Keller (FL) profile

★ SourceWatch Congresspedia — Ric Keller profile

★ Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Ric Keller voting record

★ Ric Keller for Congress — Official campaign site