Kendrick Meek

Former U.S. Representative (January 2003-2011)

(Congress Bio Database)

Why He Matters

The son of ex-Rep. Carrie Meek (D-Fla.), one of three African-Americans elected to Congress since Reconstruction, Meek rose from the state Senate to Congress after his mother's retirement. He is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a group made up of moderate, pro-business Democrats.

Meek is also a founding member of the 30-Something Working Group, a collection of younger House Democrats. Working with Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.)and Tim Ryan (Ohio), Meek formed the group to address the concerns of younger voters and help Democrats regain their footing among that demographic after a few election cycles when Democrats performed poorly.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Captain, Florida Highway Patrol (1989-1994); Florida House of Representatives (1994-1998); Florida Senate (1998-2002)
Birthday: September 6, 1966
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
Alma Mater: B.S.-Florida A&M University (1989)
Spouse: Leslie
Religion: Baptist

Committee: Ways and Means
DC Office: 1039 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-4506
District Offices: Miami-Dade County, 111 N.W. 183rd Street, Suite 315, Miami Gardens, FL 33169 Phone: 305-690-5905
Email
Web site

Path to Power

Born and raised in Miami's Liberty City neighborhood, Meek grew up in a political household and took an active role in his mother's campaigns for state Assembly and state Senate. Meek attended public schools and served as a page in the Florida legislature. He then attended Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, where he played football and was president of the young Democrat club. After graduation, Meek became a member of the Florida Highway Patrol, eventually rising to captain, the first African-American in Florida to hold that rank.

Battling Jeb Bush

Meek then ran for and served in the state Assembly and state senate. While in the state Senate, he became a leading voice of the opposition during the term of Gov. Jeb Bush (R). In 2000, Meek paired with state Rep. Tony Hill (D) to lead a 25-hour-long sit-in outside Bush's office to protest the governor's plan to eliminate affirmative action in state contracting and in admission to state universities.

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Meek told WhoRunsGov.com that his greatest legislative accomplishment came out of one of his battles against Gov. Bush. As a state senator, Meek saw that his daughter, Lauren, was attending school in an overcrowded classroom. Because he felt that the large class sizes he saw in Florida's public schools were not conducive to learning, Meek led a statewide petition drive calling for a state constitutional amendment to make class sizes smaller, collecting over 500,000 signatures in the process. Bush opposed the amendment, saying it would cost too much to carry out the proposals.

Despite the popular sitting governor's opposition, Meek served as chairman of Florida's Coalition to Reduce Class Size and helped guide the amendment through two challenges in the Florida Supreme Court before voters approved it at the ballot box in November 2002. Since then, Florida has established class-size limits of 18, 22 and 26 students per class for elementary, junior high and high school levels, respectively.

Congressional Campaigns and Career

Meek's path to Congress was a relatively easy one. His mother, former Rep. Carrie Meek, announced her retirement in July 2002, leaving little room before the July 19 filing deadline for a serious challenger to emerge to succeed her. As a result, her son ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and was challenged only by a third-party write-in candidate in the general election in a staunchly Democratic House seat.

Meek's congressional seat is considered a lock for Democrats, as the 17th Congressional District is majority African-American and voted for the Democratic presidential candidate with over 80 percent of the vote in both 2000 and 2004. Since his election to Congress, Meek has faced only third-party write-in candidates in his 2004, 2006 and 2008 campaigns.

2010 Senate Campaign

On January 13, 2009, Meek announced he would run for the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by one-term Sen. Martinez. Other challengers for the Democratic nomination included State Sen. Dan Gelber and North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns. However, following the entry of Gov. Crist, Gelber withdrew from the Senate race on May 31, 2009, writing on his blog that he did not want to foster a divisive primary that would diminish Democrats' chances of taking the seat against a "formidable and well-known Republican nominee."

On Aug. 24, 2010, Meek defeated wealthy real-estate mogul Jeff Greene, despite being outspent five-to-one, 58 to 31 percent.

The Issues

During the 110th and 111th Congresses, Meek voted the same way as his fellow Democrats more than 98 percent of the time.

Meek sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which holds sway over taxation. The panel is one of the most lucrative perches for politicians seeking to raise campaign money, although Meek has said any contributions from donors with business before the committee won't compromise his judgment.

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The Economy

Meek voted for the fall 2007 financial bailout package. Meek said he had reservations about the legislation, but argued that the package was necessary to help Floridians suffering from the housing foreclosure crisis and to prevent foreign creditors from dumping U.S. debt, which would have led to inflation and decreased purchasing power for the American consumer.

Meek has focused his energy on combating the housing foreclosure crisis that hit Florida hard. Meek stood with President Obama and other congressional leaders on May 20, 2009, as Obama signed into law language sponsored by Meek that allows the Department of Justice to pursue and prosecute predatory mortgage lenders.

U.S.-Cuba Policy

Despite attending the April 2009 Summit of the Americas with President Obama, Meek has made statements opposing the president's policies regarding relations with Cuba. After Obama announced he would allow Cuban Americans to send cash to needy relatives on the island and lift the limits on remittances implemented by former President George W. Bush, Meek said he thought that such a policy could be "counterproductive to our mission in Cuba to turn it toward democracy the way we'd like to see it."

In keeping with other Florida politicians, both Democrat and Republican, Meek has also called for the Cuban government to end human-rights abuses and has supported the embargo against Cuba and its suspension from the Organization of American States until the Cuban government makes significant reforms, including releasing political dissidents from prison.

Meek has also been a strong advocate for the Haitian community, saying that it is unfair for the United States not to grant temporary protected status to Haitian exiles, which would allow them to work in the United States and send money back home to their families.

Immigration

Meek has also been vocal about reforming U.S. immigration law and has previously supported a bill by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) to give illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship. Meek has repeatedly criticized inaction on the part of the U.S. government to reform its policies towards Haiti on both immigration and in providing assistance to the nation after natural disasters and political upheavals.

"We have an immigration system in this country that not only doesn't work, in many cases it doesn't even make any sense," Meek said. "South Floridians know this better than anyone. You only have to look at the 'wet foot-dry foot' policy toward Cubans or the fact that, of 1,850 Haitians interdicted at sea by the United States in 2005, only one was granted asylum and he was sent to Guantanamo."

The Network

Meek's mentor is the House Democratic Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), with whom Meek has focused on increasing diversity within senior ranks of the U.S. military. Meek has also worked with House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), on trade issues, especially those relating to the Western Hemisphere, such as helping Haiti establish a stronger economic footing in the region.

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Meek endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.). He is also close to former President Bill Clinton, who endorsed Meek during the Senate campaign.

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