John Kuhl



John R. "Randy" Kuhl, a Republican, represented New York's 29th Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives between 2005-2009. Kuhl was defeated by Eric Massa (D).

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Divorce and DUI
In 1997, while serving as a state senator, Kuhl was arrested and convicted of drunk driving. During Kuhl's 2004 campaign, allegations of spousal abuse emerged when several weblogs published Kuhl's divorce records, which had formerly been sealed. In those records, Kuhl's ex-wife alleges that he abused her emotionally; that he refused to seek counseling for a history of drinking to excess; that he solicited other women for sex; and that he threatened to shoot her with two shotguns during a dinner party. 

Kuhl and his ex-wife together held a press conference shortly after the divorce papers were released. They did not discuss the contents of the papers; rather, they said they were released improperly and illegally obtained by the Barend campaign in what amounted to "political sabotage."

Bio
Kuhl was born April 19, 1943 in Bath, New York. Prior to his election to the United States Congress, Kuhl, a lawyer, was a member of the New York Assembly from 1981-1987 and the New York Senate from 1987-2004.

Congressional career
He defeated Democrat Samara Barend and Republican Mark Assini in 2004 to succeed Amo Houghton, a Republican who retired.

Positions and Views
Kuhl has a 92% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated Eric Massa to face Kuhl in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006)  Kuhl retained his seat.

2008 elections
He was endorsed in his 2008 re-election bid by the MAF Freedom PAC, the political arm of the pro-war group Move America Forward. Kuhl was defeated by Eric Massa (D) in the November 4, 2008 general election.

Money in politics
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Committees

 * House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on Economic Development Public Buildings & Emergency Management
 * Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment


 * House Committee on Agriculture
 * Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture


 * House Committee on Education and Labor
 * Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
 * Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Agriculture
 * Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture
 * House Committee on Education and the Workforce
 * Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness
 * Subcommittee on Education Reform
 * House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on Economic Development Public Buildings & Emergency Management

Contact
DC Office: 1505 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-3161 Fax: 202-226-6599 Web Email Website

District Office - Bath: Post Office Box 153 22 Buell Street Bath, NY 14810 Phone: 607-776-9142 Fax: 607-776-9159

District Office - Fairport: 220 Packett's Landing Fairport, NY 14450 Phone: 585-223-4760 Fax: 585-223-2328

District Office - Olean: Westgate Plaza 700 West State Street Olean, NY 14760 TollFree: 800-562-7431

Twitter
 Randy Kuhl posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RandyKuhl/

Latest posts: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/14266395.rss|title=none| max=3| short See all the members of Congress who Twitter

External resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website

External articles

 * Gur, "O Congress Person, Where Art Thou?", Room Eight, May 9, 2006.
 * Gur, "The Phattest Bubble You've Ever Seen?", Room Eight, May 12, 2006.
 * Web site of Eric Massa, Kuhl's 2006 Democratic challenger.
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * Gur, "What Part Of "You Will Pimp My Pay to $168K" Did You Not Understand?", Room Eight, June 30, 2006.
 * Congressional Wire, "Earth to Congress - Come In!", Room Eight, July 11, 2006.
 * Gur, "Why Bother?", Room Eight, July 12, 2006.
 * Congress Wire, "5s, 2s and 7s Doin' Their Thing In NY", Room Eight, August 23, 2006.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Simply Left Behind
 * Zinnian Democracy and other Mapcap Ideas
 * RochesterTurning
 * The Fighting 29th