Bob Brady

Robert A. Brady (born April 7, 1945) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for PA's 1st congressional district from 1998 to 2019.

He was elected a division committeeman for the Democratic Party in 1968.

In 1974, his mentor and ward leader George X. Schwartz got him a job as a sergeant-at-arms in Philadelphia City Council.

When Schwartz stepped down as ward leader in 1982 and eventually went to jail in the wake of the Abscam scandal, Brady was elected to succeed him as Democratic Leader of west Philadelphia's 34th Ward, a position that he still holds today.

In 1983 Brady ran for an at-large seat on Philadelphia City Council.

He was endorsed by Frank Rizzo and lost in the primary election.

After Wilson Goode won the 1983 Philadelphia mayoral election, Brady joined Goode's staff as liaison with organized labor.

In 1986 he worked as an economic consultant on City Council's Economic Development Committee.

Since June 1986, Brady has been the Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party.

Brady has been a professor at the University of Pennsylvania where he instructs graduate students in management and political science.

In April 1991 he was appointed to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission by Governor Bob Casey Sr., a position he held until his election to United States Congress in 1998.

After a 1992 redistricting, the First District was becoming a majority Black district.

Foglietta had defeated Black candidates in Democratic primaries in 1994 and 1996 and political observers assumed that his successor would be Black.

In November 1997, 17-year U.S. Congressman Tom Foglietta resigned from his seat in the House of Representatives after being named U.S. Ambassador to Italy by Bill Clinton.

In February 1998, Brady announced he would be running in the special election for Foglietta's vacated seat, despite not living within the district.

When asked his position on NAFTA, Brady said "I don't know what that was about."

When asked his position on abortion Brady said he had no position.

On May 11, Brady left a debate between the congressional candidates early to attend a ward meeting.

The special election and primary election were held on May 19, 1998, with Brady running in both elections.

He faced three opponents in the special election and three in the primary election.

Brady won the special election with 74% of the vote and the primary election with 59% of the vote.

His closest challenger in the Democratic primary was State Representative Andrew Carn, who received 21% of the vote.

Brady was sworn in by Newt Gingrich on May 21, 1998.

In his first general election in November 1998 he defeated Republican William M. Harrison, winning 81% of the vote.

In his victory speech he defended President Bill Clinton, saying "We have business to take care of in Washington and it's not this business of embarrassing our President."

Brady represented a heavily Democratic district and easily won each of his ten full terms, receiving at least 81% of the vote in each race and twice running unopposed.

In 1999 he married Debra Savarese, a former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader.

He voted against free trade deals and against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.

As a member of the United States House Committee on Armed Services, Brady was one of a select few permitted to view photos of the corpse of Osama bin Laden.

"Oh he's dead," said Brady, "It's quite graphic. His brain and everything are coming out."

Republican Deborah Williams ran against Brady twice, in 2004 and 2016.

In his 20 years in congress, Brady was the primary sponsor of 14 pieces of legislation that were enacted into law and co-sponsored 200 bills that became law.

Legislation that he co-sponsored mostly covered the areas of government operation, crime and law enforcement and transportation and public works.

He was the ranking Democrat and Chairman of the United States House Committee on House Administration from 2007 to 2019.

He has served as Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party for more than 35 years and is a registered lobbyist for NBC Universal and Independence Blue Cross.

Brady was born in Philadelphia, the son of Enez (née Caterini) and Robert G. Brady, a police officer.

His father was of Irish descent, and his maternal grandparents were immigrants from Italy.

His mother Enez was also a Democratic committee member.

He graduated from St. Thomas More High School and Martin Technical School but did not attend college, instead going to work as a carpenter and member of Carpenters Local 8.

He became a part of the leadership of the union and remains a member of several unions.