Rep. Alcee Hastings (D) Elected 1992, 7th term
Born:	Sept. 5, 1936, Altamonte Springs
Home:	Miramar
Education:	Fisk U., B.A. 1958, Howard U., 1958-60, FL A&M, J.D. 1963
Religion:	Methodist
Marital Status:	single
Elected  Office:	Broward Cnty. Circuit Court Judge, 1977-79.
Professional Career:	Practicing atty., 1964-77; Federal Judge, U.S. District Court, 1979-89.
DC Office	2353 RHOB20515, 202-225-1313; Fax: 202-225-1171; Web site: www.alceehastings.house.gov
State Offices	Ft. Lauderdale, 954-733-2800; West Palm Beach, 561-684-0565.
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In the morning shadow of the high-rise condominiums that line the Atlantic Ocean, behind the quiet waters that separate the barrier islands from the mainland, usually a few blocks off of old U.S. 1 and behind the railroad lines, are the black neighborhoods of South Florida's Gold Coast. They are gatherings of older stucco homes and commercial storefronts, ranging from enclaves of upper-middle-class residents to rundown slums. These neighborhoods, populated by the working poor and with relatively few seniors, are overlooked by most tourists.

The 23d Congressional District of Florida gathers together many of South Florida's black neighborhoods in a geographically contrived, but demographically coherent, constituency. Geographically most of the district is in the Everglades, east and south of Lake Okeechobee. This is a land of swamps and drainage canals, with some farms and citrus groves--and very few people, some in migrant worker camps, some on the Miccosukee Indian Reservation, some in places like Southwest Ranches, where residents have blocked new roads and street lights. Almost all of the people in the district live within four narrow tentacles that extend east from the Everglades and get close to but never reach the Atlantic Ocean. The northernmost reaches into St. Lucie County and takes in black neighborhoods in Fort Pierce. In northern Palm Beach County a tentacle reaches past high-income Wellington into West Palm Beach and then continues south along the railroad tracks and U.S. 1 to Delray Beach, which has a big Haitian community. The most heavily populated tentacle reaches east into Broward County to take in heavily black areas in Lauderhill, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach; Haitian groups here lobbied for a ballot in Creole. Farther south in Broward County there is a much smaller tentacle that reaches into parts of fast-growing Miramar and Pembroke Pines, including Century Village, the retirement development known for its politically powerful, liberal associations led by "condo commandos." (The Del Boca Vista subdivision in Seinfeld tweaked such places for their neighborhood busybodies and early-bird dinner deals). Overall, the population is 51% black and 14% Hispanic. This is a heavily Democratic district.

The congressman from the 23d District is Alcee Hastings, a Democrat first elected in 1992, the only member of Congress ever to have been impeached and removed from office as a federal judge. Hastings is charming but hard-edged, the only child of a hotel maid from Orlando, who later worked as a domestic for wealthy families across the nation. He practiced law, finished fourth in the five-candidate Democratic primary when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 1970, and was confirmed as a federal judge in 1979. Hastings was charged with conspiring with a friend to take a $150,000 bribe and give two convicted swindlers light sentences. A Miami jury acquitted Hastings in 1983, but the friend was convicted. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals called for impeachment in 1987 and referred the case to Congress. Hastings was impeached by the House by a vote of 413-3 and convicted by the Senate, 69-26. In the House, John Conyers, senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, made the case for impeachment; a panel of 12 senators heard the case, and Hastings was removed in 1989. Footnote: In 1997, after the Department of Justice in investigating the FBI crime lab found that an agent falsely testified against Hastings, he and Conyers moved to reopen the case. Nothing came of that, raising a question: Can a removed federal judge be restored to office?

After his removal Hastings was unapologetic. In 1990 he ran an abortive campaign for governor, then lost the primary for secretary of state. When the 23d District was created, he entered that race and led in the primary 28%-27%. In the October runoff he faced Palm Beach County legislator Lois Frankel, who blasted Hastings for his record; he responded, "The bitch is a racist." Hastings was helped by a ruling by federal Judge Stanley Sporkin that his removal from office was invalid since the full Senate did not hear the charges; the Supreme Court later ruled to the contrary in a case involving another federal judge, but by that time Hastings was in Congress. He won the runoff 58%-42%, with voting closely following racial lines. He won the general election 59%-31%.

In the House, he treated colleagues pleasantly and respectfully. His voting record has been the most liberal in the Florida delegation. He focused on international issues, and strongly supported the U.S. intervention in Kosovo but opposed the use of force in Iraq. Naturally, Hastings's opinion was sought when the subject of impeachment arose, and it was exuberantly given. He saw Bill Clinton's impeachment as being driven by prosecutors, like the judges in his own case, abusing their powers: "In my case, they nullified a jury. In this case, they are nullifying an election." He moved to impeach Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr; his motion was voted down 340-71. He serves on the House Rules Committee. In 2004, with the support of Speaker Dennis Hastert, he was elected president of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in the pan-European Parliamentary Assembly.

After the 2002 election, he said that he would run for the Senate if Bob Graham did not seek reelection, 34 years after his first Senate race. But later Hastings said that he changed his mind because of his important assignments in the House. He has been reelected easily, in part because of his responsiveness to local concerns: his congressional website offers Creole and Spanish versions.

Committees

• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (2d of 9 D): Oversight; Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis & Counterintelligence.
• Rules (3d of 4 D): Legislative & Budget Process (RMM).

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	55	88	100	36	33	12	21	0	3	7	--
2003	100	--	100	90	--	24	19	21	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	92%	--	0%		92%	--	8%
Social	92%	--	0%		88%	--	0%
Foreign	70%	--	27%		74%	--	26%
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR N 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts N 3. Medicare/Rx Bill N 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. Y 5. DC School Vouchers N 6. Ban Human Cloning N		7. Restrict Gun Liability N  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion N  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage * 10. Fund Iraq War N 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds N 12. Intelligence Reorg. N

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Alcee Hastings (D)	unopposed
2004 primary	Alcee Hastings (D)	49,284	74%
	Keith Clayborne (D)	17,106	26%
2002 general	Alcee Hastings (D)	96,347	77%	$325,685
	Charles Laurie (R)	27,986	23%	$13,501
Prior winning percentages: 2000 (76%); 1998 (100%); 1996 (73%); 1994 (100%); 1992 (59%)

2004 Presidential Vote Kerry (D) 155,915 (76%) Bush (R) 50,138 (24%)

2000 Presidential Vote Gore (D) 130,518 (80%) Bush (R) 33,034 (20%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Twenty-Third District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: D +29
• District Size: 3,703 square miles
• Population in 2000: 639,295; 97.9% urban; 2.1% rural
• Median Household Income: $31,309; 21.9% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 25.8% blue collar; 48.0% white collar; 26.2% gray collar; 9.1% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 29.4% White, 51.2% Black, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% Amer. Indian, 0.1% Hawaiian, 3.9% Two+ races, 0.4% Other, 13.7% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 16.2% West Indian, 5.0% USA, 4.1% German
• Click here for statewide demographic data.