Rep. Eliot Engel (D) Elected 1988, 9th term
Born:	Feb. 18, 1947, Bronx
Home:	Bronx
Education:	Hunter-Lehman Col., B.A. 1969, C.U.N.Y., Lehman Col., M.A. 1973, NY Law Schl., J.D. 1987
Religion:	Jewish
Marital Status:	married (Patricia)
Elected  Office:	NY Assembly, 1977-88.
Professional Career:	Teacher, guidance counselor, NYC public schl., 1969-77.
DC Office	2161 RHOB20515, 202-225-2464; Fax: 202-225-5513; Web site: www.house.gov/engel
State Offices	Bronx, 718-796-9700; Mt. Vernon, 914-699-4100; West Nyack, 845-735-1000.
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The Bronx, settled mostly in the early 20th century, was originally a collection of middle-class neighborhoods clustered around subway stops, places where the children of immigrants left behind Manhattan's gloomy tenements and walkups and basked in the sunlight, wide avenues and hilly vistas. Different ethnic groups collected here and there: Irish in Kingsbridge, in the valley between Riverdale and the Grand Concourse; well-to-do WASPs and Jews in Riverdale, on the palisades above the Hudson River; middle-class blacks in Williamsbridge in the north central part of the borough. When neighboring areas in the South Bronx began to deteriorate, many of these residents fled, most often to Westchester County or the Sun Belt. Some moved to the southern cities of Westchester County on the Bronx border, some of which have taken on a central city character: Yonkers has been plagued by financial troubles and a landmark housing discrimination case; Mount Vernon has a black majority and economic problems that contrast sharply with much of Westchester. Others drove over the Tappan Zee Bridge to the pleasant suburbs of Rockland County, just north of Bergen County, New Jersey.

The 17th Congressional District of New York includes the bulk of these Bronx neighborhoods, plus Baychester, Eastchester and Spuyten Duyvil, and the century-old Van Cortlandt Park--at 1,146 acres, New York City's third-largest. It also includes leafy Woodlawn, still a magnet for Irish immigrants and more like neighboring Westchester County than the Bronx. But the district skips around Marble Hill, an African-American and Latino enclave on the Bronx mainland that, eccentrically, was kept as part of Manhattan after engineers diverted the Harlem River around it in 1895, hoping to improve shipping flow. In addition to the Bronx, the 17th reaches deep into the suburbs. It takes in Mount Vernon and Yonkers--which is Dutch for "young squire," in honor of its founder in the mid-1600s--and a narrow strip of land running north from Yonkers along the Hudson River. Across the Tappan Zee, the district includes the southern half of Rockland County, including Nyack, Orangetown, Suffern, Ramapo and part of Clarkstown. Rockland casts 40% of the vote, the Bronx casts 37% and Westchester 23%. Redistricting reduced the district's black percentage from 44% to 30% and its Hispanic percentage from 36% to 20%, and made the district less heavily Democratic.

The congressman from the 17th District is Eliot Engel, a son of the Bronx who now lives in Riverdale, a political junkie who memorized the names of all 100 senators when he was a boy, who was first elected to the House in 1988. He was a New York City teacher and guidance counselor who replaced incumbents struck by scandal. He was elected to the New York Assembly in a 1977 special election, at 30, to replace a convicted incumbent, and to the House in 1988 to replace Democrat Mario Biaggi after he was convicted in two tawdry bribery cases.

Engel's once strongly liberal voting record has become more moderate, especially on foreign policy. On the International Relations Committee, he made his name as the backer of one ethnic cause after another; members of just about any ethnic group can be found in the Bronx. He has been a prime sponsor of the resolution to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and criticized proposals to dismantle West Bank settlements. He keeps an eye on Albanian rights in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. He called for investigation of the internment of Italian nationals and other harsh restrictions during World War II and sponsored a bill to create a clearinghouse at the Federal Communications Commission to empower Italian-Americans to monitor bias in entertainment. Engel is not a 1970s-style dove: He supported the Gulf War resolution, the bombing of Serbia to get a settlement in Bosnia, and the use of force in Iraq, though he criticized George W. Bush's handling of that conflict following the ouster of Saddam Hussein. In collaboration of Tom DeLay, Engel passed in 2003 a bill holding Syria accountable for the security problems it has created in the Middle East, including the spread of terrorism, and allowing the United States to impose economic sanctions.

On the Energy and Commerce Committee, he worked with New Yorkers and Californians to permit refiners to produce reformulated gasoline rather than more expensive ethanol. An Engel tradition: Since 1989 he has staked out an aisle seat hours before each State of the Union speech, so that he can shake the president's hand or give an occasional hug. At home, Engel is a relentless constituency service congressman.

When his district was mostly in the Bronx and almost 80% black and Hispanic, he faced constant primary challenges. In the 2000 primary, Assemblyman Larry Seabrook, with support from Bronx Democratic Chairman Roberto Ramirez, argued that the district needed "real leadership" and attacked Engel for living in suburban Maryland. Seabrook had a meeting with Congressional Black Caucus members, which brought angry comments from other Jewish members who argued that all Democrats should support their incumbent colleagues. When Seabrook produced a campaign button that said, "Vote First African-American Congressman," Engel objected to the use of race in the campaign. Engel won 50%-41%. Now that redistricting made his district more suburban, Engel is unlikely to be threatened by a black or Hispanic primary challenger. Instead, he had vigorous competition in the 2002 general election from Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef, who criticized Engel's record of voting against tax cuts and defense spending. Vanderhoef carried Rockland County by 53%-45%. But Engel won 66%-31% in Westchester and 83%-13% in the Bronx, for an overall victory margin of 63%-34%--far from marginal. In 2004, New York City firefighter Kevin McAdams challenged Engel in the primary for his support of the war in Iraq and for not spending more time in his district. Engel demanded that McAdams denounce the firefighters association for endorsing Bush. He won more easily than expected: 59%-20%. This incumbent who looked like an endangered species for much of the last decade now looks stronger than ever.

Committees

• Energy & Commerce (12th of 26 D): Energy & Air Quality; Telecommunications & the Internet.
• International Relations (10th of 23 D): Europe & Emerging Threats; Middle East & Central Asia.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	90	75	100	100	50	12	35	4	0	15	--
2003	95	--	100	100	--	19	30	16	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	92%	--	0%		80%	--	20%
Social	84%	--	13%		77%	--	22%
Foreign	61%	--	37%		64%	--	35%
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 N 10. Fund Iraq War Y 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds N 12. Intelligence Reorg. N

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Eliot Engel (D-WF)	140,530	76%	$961,863
	Matt Brennan (R)	40,524	22%
	Other	3,482	2%
2004 primary	Eliot Engel (D)	18,854	59%
	Kevin McAdams (D)	6,416	20%
	Other	3,543	11%
	Jessica Flagg (D)	3,225	10%
2002 general	Eliot Engel (D-L-WF)	77,535	63%	$1,009,681
	C. Scott Vanderhoef (R-C-Ind)	42,634	34%	$196,664
	Other	3,674	3%
Prior winning percentages: 2000 (90%); 1998 (88%); 1996 (85%); 1994 (78%); 1992 (80%); 1990 (61%); 1988 (56%)

2004 Presidential Vote Kerry (D) 149,727 (67%) Bush (R) 73,896 (33%)

2000 Presidential Vote Gore (D) 141,525 (69%) Bush (R) 54,362 (27%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Seventeenth 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 +21
• District Size: 146 square miles
• Population in 2000: 654,360; 99.9% urban; 0.1% rural
• Median Household Income: $44,868; 16.0% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 16.0% blue collar; 64.9% white collar; 19.1% gray collar; 7.7% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 41.3% White, 30.4% Black, 4.5% Asian, 0.2% Amer. Indian, 0.0% Hawaiian, 2.6% Two+ races, 0.5% Other, 20.4% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 10.1% West Indian, 8.7% Irish, 8.4% Italian
• Click here for statewide demographic data.