Elton Gallegly

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Elton Gallegly

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 24th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 6, 1987
Preceded by	Bobbi Fiedler
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	March 07, 1944 (age 63) Huntington Park, California
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Janice Shrader
Religion	Evangelist

Elton W. Gallegly (born March 7, 1944), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, currently representing the 24th District of California (map).

Born in Huntington Park, California on March 7, 1944, Gallegly was a real estate broker and member of the Simi Valley, California City Council before entering the House. Gallegly is married to the former Janice Shrader, and has four children.

Gallegly is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims. He does not favor a guest worker program or forgiveness for current illegal immigrants because in his view, "it encourages illegal immigration, making it even more difficult to secure [U.S.] borders and putting a huge strain on [the U.S.] economy and health care and educational systems."[1]

Gallegly is also a member of the Resources Committee, the International Relations Committee, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Elton Gallegly is the only representative from California who has formally argued against legislation that would prevent the federal government from impeding the implementation of state medical marijuana laws. [2] Gallegly's position on the matter conflicts with that of California's citizens, who voted to decriminalize marijuana for medical use in 1996.

1 Attempted retirement
2 House Intelligence Committee Controversy
3 See also
4 External links

On March 10, 2006, Gallegly announced his intent to retire from the House of Representatives after the 2006 mid-term elections, citing health concerns. He had already filed nomination papers to seek another term, however, and attempted to have his name removed from the Republican primary ballot. California election law, though, makes it clear that a candidate's name can only be withdrawn in the case of their death and, as a result, that Gallegly's name would have to remain on the ballot.

The following week, after learning that he could not have his name removed from the ballot and that no new challengers would be allowed to enter the race, Gallegly changed his mind and decided to seek what he says will be his final term.

On Nov. 3, 2006, The New York Times published an article criticizing the Republican-led Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, of which Gallegly is a member, for championing the posting of certain documents recovered from Iraq on a website created by Representative Pete Hoekstra and Senator Pat Roberts. The story claimed that the documents in question, which contain instructions in Arabic on constructing and detonating a nuclear weapon, could be an aid to emerging nuclear programs in countries like Iran. Chairman of the committee, Representative Hoekstra responded by saying that the release of the documents was important in demonstrating that "Hussein's scientists were on the verge of building an atomic bomb." Although Gallegly's participation in this action is unknown, his opponent in the coming mid-term election, Jill Martinez responded by saying that the activities of this committee have endangered the United States.

Jill Martinez
Michael Stettler

U.S. Representative Elton Gallegly official House site
Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Federal Election Commission - Elton Gallegly campaign finance reports and data
On the Issues - Elton Gallegly issue positions and quotes
OpenSecrets.org - Elton Gallegly campaign contributions
Project Vote Smart - Representative Elton W. Gallegly (CA) profile
SourceWatch Congresspedia - Elton Gallegly profile
Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Elton Gallegly voting record
Elton Gallegly for U.S. Congress official campaign site
Virtual Audio Debate between Gallegly and Martinez

Preceded by Bobbi Fiedler	United States Representative for the 21st District of California 1987–1993	Succeeded by Bill Thomas
Preceded by Anthony C. Beilenson	United States Representative for the 23rd District of California 1993–2003	Succeeded by Lois Capps
Preceded by Brad Sherman	United States Representative for the 24th District of California 2003 – present	Incumbent