Tom Tancredo

From Metapedia

Thomas Gerard Tancredo (born December 20, 1945) is an American politician, and member of the Republican Party. Tancredo has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999, representing the 6th Congressional District of Colorado. He is a declared candidate for the 2008 Presidential Race who is known for his hardline stance against both legal (in terms of rapid assimilation) and illegal immigration.

Tancredo won re-election in 2006 against Democratic challenger Bill Winter by a 59%-40% margin. The district includes most of Denver's southern suburbs.

[edit] Early life and political career

Tancredo was born in Denver, Colorado to Adeline Lombardi and Gerald Tancredo. Both sets of his grandparents immigrated from Italy. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in political science. While in college, Tancredo was active with the College Republicans and a conservative, nonpartisan organization, Young Americans for Freedom (YAF). Tancredo was in favor of the Vietnam War and spoke in support of the conflict as a Republican student activist. He became eligible to serve in Vietnam after graduating from the University of Northern Colorado in June 1969. Tancredo has said he went for his physical, telling doctors he'd been treated for depression, and eventually got a "1-Y" deferment. In 1976, while teaching history at Drake Junior High School in Denver, he ran for and won a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives. He served two terms (1977–1981) and was one of the leaders of a vocal group of conservative legislators opposing the policies of Colorado Governor Dick Lamm. During the 1970s, Tancredo pioneered opposition to bilingual education, an issue that would remain a feature of his political orientation.

After Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1981, Tancredo was appointed by the President to be the regional representative in Denver for the Department of Education. He stayed on from 1981 until 1992, through the first Bush administration, and pared the office's staff from 225 to only 60 employees. In 1993, he became president of the Independence Institute, a conservative think tank based in Golden, Colorado, serving there until his election to Congress. He was also a leader in the Colorado term limits movement.

A former Roman Catholic, Tancredo is now a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Tancredo is married to Jackie Tancredo. They met at Drake Junior High School as teachers, and married in 1977. They have two children and five grandchildren.