Kelly, Sue W. (Sue Weisenbarger), 1936-

<p>A small business owner, teacher, and health care advocate, Sue Kelly won election to the House in 1994 as part of the Republican tide that swept the GOP into control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Kelly eventually accrued enough seniority to chair a Financial Services subcommittee, investigating corporate scandals and terrorist financing. During her tenure in Congress, Kelly also was a leading proponent of women’s health legislation.</p>

<p>Sue W. Kelly was born in Lima, Ohio, on September 26, 1936. She graduated from Lima’s Central High School in 1954 and earned a BA in botany and bacteriology from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, four years later. In 1960 she married Ed Kelly, settled in suburban New York, and raised four children. Sue Kelly earned an MA in health advocacy from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, in 1985. She first participated in electoral politics by fundraising and campaigning for several Republican candidates. In 1972 she briefly worked for Representative Hamilton Fish Jr. of New York, who represented the southern Hudson Valley, where Kelly lived.</p>

<p>When Fish declined to run for re-election in 1994 after a quarter century in the House, Kelly thought, “I’ve been getting Republicans elected for decades. Why not me?” The diverse Nineteenth District spanned much of the lower Hudson Valley, from Poughkeepsie in the north to Westchester County in the south, and included computer corporations, dairy-based agriculture, and the Army’s U.S. Military Academy. The region had been represented by a member of the Fish family since the 1920s—one of the longer political dynasties in congressional history.</p>

<p>Sue Weisenbarger Kelly (born September 26, 1936) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007, representing New York's 19th District. She was elected to the seat that had been held by Republican Hamilton Fish IV after he dropped out of the 1994 race due to prostate cancer. Kelly defeated his son, Hamilton Fish V, in that race and served until John Hall defeated her in the 2006 congressional election.</p>

<p>Kelly served from February 1999 to April 2001 as Chair of the House Page Board, which came under fire during the Mark Foley scandal.</p>

<p>Sue Kelly was born in Lima, Ohio, on September 26, 1936. She was raised Presbyterian and graduated from Denison University in 1958. She also holds a Master's degree from Sarah Lawrence College.</p>