Carolyn Jane Maloney (née Bosher, February 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2023, and for from 1993 to 2013. The district includes most of Manhattan's East Side, Astoria and Long Island City in Queens, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, as well as Roosevelt Island. A member of the Democratic Party, Maloney ran for reelection in 2022 but lost the primary to 10th district incumbent Jerry Nadler after redistricting drew them both into the 12th district.
Maloney was the first woman to represent New York City's 7th Council district (where she was the first woman to give birth while in office). Maloney was also the first woman to chair the Joint Economic Committee. On October 17, 2019, she became the first woman to chair the House Committee on Oversight and Reform following the death of Elijah Cummings. On November 20, 2019, Maloney was formally chosen to succeed Cummings.
Early life, education, and career
Carolyn Jane Bosher was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 19, 1946. She attended Greensboro College. After graduating, she visited New York City in 1970, and decided to stay.
For several years, she worked as a teacher and an administrator for the New York City Board of Education. In 1977, she obtained a job working for the New York State Legislature, and held senior staff positions in both the State Assembly and the State Senate. In 1976 she married Clifton Maloney, an investment banker.
New York City Council
Maloney was elected to the New York City Council in 1982, defeating incumbent Robert Rodriguez in a heavily Spanish-speaking district based in East Harlem and parts of the South Bronx. She served as a council member for 10 years. On the council, she served as the first chair of the Committee on Contracts, investigating contracts issued by New York City in sludge and other areas. She authored legislation creating the city's Vendex program, which established computerized systems tracking information on city contracts and vendors doing business with the city. Maloney also introduced the first measure in New York to recognize domestic partnerships, including those of same-sex couples. She was the first person to give birth while serving as a council member, and the first to offer a comprehensive package of legislation to make day care more available and affordable.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
In 1992, Maloney ran for Congress in what was then the 14th district. The district had previously been the 15th, represented by 15-year incumbent Bill Green, a progressive Republican. She won with 51% of the vote. The district, nicknamed the "silk stocking district", had been one of the few in the city in which Republicans usually did well; in fact, they held the seat for all but eight of the 56 years between 1937 and Maloney's victory. But it had been made significantly friendlier to Democrats by redistricting. The old 15th had been more or less coextensive with the Upper East Side, but the new 14th included Long Island City, portions of the Upper West Side, and a sliver of Brooklyn. Maloney also benefited from Bill Clinton's strong showing in the district.
The core of Maloney's district was the Upper East Side, an area with a history of electing moderate Republicans. Their dominance waned throughout the 1990s, and by the early 2000s Democrats dominated every level of government. This was exemplified in 1994 (the year of the Republican Revolution), when a serious challenger to Maloney, Republican City Councilman Charles Millard, lost badly. No Republican has gotten more than 30% of the vote in the district since.
In 2004, Maloney faced a potential Democratic primary challenge from Robert Jereski, a former Green Party political candidate and unsuccessful candidate for delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention on the slate of Dennis Kucinich. Jereski opposed the Iraq War while Maloney had initially voted for the resolution to authorize force; she later renounced the war, including at a town hall meeting in her district with antiwar Congressman John Murtha, where her comments made headlines. Jereski failed to qualify for the ballot because his petition was found to have invalid signatures, leaving him four short of the 1,250 required.