Ann Marie Buerkle

Ann Marie Buerkle (/ˈbɜːrkəl/ BUR-kəl; née Colella;[2] born May 8, 1951) is an American nurse, attorney, and politician. She served as a commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) beginning in July 2013 and was the agency's acting chairman from February 2017 to September 2019.[3][4] During her tenure, the number of companies fined declined sharply, and she was criticized by consumer advocates.[4][5] Buerkle’s public service career stalled after accusations of mismanagement and incompetence. Buerkle was an Assistant New York State Attorney General from 1997 through 2010. She served as the U.S. representative for the New York's 25th congressional district, elected in 2010 in an upset of a Democratic incumbent. In a rematch of her 2010 contest, Buerkle was defeated by former Congressman Dan Maffei.[6] She is a member of the Republican Party.

Ann Marie Buerkle
Official portrait, 2013
Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission
Acting
In office
February 9, 2017 – September 30, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byElliot F. Kaye
Succeeded byRobert S. Adler (Acting)
Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission
In office
July 23, 2013 – October 27, 2019
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byAnne Northup
Succeeded byMary T. Boyle[1]
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 25th district
In office
January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013
Preceded byDan Maffei
Succeeded byDan Maffei (Redistricting)
Personal details
Born
Ann Marie Colella

(1951-05-08) May 8, 1951
Auburn, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
August Buerkle
​
(m. 1972⁠–⁠1997)​
Children6
EducationLe Moyne College (BS)
Syracuse University (JD)

Early life and career

Buerkle was born Ann Marie Colella in 1951 in Auburn, New York,[7] the daughter of Sadie M. (née Fiduccia) and Alfred D. "Al" Colella. All of her grandparents were born in Italy.[8] After graduating as a registered nurse from St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing in Syracuse, New York, she worked at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and at St. Joseph's. She was a substitute school nurse for many years before obtaining her J.D. degree from Syracuse University School of Law. She was married to August Buerkle from 1972 to 1997.[9]

She served as an Assistant New York State Attorney General from 1997 to 2010. She also served one term on the Syracuse, New York Common Council.[7] Buerkle is divorced and has six children.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections
2010
Ann Marie Buerkle, 2010
See also: 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 25

Buerkle defeated turkey farm owner Mark Bitz and activist Paul Bertan to win the Republican nomination.

Buerkle defeated incumbent Dan Maffei in the 2010 midterm election,[10] an outcome determined after weeks of absentee ballot counting and precinct recanvassing; Buerkle emerged victorious by a narrow 567-vote margin of over 200,000 ballots cast. Maffei conceded the race on November 23, 2010, when it became clear that challenged votes would not change the outcome of the race.[11]

Maffei had been favored to retain the seat. In addition to rating the district as "Leans Democratic", RealClearPolitics and other pundits thought it was an unlikely congressional district to switch parties. Going into the election, other pundits from CQ Politics, The Cook Report, and the Rothenberg Report ranked it as "Lean Democrat" to "Democrat Favored".[12]

Buerkle was endorsed by former Alaska Governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin (who labeled Buerkle a "Mama Grizzly"),[13] as well as by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.[14] Buerkle, who received substantial Tea Party support in 2010,[15] was described as having "[ridden] the tea party wave to Washington, winning an upstate New York district that leans Democratic on promises of reducing the size of government and repealing the health care overhaul."[16]

2012
See also: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 24

In redistricting, Buerkle's district was renumbered as the 24th district and made more Democratic. Buerkle was endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund.[17] She faced a rematch against Maffei and lost, 48.7 percent to 43.3 percent.

Tenure
Buerkle's official congressional portrait

In 2011, Buerkle voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.[18] In 2011 Buerkle voted to renew the Patriot Act.[19] On September 16, 2011, President Barack Obama named Buerkle to serve as a U.S. representative to the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, which started in late 2011. Buerkle was previously selected by John Boehner to represent the Republicans.[20]

In May 2012, Buerkle stated that she opposed the procurement practices of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) with regard to security screening equipment. Speaking of a report by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I) and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (OGR), of which Buerkle was a member, she wrote, "This report is evidence that TSA is a flawed agency and is wasting the taxpayers' money. TSA has repeatedly failed to effectively procure and deploy screening equipment that actually detects threats. Making matters worse is that as complaints about the invasiveness of TSA searches continue to increase, significant amounts of state-of-the-art technology is sitting, unused in warehouses in Texas."[21]

Committee assignments

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

In May 2013, Buerkle was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). She was confirmed by the United States Senate and assumed the role of CPSC commissioner on July 23, 2013. Buerkle became acting chairman of the agency on February 9, 2017. In July 2017, she was nominated by President Donald Trump to become CPSC chairman.[22][23] During her term as chair, enforcement actions declined and the number of product recalls was the lowest in a decade.[4] On June 18, 2019, Buerkle withdrew her nominations to become the full-time chairman and to an additional four-year term,[24] following accusations of incompetence and mismanagement surrounding a 2019 data breach,[25] candor to Congress concerns,[26] and controversy over a settlement that avoided the recall of unsafe strollers.[4]

Electoral history
Main article: United States House of Representatives elections, 2010
See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2012 § District 24
US House election, 2010: New York District 25[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Ann Marie Buerkle 104,374 50.2 +8.0
Democratic Dan Maffei 103,807 49.8 -4.7
Majority 567 0.3 -10.4
Turnout 208,181 100 +23.4
US House election, 2012: New York District 24[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Dan Maffei 143,044 48.8 -1.0
Republican Ann Marie Buerkle 127,054 43.4 -6.8
Green Ursula Rozum 22,670 7.7 +7.7
Majority 15,990 5.5 +5.2
Turnout 292,988 100 +40.7

See also

References
  1. "Mary T. Boyle Sworn in As CPSC Commissioner". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. June 30, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  2. Jacquelyn Martin / AP (January 5, 2011). "Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle rushes to swearing-in ceremony, waits and misses her first House vote". syracuse.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  3. "Ann Marie Buerkle". CPSC.gov. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  4. Frankel, Todd C. (September 13, 2019). "Consumer Product Safety Commission's acting chairwoman plans to step down". Washington Post. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. Levin, Myron (March 14, 2019). "Consumer Product Safety Rules and the Lobbyists Who Work to Scuttle Them". The American Prospect. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  6. "Democrats flip freshman Rep. Buerkle's seat". TheHill. November 7, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  7. "Guide to the New Congress" (PDF). CQ Roll Call. November 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  8. "Ann Marie Buerkle ancestry". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  9. "Buerkle, Ann Marie". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  10. "New York Election Results". The New York Times. November 3, 2010. Archived from the original on November 5, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  11. Goodin, Emily (November 23, 2010). "Rep. Maffei concedes, GOP gains 63rd seat". The Hill. Retrieved November 23, 2010. Rep. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.) conceded to his GOP challenger Tuesday afternoon, giving Republicans their 63rd pickup in the House.
  12. CQ Politics Projected Landscape, New York's Delegation to the U.S. House Archived October 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. Meghan Keneally (November 23, 2010). "Maffei Concedes, Hands Victory to Buerkle". Observer. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  14. McAndrew, Mike (September 21, 2010). "Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney endorses CNY congressional candidate Ann Marie Buerkle". Syracuse.com. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  15. Heffner, Alexander (July 27, 2012). "New York's Tea-Party Rematch". The Wall Street Journal.
  16. "Tea Party Sent Buerkle Into Establishment Favor". Roll Call. December 5, 2011. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  17. Harding, Robert (October 10, 2012). "Buerkle endorsed by National Rifle Association". Auburnpub.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2014. The NRA's Political Victory Fund gave Buerkle an "A" grade, while Maffei received an "F" from the group.
  18. Eisenstadt, Marnie (February 3, 2011). "People pack Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle's first town hall meeting in Wayne County". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  19. "H.R.514 - Roll Call #26 in the House". Archived from the original on February 11, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
  20. Voght, Kara (September 16, 2011). "Buerkle, Carnahan to get U.N. roles". Politico. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  21. "TSA Wasting Taxpayer Dollars | Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle". Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  22. Weiner, Mark (July 24, 2017). "Trump nominates Ann Marie Buerkle to chair Consumer Product Safety Commission". Syracuse.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  23. Straehley, Steve; Wallechinsky, David (August 10, 2017). "Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission: Who Is Ann Marie Buerkle?". AllGov. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  24. "Statement: Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle Announces Withdrawal of Her Nominations". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  25. Johnson, Derek (October 17, 2019). "Senate investigation pins CPSC breaches on 'incompetence'". fcw.com. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  26. Senate Commerce Committee (October 2019). "CPSC Section 6(b) Data Handling". Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  27. "NYS Board of Elections Rep. in Congress Election Returns Nov. 6, 2012" (PDF). elections.ny.gov. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
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