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Sex Scandal Fells Florida Democrat in Former Mark Foley District; Even a wave of Democratic voters cannot protect Tim Mahoney from defeat.

Article from: U.S. News & World Report Article date: November 04, 2008 Author: Ruggeri, Amanda

Byline: Amanda Ruggeri

Despite the election's leftward trends, it isn't a surprise that Republican Tom Rooney beat out incumbent Democrat Tim Mahoney for his House seat today. More surprising is what caused Mahoney's downfall--if only because, for the right-leaning south Florida district, it's so frighteningly familiar.

Mahoney, 52, lost his seat to scandal. But that's how he gained it in the first place. In 2006, his predecessor, 54-year-old Mark Foley, abruptly resigned after allegations (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/061004/4foleytimeline.htm) that he ...

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Florida Dem Cops to Affairs, Won't Resign

Posted Oct 18, 08 2:56 AM CDT in US,  Politics 

Florida Dem Cops to Affairs, Won't Resign
Source: AP Photo/Lynne Sladky/file

(Newser) – Tim Mahoney has come clean about having "multiple affairs” reports ABC News. The Florida congressman admits his behavior was "disgraceful" but insists he did not violate any laws. His six-figure payoff to hush one mistress came from personal funds, Mahoney says, and his affair with a county official was unrelated to her county receiving over $3 million in FEMA funds.

"I think that the people in my district expect better from their leaders," admitted Mahoney, elected on a platform of restoring moral values. "I've let them down." Mahoney says he won't resign but will instead let the district's voters decide if his behavior disqualifies him from office. The latest poll shows Mahoney trailing his Republican challenger by 26 points.

Sources: WPBF-TV, ABC News

More about:  Election 2008 • Florida • sex scandal • affair • Tim Mahoney

MORE RELATED NEWSER STORIES

Florida District Endures Another Sex Scandal

Election year foibles mirror page-loving Foley he replaced

Time Time Oct 16, 08 9:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Just two years after Mark Foley resigned, Florida’s 16th district has another sex scandal on its hands, Time reports. Democratic Representative Tim Mahoney, who is fighting for reelection, has been implicated in an affair/payoff scandal, and investigators are wondering if he hushed his mistress with taxpayer dollars. Mahoney took Foley’s seat, vacant because of the congressman’s dalliances, on a platform of change. More »

More about:  Election 2008 • Florida • sex scandal • Mark Foley • payoffs • Tim Mahoney • mistress

Mistress Got Hush Money From 'More Moral' Fla. Rep.

Foley's successor ponied up $121K

ABC News ABC News Oct 13, 08 4:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Maybe it’s Florida? Two years have passed since Mark Foley, Palm Beach’s Republican Congressman, was forced to resign after sending lewd messages to male pages. His successor, Democrat Tim Mahoney, who ran on a ticket of “restoring America’s values,” gave a former mistress $121,000 and a $50,000-a-year job to keep quiet about his philandering, ABC News reports. More »

More about:  Congress • Florida • sex scandal • Palm Beach • Mark Foley • extramarital affair • Tim Mahoney • Patricia Allen

Mark Foley Ends Silence, Still Can't Explain Page Scandal

2 years after resignation, Republican tries to put own spin on explicit messages to teens

Associated Press Associated Press Nov 12, 08 10:34 AM CST
(AP) - Even today, 2 years after Mark Foley's very public fall from grace, the former congressman can't explain why he sent lurid, sexually explicit computer messages to male teens working as Capitol Hill pages. "There was never anywhere in those conversations where someone said, 'Stop,' or 'I'm not enjoying this,' or 'This is inappropriate.' But again, I'm the adult here, I'm the congressman," Foley said. More »

More about:  Congress • Florida • sex scandal • text message • pedophile • Mark Foley • congressional pages


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