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Moran goes after 10th term as U.S. representative
If re-elected on Nov. 4, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Moran will assume his 10th term in office. Republican challenger Mark Ellmore is trying to keep that from happening in the 8th District.
Incumbent Jim Moran is currently a member of the House Appropriations Committee and serves on the Defense and Interior Subcommittees. He also co-chairs the Congressional Prevention Caucus, leads the Task Force on Sovereign Wealth Funds and was an original co-founder of the New Democratic Coalition.
"I love my district and its people," he said. The 8th Congressional District includes Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and Reston.
An outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq, Moran sees it as a fundamental difference between him and his opponent.
"I have been opposed to it from the beginning," he said, adding, "I think my views are in sync with the majority of my constituents."
Mark Ellmore, an auxiliary member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars whose son is currently serving overseas in the U.S. Air Force , feels that the military "should be given the necessary tools they need to win the war on global terrorism and listen to the advice of the generals on the ground."
Ellmore has traveled to the Middle East and thinks that humanitarian aid should be given to countries in need. He is new to the political arena, but says he has been a "community organizer" for a long time and feels that elected office is a logical next step. "It is time for a change in the 8th District," he said.
Moran began his political career in 1979 when he was elected to the Alexandria City Council. He then became vice mayor three years later and served in that capacity until 1985, when he was elected mayor. His first run for Congress was successful, joining the House of Representatives in 1990.
Ellmore works as a senior consultant to Bank of America, and says his financial experience will aid him in getting Congress to lower taxes and curb federal spending by streamlining government operations and eliminating earmarks. "Special interest earmarks need to be reigned in," he said.
Moran, on the other hand, supports earmarks and is proud of the money he has brought to the 8th District. "Our district has not gotten its fair share from the Bush/Cheney administration," he said. "I helped to get $45 million for police, fire and emergency workers in Northern Virginia and $600 million for the Springfield Interchange project."
Moran is a graduate of Holy Cross University, where he majored in economics. He went on to earn his masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1970.
Before running for public office he worked at the Department of Health, Education and the Workforce and also served as a committee staffer for the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Ellmore's father was a local firefighter who passed away from complications on the job when Mark was only four. This left him to help his mother, a full-time civil servant and government secretary, to care for a family of seven.
He entered the workforce at age 14, washing dishes. As a young adult he started working in the banking industry, eventually becoming a vice president.
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