Catherine Cortez Masto

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Catherine Cortez Masto (2017)

Catherine Marie Cortez Masto (born March 29, 1964 in Las Vegas ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . The lawyer was Attorney General Nevada from 2007 to 2015 and has succeeded Harry Reid in the US Senate since January 2017 .

Family, education and work

Catherine Cortez Masto is one of the two daughters of Joanna and Manny Cortez. Her mother was descended from Italian immigrants and her father was the son of a Mexican immigrant from Chihuahua . He was the long-time County Commissioner of Clark County , promoted tourism in southern Nevada - among other things with the slogan he coined “What happens here, stays here” - and was a political ally of Harry Reid .

She studied at the University of Nevada, Reno , where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and a master's degree in finance in 1986 . She then studied at the Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane (Washington) , where she obtained her Juris Doctorate in 1990 .

Cortez Masto began working for then Governor Bob Miller and was his chief of staff from 1995 to 1999 . From 1999 to 2001 she worked as a prosecutor for the United States Attorney in Washington, DC and from 2002 was Assistant County Manager in Clark County .

She lives in Las Vegas with her husband, Paul Masto, a former intelligence officer. They had met in the early 1990s when Cortez Masto was on Miller's staff and they were preparing a visit by President Bill Clinton to Nevada.

Political career

Attorney General of Nevada

Cortez Masto (right) with Kamala Harris as Attorneys General of Nevada and California in 2011 when it announced it would crack down on real estate loan fraudsters

Cortez Masto was elected to the office of Attorney General in 2006 and 2010 with a lead of over 15 percent and replaced George Chanos in this office at the beginning of 2007 . According to her own statements, she stood up for small people and families, especially in the wake of bankruptcies in the subprime crisis , for which she was awarded by the National Notary Association in 2012. Cortez Masto pushed the fight against drug trafficking ( methamphetamines ), against the sexual exploitation of women in human trafficking and against child abuse. In addition, she set up a position in her authority for the interests of senior citizens. When she opened an investigation against then Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki in 2009 , which had to be closed, she was accused of having politicized the office. When widespread loan fraud hit the country, it hit $ 1.9 billion in repayments for Nevada.

Cortez Masto was unable to run again in 2014 due to a limited term and resigned from office in January 2015. She has since served as the assistant director of the Nevada Department of Higher Education.

Senator for Nevada

Cortez Masto (left) at her swearing-in ceremony on January 3, 2017 with her husband and Vice President Joe Biden (right)

Harry Reid, the previous Senator of Nevada and Democratic party leader in the Senate , brought her up as his successor when he announced in March 2015 that he would not run for re-election in 2016. He assured her of his support in the election campaign. Even before her possible rival in the Democratic primary , Congresswoman Dina Titus , renounced the candidacy, Cortez Masto was publicly supported by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic-affiliated Political Action Committee EMILY’s List . On April 8, 2015, she announced her candidacy. She received support from a number of high-ranking state politicians, including former US Senator Richard Bryan , who became one of the “co-chairs” of her election campaign. Nevada's demographics, with one-third Hispanic population, favored their electoral prospects.

After their unchallenged nomination in the preselection of the Democrats met in the Senate election in November 2016 to Joe Heck , who had been sitting as a Republican for Nevada in the US House of Representatives. During the election campaign, she stressed the importance of nominating Supreme Court judges and called for comprehensive immigration reform. The election campaign cost over $ 100 million and was marked by non-transparent donations outside the state and mutual accusations. She was long behind the polls before provocative remarks by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump consolidated her electorate. She prevailed against Heck in difficult conditions for the Democrats with 47.1 to 44.7 percent and took up her mandate on January 3, 2017.

Cortez Masto is the first female Hispanic in the US Senate and the first woman to represent Nevada there. She is a member of six committees in the Senate - for banking, building and urban development , for energy and mineral resources , for trade, research and transport , for rules and administration, and for Indian affairs and age . In November 2018 she was appointed chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee , which is responsible for organizing the 2020 Senate election . She is the first Latina to hold this post and succeeds Chris Van Hollen . Van Hollen suggested her for this position after Cortez Masto supported many election campaigners in 2018 and led the Women's Senate Network , which aimed to target female candidates and voters. She is also known as a successful fundraiser in Las Vegas . The task is considered time consuming, but prestigious.

Positions

Cortez Masto is committed to a permanent statutory legalization of the status of such immigrants, which came as children to the United States ( Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ). It also calls for affordable health care for all Americans and is therefore open to general public health insurance, which Senator Bernie Sanders has called for. For her, the decision to terminate the pregnancy is a very personal one for the woman concerned, which is why she advocates freedom of choice ( pro-choice ). In addition to her commitment to women and families, Cortez Masto speaks out in favor of a reform of election campaign financing, which is supported by the judgment of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has been made more difficult.

literature

  • Barbara Burrell: Cortez Masto, Catherine. In: Dianne G. Bystrom, Barbara Burrell (Eds.): Women in the American Political System. An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates and Office Holders. ABC-Clio, 2018, pp. 101-103 (preview) .

Web links

Commons : Catherine Cortez Masto  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Barbara Burrell: Cortez Masto, Catherine. In: Dianne G. Bystrom, Barbara Burrell (Eds.): Women in the American Political System. An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates and Office Holders. ABC-Clio, 2018, pp. 101-103, here p. 101 ; Gregory Lewis McNamee: Catherine Cortez Masto. In: Encyclopedia Britannica , January 3, 2017. For the father see Former Las Vegas convention chief Cortez dies at 67. In: Las Vegas Sun , June 19, 2006; Valerie J. Nelson: Manny Cortez, 67; Lifted Las Vegas Tourism With Marketing Catchphrase. In: Los Angeles Times , June 21, 2006.
  2. ↑ Unless otherwise stated, all information on the curriculum vitae is taken from: Biography of Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto. PDF. In: AG.nv.gov .
  3. ↑ Barbara Burrell: Cortez Masto, Catherine. In: Dianne G. Bystrom, Barbara Burrell (Eds.): Women in the American Political System. An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates and Office Holders. ABC-Clio, 2018, pp. 101–103, here p. 103 .
  4. ^ A Lifetime Spent Fighting to Protect Nevada Families. Brief introduction on the campaign website.
  5. ^ National Notary Association Honors Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto with March Fong Eu Achievement Award. In: Businesswire.com , May 10, 2012.
  6. ↑ Barbara Burrell: Cortez Masto, Catherine. In: Dianne G. Bystrom, Barbara Burrell (Eds.): Women in the American Political System. An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates and Office Holders. ABC-Clio, 2018, pp. 101-103, here pp. 101 f.
  7. ^ Gregory Lewis McNamee: Catherine Cortez Masto. In: Encyclopedia Britannica , January 3, 2017.
  8. ^ Francis McCabe: Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto Named to Higher Ed Post. In: Las Vegas Review-Journal , November 25, 2014.
  9. ^ A b Andrea Drusch: Meet the Woman Harry Reid Wants to Replace Him in the Senate. In: National Journal , March 27, 2015.
  10. ↑ Kyle Cheney: DSCC expected to back Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada. In: Politico.com , April 6, 2015; Jose A. DelReal: Catherine Cortez Masto announces bid to succeed Harry Reid in the Senate, gets DSCC backing. In: The Washington Post , April 8, 2015.
  11. ↑ Laura Myers: Notable Nevada politicians endorse Catherine Cortez Masto's US Senate bid. In: Las Vegas Review-Journal , April 30, 2015.
  12. ^ Gregory Lewis McNamee: Catherine Cortez Masto. In: Encyclopedia Britannica , January 3, 2017; Barbara Burrell: Cortez Masto, Catherine. In: Dianne G. Bystrom, Barbara Burrell (Eds.): Women in the American Political System. An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates and Office Holders. ABC-Clio, 2018, pp. 101–103, here p. 102 .
  13. ^ Tara John: Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada Is US Senate's First Latina. In: Time , November 8, 2016; Gregory Lewis McNamee: Catherine Cortez Masto. In: Encyclopedia Britannica , January 3, 2017.
  14. ↑ Barbara Burrell: Cortez Masto, Catherine. In: Dianne G. Bystrom, Barbara Burrell (Eds.): Women in the American Political System. An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates and Office Holders. ABC-Clio, 2018, pp. 101–103, here p. 103 .
  15. ^ Burgess Everett: Cortez Masto named DSCC chair. In: Politico , November 15, 2018; Felicia Sonmez: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto becomes first Latina to chair Senate Democrats' campaign arm. In: The Washington Post , November 15, 2018.
  16. ↑ Alexander Bolton: Cortez Masto poised to become DSCC chair. In: The Hill , November 14, 2018.
  17. ^ Ray Hagar: Cortez Masto advocates Dream Act as a solution to DACA demise. In: Las Vegas Sun , September 7, 2017; Andrea González-Ramírez: The First Latina Senator Believes We All Have A Role In The Fight For Dreamers. In: Refinery29 , September 17, 2017.
  18. ↑ Barbara Burrell: Cortez Masto, Catherine. In: Dianne G. Bystrom, Barbara Burrell (Eds.): Women in the American Political System. An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates and Office Holders. ABC-Clio, 2018, pp. 101-103, here pp. 102 f.
personal data
SURNAME Cortez Masto, Catherine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cortez Masto, Catherie Marie (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 29, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Las Vegas , Nevada