James H. Maloney

Who is James H. Maloney?

James H. "Jim" Maloney is a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut.

Maloney was born in Quincy, Massachusetts. He was a Volunteers in Service to America volunteer from 1969 until 1970. He graduated from Harvard University in 1972 and received a law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1980. Prior to his entry into politics he practiced law in Danbury. He was a member of the Connecticut State Senate from 1986 until 1995.

Maloney was elected to Congress in 1996 and represented Connecticut's 5th district from January 3, 1997 until January 3, 2003. In that election, Maloney defeated incumbent Republican Gary Franks because of President Bill Clinton's strong showing in Connecticut and negative TV ads alleging Franks was a Waterbury slumlord. Maloney held the seat despite two strong challenges from Mark Nielsen in 1998 and 2000. In 2002, the reapportionment process merged Maloney's Waterbury-based district with the New Britain-based 6th District of Republican incumbent Nancy Johnson. While the new district was numerically Maloney's district, its demographics slightly favored Johnson, who won by over 20,000 votes.