Max Rose: Veteran, Congressman from New York
Max Rose is a Democrat who has won a seat in the US House of Representatives in New York’s 11th Congressional District. He is the first Post-9/11 combat veteran to have served in the war in Afghanistan to seek office in New York City. This is his first political office.
About Max Rose
Rose was born in 1986 in Brooklyn, New York and currently lives in St. George, a part of Staten Island, with his wife, Leigh, who he married earlier this year.
Education
He received his Bachelor of Arts in History from Wesleyan University in 2008 and a Master’s degree in Philosophy and Public Policy from the London School of Economics a year later. He also studied at Oxford University.
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Military Career
After he received his Master’s degree, he joined the US Army, served for five years on active duty and now serves in the National Guard. He completed Airborne and Ranger schools and he is now a company commander in the 69th Infantry Regiment of the New York Army National Guard.
While deployed to Afghanistan, he served as a first lieutenant and combat platoon leader and earned a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Infantryman Badge for his service. In April of 2013, an IED detonated under the Stryker vehicle Rose was in and he was wounded. Rose then realized that his life had been saved because of the funds Congress had allocated for armor plating. This caused him to consider how to overcome political gridlock.
Civilian Career
After leaving active duty service, Rose became the Director of Public Engagement for Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth P. Thompson. While there he helped with leading in the development of several nationally recognized programs aimed at restoring trust between communities and the criminal justice system. After that he worked as Chief of Staff at Brightpoint Health, a nonprofit operator of medical clinics in Staten Island and other parts of New York City.
Political Career and Issues
Max Rose first started in politics while working as an intern for Cory Booker, when Booker was the Newark, New Jersey mayor. He supports improving transportation infrastructure in South Brooklyn and Staten Island. He would like to lower the age of Medicare from 65 to 55, believes in universal health care with a public healthcare option, and would like to expand access to clinics to treat opioid addiction. He does support criminal background checks for gun purchases and the assault rifles ban. He believes that the US should rejoin the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement to help lower carbon dioxide emissions.
The issues he describes on his website are stopping gun violence, fixing health care, infrastructure and jobs, ending the drug epidemic, protecting our rights, American leadership, standing up for working people, education, tax reform, and women’s rights. He will be able to bring his experiences in the military, both previously and presently, to his seat in Congress.
Max Rose won against Republican Dan Donovan in New York’s 11th Congressional District.
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About the author
Julie Provost is a freelance writer, and blogger. She lives in Tennessee with her National Guard husband and three boys.