Who

Crowley, a Democrat, represents New York's seventh district, which covers a sliver of northern Queens (Woodside, Jackson Heights) and a chunk of the east Bronx (Co-op City, Parkchester, Pelham Bay, City Island).

Backstory

New York City native Crowley wasted no time in jumping into politics: He won election to the State Assembly in 1986 at the tender age of 24. (It didn't hurt that his uncle was long-time City Councilman Walter Crowley.) After 12 years in Albany, Crowley won a U.S. Congressional seat in 1998—he was the handpicked successor of the seat's previous occupant, Thomas Manton—and has been re-elected every two years since. (Most recently, he crushed challenger Kevin Brawley in 2006, winning re-election with 84 percent of the vote.) He's currently a chief deputy whip for the Democrats in the House, making him one of the higher-ranking New Yorkers in the party leadership.

On the job

Within Congress, Crowley is known for being relatively pro-business (the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named him chair of their Business Council outreach program) and he serves on the House's powerful Ways and Means Committee. Crowley has also made terrorism a focus—his cousin, firefighter John Moran, died during rescue efforts on Sept. 11th—and he's authored federal legislation authorizing special recognition for emergency responders who were killed in the 9/11 attacks.

Locally, though, he's best known as the boss of the Queens Democratic Party, a position he assumed after the death of Thomas Manton, whom he'd succeed in Congress, too. In that position, Crowley is a kingmaker, and his support is vital to any Democrat seeking elected office in the borough. He's also a vital emissary to Manhattan politicians seeking to curry favor with residents of Queens. Mayor Bloomberg, for example, actively courted—and won—Crowley's support on his controversial congestion pricing plan, hoping to change opinions in Queens at large where opposition to the plan was strong. Not that Crowley's imprimatur ultimately made a difference in keeping the plan alive.

Keeping score

While Crowley's friends in the business world dole out the big political bucks, personally he's one of the least wealthy members of Congress. His 2005 net worth was estimated somewhere around $145,000, ranking him 360th out of 435.

Personal

Crowley is married to Kasey Nilson, and the couple has three children: Cullen, Kenzie Louise and Liam. They currently live on 65th Street in Woodside.