Greg Morton

NS Nation Name: Bruke
Character Name: Greg Morton
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 74
Character Height: 5 feet 6 inches
Character Weight: 145 pounds
Character Position/Role/Job: Congressman serving in California's 3rd congressional district
Appearance:

(Image)

Character State of Origin: California
Character State of Residence: California
Character Party Affiliation: Republican
Main Strengths: Strong regional political connections. Probably the most pro-union Republican out there.
Main Weaknesses: Not well known outside of the Bay Area, distrustful of others (he thinks everyone has an agenda), not fully embraced by either business or labor. Vulnerable to a primary challenge.
Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)

Greg Morton was born in Richmond, California in 1943 to Spencer and Carol Morton. His father was a worker at the Ford assembly plant, and his mother had worked there during the war. At the age of 13, Greg and his family relocated to Milpitas as his father was transferred there when the plant was moved. Greg's political outlook was first shaped here. As a 17 year old high school senior, he joined the "Milpitas Minutemen", a group fighting an annexation attempt by nearby San Jose. He was convinced to join them after he saw a debate at his high school (Ayer High School) over the summer. While he was not old enough to vote, he still wanted to make a difference. He was so dedicated that he spent his winter break knocking on doors, handing out petitions, and registering people to vote. He was working for them right up until the special election (January 1961), which the anti-annexation movement ended up winning. It was a defining experience for him: he later described it as a fight between "a humble community and the damned fools who couldn't see the forest for the trees." He continued to be active in local politics, becoming a volunteer for Ben Gross, the first black mayor of any California city, during his city council and mayoral campaigns.

After graduating high school, he decided to study business administration at San Jose State. Right after college, he joined McKinsey & Company at the age of 22. He settled down in Concord and commuted to the company's office in San Francisco. His career at McKinsey lasted for over two decades, in which he advised companies from a variety of industries. While at McKinsey, he went to Golden Gate University for his MBA. In 1986 one company, called CALCOT, recruited him to serve as a member of its board. He left what was a comfortable role at McKinsey for what was essentially a startup and moved to Palo Alto to take up the job. He successfully led the company through its rocky first years all the way to its IPO. By 1991, he had cashed out his stock options, making him a multi-millionaire. He took a very early retirement from the private sector in the 1990s, trying his hands at running a vineyard in the Napa Valley and becoming a member of the Family (private club in SF). He became a major donor to Bay Area Republicans.

While in college, Morton had remained a loyal Democrat because of their support for organized labor. He volunteered and voted for a number of local Democrats, and spent his summer breaks while at college volunteering at the local UAW office and serving as an intern at Milpitas City Hall. The chaotic political and social scene of the later 60s, especially 1968, made him sour on the Democratic Party. While he still supported strong worker protections and civil rights, he was uneasy with the infighting and worried that "hippies and radicals" would take control of the party. He was disgusted by how the party elites rigged the process in their favor. He became an independent just in time to vote for Nixon. While he still voted blue in presidential elections (except in 1972 when he voted for Pete McCloskey), he also voted for local GOP Congressmen like Tom Campbell. By now, he had built up more than enough connections to consider a run for office himself. In 1992, he saw his chance when the long serving Democratic incumbent decided to retire.

Morton shook up the race for what was then the 10th Congressional District. He announced his candidacy almost as soon as the other person made his departure, giving him a fighting chance. Morton ran as an Republican in what could only be described as an unconventional campaign: he publicly endorsed the Democratic candidate for the Senate race and the Republican candidate for governor, promising to be an independent voice for the region. The gambit worked, but barely: Morton won the election 51% to 49%. Morton ran on a platform which included: legislation to further enhance penalties for welfare and identity fraud committed by illegal immigrants, immigration reform (amnesty with certain restrictions), broad-based tax cuts for businesses and people of all income groups, stronger health and safety standards for workers, welfare reform, investments in infrastructure and higher education, and not voting for NAFTA unless it included stronger worker and environmental protections.

He held on to his seat throughout the 90s by keeping together a coalition of labor, business, and environmentalists. His most notable accomplishment during that time is leading the call for an investigative hearing into the oil refining industry. He was moved to act because of the Tosco Corporation's history of unsafe practices at the Golden Eagle Refinery near Martinez. The 2002 election was another nail-biter: he was challenged by a popular Democrat who attacked Morton for supporting the war in Afghanistan. He continued to represent the 10th District until he was redistricted to the 3rd congressional district in 2011. He ran in 2012 to represent that district, and won a full term in 2014, by promising to turn Fairfield into a center for aviation, both military and civilian. He promised to sponsor legislation that would direct federal funding to local high schools and Solano Community College to support STEM programs and other initiatives to build up local experience in the industry. His present coalition include his former base of support in the urban southern half of the district, along with farmers, fishers, and hunters from the rural northern half of the district.

He is pro-choice (but in a Clintonesque way: "safe, legal, and rare"), supports LGBT rights (but distrusts the activist groups of the gay rights movement), moderate on gun control (supports background checks and "red flag" laws, but skeptical of bans like the assault weapons ban), generally supportive of environmental protections (except when he feels the regulations could hurt jobs). He is generally anti-war, believing that America often gets into more trouble that it needs to intervening in other countries. He is a lifelong supporter of civil rights; opposing police brutality, segregation, and racial biases in the job market and criminal justice system.

The most glaring difference between him and the typical Republican is when it comes to unions and workers rights. He supports raising the minimum wage, but prefers that it be raised at the local level to better reflect the cost of living. He supports strong enforcement of health and safety standards on the job, but also wants the use of incentives to assist businesses in complying. He opposes right to work laws, believing that they allow free riders to contribute nothing to the unions that are fighting for them. He has been a lifelong skeptic of free trade, and has voted against every major trade deal that came up while he was in Congress. This issue is personal to him because he remembers seeing his parents lose their jobs when the Ford plant in Milpitas closed because of competition from Japan. He is wary of automation for the same reason.

His signature issue as a Congressman is a universal basic income. He has called for a UBI that would be able to cover the costs of living throughout the nation, funded by the federal government and the states. He believes unrestricted free trade and the rise of automation threatens to destroy the working class. He believes UBI can be a solution, allowing workers and their families time to adjust: workers can retrain and go back to school, or they and their families can move to another place where jobs are available.

Other Info: Morton saw Sal Cracolice, called "Mr. Milipitas", as a role model because of his boosterism of the city. From this he learned an important lesson that would serve him well: understanding the needs of the local community was first and foremost. Morton is a long-time member of the Commonwealth Club of California, and likes to go there at least once a month to hear speakers on technology, business, the environment, and politics. His hobbies include bird watching, fishing, and painting.

He met his wife, Sydney Cao, while living in Palo Alto. She works as a real estate agent. They have no children.
In regards to religion, Greg Morton is a Presbyterian. His wife is Catholic.