Sandy Treadwell

{{Short description|American politician and journalist (born 1946)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Sandy Treadwell | image = | caption = | office1 = Chair of the New York Republican Party | term_start1 = March 8, 2001 | term_end1 = November 15, 2004 | predecessor1 = William Powers | successor1 = Stephen Minarik | office2 = Secretary of State of New York | governor2 = George Pataki | term_start2 = January 4, 1995 | term_end2 = April 12, 2001 | predecessor2 = Gail S. Shaffer | successor2 = Randy Daniels | party = Republican | birth_name = Alexander Ferguson Treadwell | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1946|3|25}} | birth_place = London, England, UK | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = | alma_mater = University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | signature = Alexander Treadwell Signature.jpg | website = | footnotes = | profession = Sports journalist, artist | appointer2 = George Pataki | appointer1 = George Pataki }}

'''Alexander Ferguson "Sandy" Treadwell''' (born March 25, 1946) is an American politician, journalist, and artist.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://sandytreadwell.com/about |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=Sandy Treadwell Portraits |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=McKinley |first=James C. Jr. |date=2001-03-10 |title=A Nice Guy in a Tough G.O.P. Job; New State Chairman Takes Challenge of Uniting Party in Stride |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/10/nyregion/nice-guy-tough-gop-job-new-state-chairman-takes-challenge-uniting-party-stride.html |access-date=2022-08-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=December 11, 1968 |title=John Treadwell, Brigadier, 67 Dies; Official of English-Speaking Union Here Since 1949 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/12/11/102305777.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=The New York Times |page=47 |language=en}}</ref> He was Secretary of State of New York, as well as New York's representative on the Republican National Committee.<ref name=":2" /> He was also a writer for ''Sports Illustrated''.''<ref name=":0" />''

==Early life== Treadwell was born in London, England.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Nathan |date=October 27, 2008 |title=Treadwell's pledges: No tax hikes for anyone, won't be a career Congressman |work=Adirondack Daily Enterprise |url=https://justfacts.votesmart.org/public-statement/395076/adirondack-daily-enterprise-treadwells-pledges-no-tax-hikes-for-anyone-wont-be-a-career-congressman |access-date=August 3, 2022 |via=Vote Smart}}</ref> His father, John F. W. Treadwell, was a Brigadier in the British Army.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=April 4, 1970 |title=Miss Krautter Wed in Illinois |pages=45 |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/04/04/76730771.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |access-date=August 3, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> His mother, Susan Vanderpoel Ord, was from Albany, New York, but went to England with the Red Cross during World War II.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":9" /> His maternal grandfather was Joseph P. Ord, a founding executive of General Electric.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Raymond |date=2007-11-26 |title=Short of Funds, G.O.P. Recruits the Rich to Run |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/us/politics/26recruit.html |access-date=2022-08-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

While he was still an infant, his family moved to Albany.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6" /> His father resigned from his commission and worked as vice president of the English Speaking Union in New York City starting in 1949.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":9" /> Treadwell grew up on a 385-acre family estate called Bessboro Farm in Westport, New York, overlooking Lake Champlain.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":9" /> There, his father raised Holstein cattle.<ref name=":9" /> Treadwell had one brother, Thomas Ord Treadwell.<ref name=":9" />

Treadwell went to Groton School.<ref name=":2" /> He then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1968 with a degree in journalism.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" /> While there, he was a member of the fraternity St. Anthony Hall and was a sports writer for ''The Daily Tark Heel''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last= |first= |date=February 9, 2015 |title=SI writers past and present share personal memories of Dean Smith |url=https://www.si.com/college/2015/02/09/si-remembers-dean-smith-sl-price-frank-deford-gary-smith-larry-keith |access-date=2022-08-03 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":2" />

Treadwell served in the Army National Guard.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

== Career ==

=== Journalist === After college, Treadwell was a sports journalist for ''Sports Illustrated.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />'' He wrote articles about college basketball and football.<ref name=":6" /> He stayed in that position for three years, leaving in 1972 to become a freelance writer.<ref name=":2" /> In 1973, he wrote articles for ''New York'' magazine.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Treadwell |first=Sandy |date=January 22, 1973 |title=And Now for the Good News at TIME Inc. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqUQAZ-PZ6IC&dq=%22Sandy+Treadwell%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA3 |journal=New York |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=37–42 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Treadwell |first1=Sand |last2=Howard |first2=Pamela |date=May 26, 1973 |title=Dr. Atkins Says He's Sorry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Rc2AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Sandy+Treadwell%22&pg=PA68 |journal=The New York Weekly |publisher=United States Congress Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs |pages=68 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

He worked for ''Classic'' ''Sports'' magazine for four years in the late 1970s.<ref name=":2" /> Next, he tried to start a movie magazine without success.<ref name=":2" /> In 1987, he wrote ''The World of Marathons'' (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1987) a book about 26 races around the world.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Alexander Treadwell's Biography |url=http://votesmart.org/ |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=Vote Smart}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=McKinley |first=James C. Jr. |date=2001-02-27 |title=G.O.P. Leader In New York Steps Down After Decade |language=en-US |page=B5 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/27/nyregion/gop-leader-in-new-york-steps-down-after-decade.html |access-date=2022-08-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In its review, ''Library Journal'' wrote, "Essential reading for both the amateur and professional distance runner."<ref>Hoffman W. H. ''The World of Marathons''. ''Library Journal''. 1987;112(10):125. Accessed August 3, 2022. via EBSCO. Accessed August 3, 2022.</ref>

=== Politics === Treadwell became active in the Republican Party in Essex County, New York.<ref name=":2" /> In 1973, he sought the Essex County GOP endorsement for the New York State Assembly but lost badly in a county committee vote.<ref name=":2" /> He changed his tactics, aiming lower.<ref name=":2" /> He became the Republic Party chairman in Westport.<ref name=":2" /> In 1985, he was elected Republican chairman for the county.<ref name=":2" /> He was vice chairman of the New York State Republican Party from 1989 to 1994.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":10" />

In 1990, Treadwell campaigned for the Republican Party across the state of New York, sharing the Republican platform at public forums.<ref name=":2" /> Along the way, he met George Pataki.<ref name=":2" /> In 1994 when Pataki ran for governor in 1994, Treadwell officially endorsed him as a county chairman, becoming one of the first county chairmen in the state to do so.<ref name=":2" />

==== New York Secretary of State ==== In 1995, Governor George Pataki appointed Treadwell Secretary of State of New York.<ref name=":2" /> In this capacity, Treadwell earned $120,800 a year.<ref name=":2" /> The Department of State had 850 employees and an annual budget of $110 million during Treadwell's leadership.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Accomplishments |url=http://www.sandytreadwell.com/accomplishments/default.aspx |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=Sandy Treadwell for Congress |publisher=webarchive.loc.gov |archive-date=2008-10-08 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20081008195532/http://www.sandytreadwell.com/accomplishments/default.aspx |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> As Secretary, Treadwell was active in reorganizing the Department of State in order to streamline operations and improve efficiency. {{citation needed|date=March 2017}} He reduced the agency's workforce without layoffs while holding the line on spending. He was also active in local government issues statewide.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} He served as the Secretary of State through 2001.<ref name=":8" />

==== New York State Republican Party chairman ==== In 2001, Pataki appointed Treadwell as the Chairman of the New York Republican Party, serving through 2004.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":7" /> He replaced William D. Powers.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":10" /> Treadwell was the host state chairman of the 2004 Republican National Convention that nominated President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for re-election. {{citation needed|date=March 2017}} Under his tenure, Pataki was elected to a second term and Michael Bloomberg was elected mayor of New York City.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Hocking |first=Bree |date=2007-02-05 |title=Millionaire Eyes Gillibrand |url=https://www.rollcall.com/2007/02/05/millionaire-eyes-gillibrand/ |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=Roll Call |language=en}}</ref>

In 2004, Treadwell faced controversy after he supported Assemblyman Howard Mills as the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate against Senator Chuck Schumer over the would-be candidate Michael Benjamin.<ref name="alb">Benjamin, Elizbeth (February 25, 2004){{cite web |title=Senate hopeful claims GOP bosses snubbed him |url=http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=222422&category=CAPITOL&BCCode=&newsdate=2%2F25%2F2004 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040807054126/http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=222422&category=CAPITOL&BCCode=&newsdate=2%2F25%2F2004 |archivedate=August 7, 2004 |accessdate=2004-08-07}} ''Albany Times-Union.'' Accessed August 3, 2022.</ref> Benjamin publicly accused Treadwell and Governor George Pataki of trying to muscle him out of the Senate race and undermine the democratic process because he was half Honduran.<ref name="alb" /> Mills, who was nominated after numerous other potential candidates turned the race down, lost to incumbent Schumer in the largest landslide in state history.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Slackman |first=Michael |date=2004-11-03 |title=Schumer Returns to Senate, and With a Record Margin |language=en-US |page=15 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/03/politics/schumer-returns-to-senate-and-with-a-record-margin.html |access-date=2022-08-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Treadwell stepped down as state chairman in 2004 to become New York's Republican National Committeeman.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 8, 2004 |title=Treadwell out as state Republican chairman |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2004/11/08/daily11.html |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=Albany Business Review}}</ref><ref name=":11" />

==== 2008 Congressional Candidacy ==== {{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2008#District 20}} In April 2008, Treadwell filed to run for Congress in New York's 20th District against Kirsten Gillibrand.<ref name=":4" /> Treadwell signed the Americans For Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge and ran on the promise that he will never vote to increase taxes on individuals or businesses.<ref name=":6" /> He supported more troops in Iraq, but noted, "We went into Iraq for the wrong reasons. Terrible mistakes were made in the first four years."<ref name=":6" /> He also favored a limit of four terms for Congressmen.<ref name=":6" /> In addition, he supported expanding broadband and cellular infrastructure.<ref name=":6" /> He also stated that he would not accept a salary to serve in Congress, but would donate those funds to charities.<ref name=":6" />

Treadwell was endorsed by Bill Weld, the former Governor of Massachusetts.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=George |date=2 December 2007 |title=Sandy Treadwell and Bill Weld: Two Liberal "Peas in a Pod" |url=http://streetcornerconservative.com/2007/12/02/sandy-treadwell-and-bill-weld-two-liberal-peas-in-a-pod-by-george-j-marlin/#more-132 |access-date=August 3, 2022 |website=Street Corner Conservative}}</ref> Former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, hit the campaign trail on his behalf.<ref>Giuliani to stump for Treadwell. (2008, October 27). ''Times Union (Albany, NY)''. via EBSCO, accessed August 3, 2022.</ref> However, conservative commentator George Marlin criticized Treadwell, labeling him a "social moderate" and a "liberal elitist trust bab[y]".<ref name=":5" /> In fact, during his campaign, Treadwell noted Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy as major influences on his life.<ref name=":6" /> Another New York Republican operative called him a "Rockefeller Republican".<ref name=":11" />

Treadwell was defeated by Gillibrand, who was re-elected with 62% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 23, 2009 |title=Kirsten Gillibrand Will Take Hillary Clinton's Senate Seat |url=https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/tag/sandy-treadwell |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=The Adirondack Almanack |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":12">Carson, Jamie L, Aldrich, John H, Gomez, Brad T., Merolla, Jennifer L.. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=CtlfEAAAQBAJ Change and Continuity in the 2020 Elections]''. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2022. p. 245 {{ISBN|9781538164839}} via Google Books.</ref> Treadwell spent more than $6 million on his campaign; nearly $5 million was his own money.<ref name=":13">Burrell, Barbara. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sUFUBAAAQBAJ ''Gender in Campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives'']. United States: University of Michigan Press, 2014. p. 117. {{ISBN|9780472052318}} via Google Books.</ref> Gillibrand spend $4.49 million.<ref name=":12" /> It was the most expensive United States House race in 2008.<ref name=":13" />

==== Other political issues ==== In 2011, Treadwell publicly supported gay marriage, and encourage Republican senators to vote for marriage equality.<ref>Former chair of the New York State Republican Party endorses gay marriage. (2011, June 17). ''Daily Record (Rochester, NY)''. via Gale, accessed August 3, 2022</ref> In 2020, Treadwell was a founder of a Bipartisan Committee to Elect Joe Biden; the committee started to support Democrat Amy Klobuchar who later withdrew from the presidential race.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-03-15 |title=Opinion {{!}} A Pro-Biden Republican |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/opinion/letters/biden-republicans.html |access-date=2022-08-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Artist === At 67 years old, Treadwell became an artist, specializing in charcoal portraits.<ref name=":1" /> He is affiliated with the Ojai Studio Artists.<ref name=":1" /> His gallery is the Ojai Valley Artists at 238 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai, California.<ref name=":1" />

== Personal life == Treadwell married Elisabeth "Libby" Ward Krautter on March 21, 1970, in Saints Chapel of Christ Episcopal Church in Winnetka, Illinois.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":7" /> Krautter was also a writer for ''Sports Illustrated'' and was one of the first woman journalists to cover professional football.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> In addition, she is a poet.<ref name=":11" /> They had an apartment in Manhattan, but also lived in Essex County, New York near his mother.<ref name=":2" /> They moved to Westport in 1972.<ref name=":6" /> The couple had two children: Zachary and Caroline.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" />

In 1980, he saw runners in the New York City Marathon.<ref name=":2" /> The next day, he began training for the 1981 marathon.<ref name=":2" /> At the time, Treadwell smoked two and a half packs of cigarettes a day.<ref name=":2" /> He ran both the New York City Marathon and the London Marathon two times, as well as running the Moscow Marathon once.<ref name=":2" />

In 2004, he purchased a home in Lake Placid, New York.<ref name=":6" /> He spent winters there and summers in Westport on the farm where he spent his childhood.<ref name=":6" /> The family also has a house in California.<ref name=":11" />

In 2004, President George W. Bush appointed Treadwell to the board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.<ref name=":11" /> In 2006, he was the president of the Lake Placid Regional Winter Sports Committee.<ref name=":7" /> He has also served as vice president of the Clark Foundation.<ref name=":7" />

==References== {{Reflist}}{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{succession box|title=Secretary of State of New York|before=Gail Shaffer|after=Randy Daniels|years=1995–2001}} {{s-ppo}} {{succession box|title=Chairman of the New York Republican State Committee|before=William D. Powers|after=Stephen Minarik|years=2001–2004}} {{s-end}}

{{New York Secretary of State}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treadwell, Alexander F.}} Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Journalists from London Category:People from Westport, New York Category:Groton School alumni Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Category:St. Anthony Hall Category:American sports journalists Category:New York (state) Republicans Category:Secretaries of state of New York (state) Category:State political party chairs of New York (state) Category:People from Lake Placid, New York Category:Artists from California Category:People from Ojai, California