Tom Rooney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When Tom was 14 his father, Patrick J. Rooney Sr., moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida where the family owned a dog track and gambling business. He graduated from the Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Florida in 1989. In college, Rooney played football for Syracuse University and Washington & Jefferson College outside of Pittsburgh where he earned his B.A. in English Literature. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.
Rooney attended the University of Florida where he received his M.A. in Political Science with a certificate in Political Campaigning. After that he went to the University of Miami School of Law where he received his J.D. and met his wife Tara Lombardi.
As his first job out of college, Tom Rooney worked for U.S. Senator Connie Mack III, who had worked with Tom’s father, Patrick J. Rooney Sr., at one time. Tom started in Senator Mack’s mailroom: “We opened every letter and that’s where I learned what people’s issues were. It really helped shape a blank slate in my life.” After getting his Masters, he returned to Florida, where he went to work as an Assistant Attorney General. While working as a criminal prosecutor for Attorney General Charlie Crist, he joined the Board of Directors with “The Children’s Place at Home Safe,” a Palm Beach County shelter that helps abused, neglected, and abandoned children. In 2005, Tom was named CEO of Home Safe and because of his work there, Governor Jeb Bush appointed Rooney to the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County Board of Directors in January 2006. After his second year as director, Rooney returned to the Board of Directors of Children’s Place and resumed his practice of law in Stuart, Florida with the law firm of Kramer, Sopko & Levenstein, P.A. He is a graduate of Leadership Palm Beach County.
Rooney went on to represent Florida’s 16th Congressional District, serving from 2009 to 2013. In his first election, Rooney challenged Democratic incumbent Tim Mahoney to flip the seat. On the campaign trial, Rooney leaded on his experience in the Political Campaigning program. Rooney said, “The Political Campaigning Program enabled me to understand politics in a way that most candidates would not. Running for Congress is extremely difficult, but the program at UF taught me what to expect and lent insight into the strategy that we are using in our campaign.”
