The London-born Treadwell is the grandson of a founding executive of General Electric, and a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Treadwell served in the Army National Guard, and his father was a Brigadier in the British Army. Treadwell was a sports journalist who wrote for Sports Illustrated, and a book on marathon running. He became active in the Republican Party in Essex County, New York. His service included being a committeeman, town chairman, the chairman of the county's Republican Party, and vice chairman of the state Republican Party under Chairman Bill Powers.
In 1995, Gov. George Pataki appointed Treadwell Secretary of State of New York. As Secretary, Treadwell was active in reorganizing the Department of State in order to streamline operations and improve efficiency. He reduced the agency's workforce without layoffs while holding the line on spending. He was also active in local government issues statewide. The Department of State, New York State's oldest agency, had 850 employees and an annual budget of $110 million during Treadwell's leadership.
In 2001, Pataki appointed Treadwell as the Chairman of the New York Republican Party. His tenure saw the election of a Republican mayor of New York City, the 2002 reelection of Pataki and Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue and the nomination of the state's first Latina candidate, Judge Dora Irizarry, who was the 2002 nominee for state attorney general. In 2004, Treadwell was the host state chairman of the Republican National Convention that nominated President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for re-election. The party also experienced losses during his tenure, including county executive seats in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, four state Senate seats, five state Assembly seats and two seats in Congress.
2004 US Senate Race
In 2004, Treadwell faced controversy after he supported AssemblymanHoward Mills as the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate against Senator Chuck Schumer over the would-be primary candidate Michael Benjamin. Benjamin publicly accused Treadwell and Governor George Pataki of trying to muscle him out of the Senate race and undermine the democratic process. Mills, who was nominated after numerous other potential candidates turned the race down, lost to incumbent Charles Schumer in the largest landslide in state history. Conservative commentator George Marlin criticized Treadwell, labeling him a "liberal elitist".
2008 Congressional Candidacy
Treadwell stepped down as state chairman in 2004 to become national committeeman. In 2006 some speculated that he would challenge Republican Congressman John E. Sweeney for reelection, but he did not file to do so. In April 2008, he filed the necessary paperwork to run for Congress to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand, who had defeated Sweeney in the 2006 election. Treadwell signed 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. He was defeated by Kirsten Gillibrand, who was re-elected with 62% of the vote. Treadwell spent $5.5 million, most of which was his own money.
