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Beau Biden
| Joseph R. "Beau" Biden, III | ||
 | ||
| Attorney General of Delaware | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2007 - present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 6, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 2 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Predecessor | Carl Danberg (D) | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $137,425 | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 2, 2010 | |
| First elected | November 7, 2006 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| High school | Archmere Academy | |
| Bachelor's | University of Pennsylvania | |
| J.D. | Syracuse University College of Law | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | February 3, 1969 | |
| Place of birth | Wilmington, Delaware | |
| Religion | Roman Catholic | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Personal website | ||
Contents |
Biography
Delaware's 44th Attorney General was born and raised in Delaware. Tragedy struck the Biden family early in Beau's life, when he and his brother Hunter were badly injured in the automobile accident in 1972 that claimed the lives of their mother, Neilia, and younger sister, Naomi Christina Biden.
Biden received his J.D. from Syracuse University's College of Law. He forfeited opportunities to enter the private sector immediately following graduation in favor of a two year clerkship for the United States District Court in New Hampshire. Biden then moved to Philadelphia, where he had previously lived as an undergraduate attending University of Pennsylvania, to join the United States Department of Justice. There, he served as Counsel in the Office of Policy Development, specializing in gun control and women's rights laws, as well as issues related to child protection.[1]
Biden became a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office in 1997, and he remained there until 2004, when he returned to the private sector as a partner in the Wilmington-based law firm of Bifferato, Gentilotti, Biden & Black.[1]
In August 2003, he was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in Delaware's National Guard’s 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, and his unit was activated for a 12 month deployment to Iraq in October 2008, right before his father was elected to the Vice Presidency. Biden, now a major in the Delaware Army National Guard's Judge Advocate General's Corps, returned from Iraq in late 2009.
Biden has served on the boards of directors for the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, Wilmington Housing Partnership, and World Affairs Council of Wilmington.
Education
- Graduated from Archmere Academy
- Bachelor's degree, University of Pennsylvania
- Juris Doctorate degree, Syracuse University College of Law
Political career
Attorney General (2007-Present)
Biden took office as Delaware's 44th Attorney General in January 2007.[2]
Prison criticism
Upon his return from his active tour of duty in Iraq, Biden found his office in the midst of a startling prison scandal and conducting damage control in the form of silencing his office's critics. The controversy began when Dover attorney Steve Hampton, who had taken on a number of inmate's cases in several scandals that occurred within the state of Delaware's prison system, successfully sued the Department of Corrections (DOC) for 'gross medical neglect' in the death of twenty-two year old Anthony Pierce. Pierce, an inmate at the Sussex Correctional Institution (SCI), was known as the 'brother with two heads' because of the massive brain tumor growing on his head. The tumor, which was left untreated by the prison medical staff, eventually killed him in 2002.
A series of investigations conducted on behalf of the Caesar Rodney Institute, called "Rogue Force", revealed ongoing problems with the prison medical care, in addition to accusations of physical abuse by a handful of guards at SCI. “There is an abusive atmosphere at SCI that permeates the whole place,” Hampton told the Caesar Rodney Institute for the series. “They have a hands-off attitude about the number of use-of-force incidents. It just isn’t important to them." Depositions obtained by Hampton from several guards at the Delaware prison facility while investigating an assault of a prison inmate named David Kalm "revealed that the DOC is breaking its promise to the federal government, in which it agreed to provide specific training to the guard force, as part of the federal Memorandum of Agreement between the DOC and the U.S. Department of Justice." [3] The DOC signed the agreement in 2005 rather than risk litigation in federal court, following another case of poor medical care. Lawmakers appealed for federal investigation of the state’s prison system.
Senate candidacy
At one point in the wake of the Democratic victory for senator Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the 2008 presidential election, Beau was considered the frontrunner to fill the vacancy in the United States Senate left behind by his father. However, either due to concerns over accusations of nepotism or an expressed unwillingness to be thrust onto the national political stage so quickly, Beau took his name out of the running and opted instead to fulfill his duties in the Delaware National Guard. [4]
The appointment of Ted Kaufmann, a long-time Joe Biden aide, as interim senator and his declaration not to run for election to the office in November 2010 angered not only Republicans, both statewide and nationally, but Democrats as well who "viewed it as an attempt to orchestrate Biden's election in 2010." [5] Harry F. Themal, columnist for The News Journal, related a conversation he had with the Vice President suggesting he was asked to pressure Biden's son to run for his United States Senate seat. [6] Shortly thereafter, the vice president's office demanded a correction insisting "that he told Themal to get Kaufman to run for the seat," despite the interim senator's earlier declaration that he would not. [7] This fueled speculation that Biden's son was not going to run. The next day, those speculations were confirmed when "the younger Biden told supporters in an email Monday that he will run for re-election as attorney general rather than seek the Democratic nomination for Senate." [8]
The same day as Beau Biden's announcement, Robert Cook, an American political analyst, immediately designated the Delaware Senate seat as Solid Republican for the November 2010 midterm election. [9]
Elections
2010
- See also: Delaware Attorney General election, 2010
- 2010 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary and General Election
- Beau Biden ran unopposed in both these contests
2006
- 2006 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary
- Beau Biden ran unopposed in this contest
| 2006 Race for Attorney General - General Election [10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party |  Beau Biden
|
52.6% | |
| Republican Party | Ferris Wharton | 47.4% | |
| Total Votes | 253,214 | ||
Campaign donors
Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Beau Biden's donors each year.[11] Click [show] for more information.
| Beau Biden's Campaign Contributions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Delaware Attorney General | 2006 Delaware Attorney General | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total Raised | $7,744 | $880,522 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $3,194 (Rep.) | $579,755 (Rep.) | |||||||||||||||||
| Top 5 contributors | Frank E. Acierno | $1,200 | Contact Group | $10,150 | |||||||||||||||
| Irene Schwartz | $1,200 | Delaware Democratic Party | $9,960 | ||||||||||||||||
| Astrazeneca | $1,200 | LSG Strategies | $4,950 | ||||||||||||||||
| Charles C. Momjian | $1,200 | James R Berman | $2,400 | ||||||||||||||||
| Chris Kelly | $500 | Elizabeth W Reid | $2,400 | ||||||||||||||||
| Individuals | $5,550 | $742,402 | |||||||||||||||||
| Institutions | $1,200 | $123,353 | |||||||||||||||||
| In-state donations | $2,400 | $370,158 | |||||||||||||||||
| Out-of-state donations | $4,350 | $509,984 | |||||||||||||||||
Contact Information
Capitol Address:
102 W. Water Street
Dover, DE 19904
Criminal Division: 302-739-4211
Civil Division: 302-739-7641
Toll Free Phone: 302-739-1545
Fax: 302-739-7652
E-mail: Attorney.General@State.DE.US
Recent news
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This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Beau + Biden + Delaware + Attorney"
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Beau Biden News Feed
- Attorney General visits West Rehoboth - Delmarva Now
- Delaware home busted 177 times finally shutdown through the Nuisance ... - Newsworks.org
- Legislative panel approves funds to increase security at state courthouses - The News Journal
- Biden to put his stamp on drug bills - The News Journal
- Beau Biden announces new gun-control legislation - Politico
- Joe and Alan Wilson: Father and son - The State
- Milestone events in Gosnell case - The News Journal
- Delaware becomes eleventh state to approve same-sex marriage - wtvr.com
- Philly DA: Gosnell conducted same act in Delaware - WFMY News 2
- Biden unveils measures to combat prescription drug abuse - Cape Gazette
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
Personal
Biden currently resides in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife, Hallie, and their two children - Natalie and Hunter. He is also a practicing Roman Catholic.[12]
See also
External links
- Official Delaware Attorney General website
- Beau Biden for Delaware's Attorney General Campaign website
- Project Vote Smart - Beau Biden biography
- Campaign contributions: 2010, 2008, 2006
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Beau Biden, "Biography of Beau Biden", accessed February 3, 2012
- ↑ Delaware Attorney General's Office "Biography" Accessed October 3, 2012
- ↑ Caesar Rodney Institute "Attorney General Beau Biden’s Office trying to silence prison critic" 2009
- ↑ Reuters "Aide named to replace Biden in Senate" 24 Nov. 2008
- ↑ The Prince Albert Daily Herald "Kennedy, Cuomo, Biden -- nepotism thriving in American politics" 9 Dec. 2008
- ↑ The News Journal "VP Biden on the Senate's "lamentable atmosphere"" 24 Jan. 2010
- ↑ Hot Air "Biden officially drops out of DE Senate race" 25 Jan. 2010
- ↑ Houston Chronicle "Vice president's son decides not to run for Senate" 25 Jan. 2010
- ↑ The Cook Report "2010 Senate Race Ratings" 25 Jan. 2010
- ↑ State of Delaware: Commissioner of Elections - 2006 General Election Results
- ↑ Follow the Money.org
- ↑ Attorney General of Delaware, "AG bio", accessed February 3, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carl Danberg (D) |
Delaware Attorney General 2006–present |
Succeeded by NA |
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