Click here to live chat with one of our writers between 9am-5pm CST.
Tom Corbett
From Ballotpedia
 This state official-related article is in the process of being updated. |
| Tom Corbett | ||
 | ||
| Governor of Pennsylvania | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2011 - Present | ||
| Years in position | 1 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Prior offices | ||
| Pennsylvania Attorney General | ||
| 2004 - 2010 | ||
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Previously, he has served as the Attorney General of Pennsylvania. Though he was first elected to the position in 2004, Corbett had previously served in the office as an appointment by then-Governor Tom Ridge in 1995 to fill the unexpired term of Ernie Preate who was convicted of mail fraud.
Biography
Education
- Bachelor's degree, Lebanon Valley College
- Juris Doctorate degree, St. Mary's University Law School (1975)
Professional experience
Corbett served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard 28th Infantry Division from 1971 to 1984. During that time, he was able to achieve the rank of captain. Shortly after graduating from law school, he worked as an assistant district attorney in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Corbett was chosen in 1980 to act as an assistant to the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, a role he maintained for three years.
After returning to Pennsylvania and private practice, he entered the state's political stage for the first time, winning the election for township commissioner in Shaler Township, Pennsylvania. His skills and experience within the legal profession were recognized nationally when President George H. W. Bush appointed him United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1988; he remained there until midway through Bill Clinton's first year in office.
Following his resignation, he again returned to private practice in Pennsylvania, while simultaneously serving as an advisor to Tom Ridge's successful 1994 gubernatorial campaign. In the wake of Ridge's victory, Corbett worked on a number of state commissions, including the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Deliquency where he served as chairman. When he was appointed by ridge to fill the vacancy of state Attorney General left behind by the scandal-plagued Ernest Preate in 1995, he was required by the State Senate Democrats to sign a pledge that said he would not run for re-election the next year, a common practice in the state of Pennsylvania for appointments to elected offices.
Leaving office in 1997, he returned to the private sector by starting his own practice, Thomas Corbett and Associates, one he kept in operation until 2004. That same year he served as the general counsel for Waste Management.
Personal
Corbett currently resides in Pennsylvania with his wife, Susan Manbeck. The couple has had two children - Tom, a video game producer, and Katherine, a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.
Issues
Healthcare reform
In the wake of the historic passage of President Barack Obama's health care reform legislation on Christmas Eve in 2009, Corbett was one of ten Republican Attorneys General questioning not only the constitutionality of a specific controversial provision within the Senate version of the bill, but also exploring potential legal challenges to the measure as well. The stipulation in question was the back room deal Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid struck with Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson to recruit him as the 60th vote needed to pass the measure, an arrangement "dubbed the "Nebraska Compromise" or the "Cornhusker Kickback" by GOP critics." The agreement gives Nebraska exemption from its share of the Medicaid expansion, "a carve out that is expected to cost the federal government $100 million over 10 years." Corbett tweeted that he was "analyzing [the] constitutionality of [the] "Nebraska Compromise" in health care bill." [1]
On the same morning President Barack Obama signed into law his controversial health care reform bill, the one that narrowly passed the United States House of Representatives just two days before, Corbett and twelve other Attorneys General, all but one being Republican, filed suit against "the federal government to stop the massive health care overhaul, claiming it's unconstitutional." [2] His office, however, "did not detail the specific legal grounds he might cite in arguing against the legislation." [3]
Illegal immigration
Nearly two weeks after the United States Justice Department filed suit against the state of Arizona over its anti-illegal immigration law, Senate Bill 1070 - The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB 1070), contending that it "interferes with federal immigration responsibilities," Corbett joined eight other Republican state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of the measure. [4] The Pennsylvania Attorney General argued that the "the lawsuit filed by the federal government in this case undermines the constitutional authority of all our states." [5] This opinion, however, is at odds with the current governor, who contends it is the sole authority of the federal government to handle responsibility for this issue.
Liquor privatization
Corbett voiced his support for the privatization of the 61 state liquor stores before he assumed his position as Governor of Pennsylvania. He joins State House Republicans, including the new Majority Leader, Mike Turzai. [6]
Forced pooling
On the day Corbett was sworn into office as the Governor of Pennsylvania, critics gathered on the front steps. They were opposing the threat of forced natural gas pooling laws, which they claim will be on the agenda in the new legislative session.
Gene Stilp, a local political activist who organized Tuesday's protest, said the legalization of forced pooling would be a violation of constitutionally guaranteed property rights.
"Sure, they'll give you something for it, some kind of monetary compensation, but the idea here is that it is a diminution of our constitutional rights to property," said Stilp. "It lays open the property rights of all Pennsylvanians."
Stilp equated forced pooling to "subterranean eminent domain."
Range Resources is one of the largest gas companies operating in Pennsylvania and one of the companies people like Stilp are protesting. Matt Pitzarella, spokesperson for Range Resources, said the pooling can benefit property owners by allowing for more efficient extraction of gas.
"The reason why we want it is for the sake of consistency, so we can maximize the amount of gas that we can drain, which means more money for the people who own the property and leased it to us," said Pitzarella. "We can plan farther in advance with the wells we will need to drill and the pipelines we will need to lay."
House Republicans spokesperson Steve Miskin said the forced pooling bill was only one of many issues relating to natural gas drilling which lawmakers will address in the coming months.
"Priority number one for us is working with the Senate and governor-elect Corbett to pass a balanced budget without new taxes," said Miskin. "I think it's a little too early to be talking about this bill or that bill being a priority."[7]
Presidential preference
2012
Tom Corbett has endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [8]
Controversies
Civil rights complaint
In August 2008, Thomas D. Kimmet, a former deputy in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and a ten year veteran of the Department of Revenue, filed a federal civil rights complaint in United States Middle District Court alleging that the state's top law enforcer, Tom Corbett, had violated his constitutional rights. Furthermore, Kimmet accused Corbett and his lieutenants of preventing him from "correcting inefficiencies in the Office of Attorney General's (OAG) Financial Enforcement Section (FES)," the state's last resort in collect debts and back taxes, that may be costing taxpayers millions of dollars per year. [9] [10] The suit now stands before District Court Judge John Jones, a longtime Republican who had been speculated at one time of being a gubernatorial candidate; attorneys for Mr. Kimmet, however, are requesting a jury trial.
Six hours of deposition testimony shows that State Attorney General Tom Corbett depends upon his senior staff to relay information to him and that he believes in a "military style chain-of-command management." [9] Additionally, he denied having any memory of there being significant problems related to the FES and acknowledged that in signing Mr. Kimmet's walking papers in November 2008, he did not see if he had asked for a review of his dismissal.
Kimmet charged that the FES was making "fraudulent payouts for services that were unearned or earned improperly by private collection agencies" and that "many debts collected by state agencies were improperly credited to private vendors." [11] [12] However, when he made attempts to correct these issues, he encountered harsh resistance from his superiors and even members of his immediate staff. He said that Corbett refused to follow up on his investigation into the alteration of FES records in order "to avoid public disclosure of possible criminal misconduct and fraud." [11] The OAG vigorously denied all of these charges. As to the former deputy attorney general's dismissal, the OAG alleged that Mr. Kimmet was a poor manager who routinely acted aggressively toward staff, rejected proposed compromises, and, most importantly, "failed to discharge his responsibilities on a costly and critical technology project." [11]
Elections
2010
Corbett announced his candidacy for the Republican party nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania on September 15, 2009. [13] A Quinnipiac poll taken in December 2009 indicated that he leads United States Representative Jim Gerlach for the Republican nomination with 38 percent favoring his candidacy. Furthermore, the polling data suggested that were the gubernatorial election to be held today Corbett would easily beat the three top-polling Democrats in head-to-head match-ups. [14]
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 Tom Corbett's donors each year.[15] Click [show] for more information.
| Tom Corbett's Campaign Contributions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Governor of Pennsylvania | 2008 Attorney General of Pennsylvania | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total Raised | $28,689,900 | $4,258,741 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $25,310,387 | $1,154,610 | |||||||||||||||||
| Top 5 contributors | Republican Governors Association | $6,000,967 | Republican State Leadership Committee | $691,550 | |||||||||||||||
| Pennsylvania Republican Party | $2,095,333 | John M. Templeton, Jr. | $128,000 | ||||||||||||||||
| Friends of Tom Corbett | $763,500 | Pennsylvania Future Fund | $111,500 | ||||||||||||||||
| Vahan Gureghian | $325,714 | John S. Middleton | $100,000 | ||||||||||||||||
| John Templeton, Jr. | $283,500 | John G. Rangos, Sr. | $85,000 | ||||||||||||||||
| Individuals | $14,316,266 | $2,075,892 | |||||||||||||||||
| Institutions | $10,692,523 | $1,381,536 | |||||||||||||||||
| In-state donations | $18,797,610 | $3,084,972 | |||||||||||||||||
| Out-of-state donations | $9,260,799 | $1,145,527 | |||||||||||||||||
Elections
2004
| 2004 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary [16] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
 Tom Corbett (R)
| 52.8% | |||
| Bruce Castor (R) | 47.2% | |||
| Total votes | 931,362 | |||
| 2004 Race for Attorney General - General Election [17] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Tom Corbett (R)
| 50.4% | |||
| Jim Eisenhower (D) | 48.4% | |||
| Marakay J. Rogers (Green) | 1.3% | |||
| Total votes | 5,423,269 | |||
2008
- 2008 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary [18]
- Tom Corbett ran unopposed
| 2008 Race for Attorney General - General Election [19] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Tom Corbett (R)
| 52.4% | |||
| John M. Morganelli (D) | 45.7% | |||
| Marakay J. Rogers (Green) | 1.9% | |||
| Total votes | 5,732,574 | |||
2010
| 2010 Race for Governor - Republican Primary [20] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Tom Corbett (R)
| 68.8% | |||
| Samuel E. Rohrer (R) | 31.3% | |||
| Total votes | 857,142 | |||
Contact Information
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
16th Floor
Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Phone: 717-787-3391
Fax: 717-787-8242
See also
External links
- Official Pennsylvania Attorney General website
- Tom Corbett's Facebook profile
- Tom Corbett's Twitter account
- Tom Corbett for Governor Campaign website
- Project Vote Smart - Tom Corbett biography
References
- ↑ Politico "GOP AGs may sue over health bill" 24 Dec. 2009
- ↑ Associated Press "13 attorneys general sue over health care overhaul" 23 March, 2010
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Corbett pits Pa. against health plan" 23 March, 2010
- ↑ FOX News "Justice Department Files Suit Against Arizona Immigration Law" 6 July, 2010
- ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer "Pennsylvania joins brief in support of Arizona immigration law" 15 July, 2010
- ↑ Pennsylvania Independent "Privatization of State Liquor Stores Could Yield $2 Billion" 11 Nov. 2010
- ↑ "Gas Drilling Critics Say Corbett Will Endanger Property Rights With Forced Pooling," Pennsylvania Independent, JANUARY 4, 2011
- ↑ CNN, "Pennsylvania, Wyoming governors endorse Romney," April 17, 2012
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Pennsylvania Independent ""Whistleblower" Suit Allows Peek into AG's Office" 16 April, 2010
- ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer "Two lawsuits allege Corbett has mismanaged Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office" 21 June, 2010
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Pennsylvania Independent "Civil Rights Complaint Alleges AG Staff Balked" 19 April, 2010
- ↑ Pennsylvania Independent "What is a Whistleblower?" 20 April, 2010
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Corbett announces he will run for governor in 2010" 15 Sept. 2009
- ↑ Philly.com "Poll finds Attorney General Tom Corbett holds wide lead in governor's race" 17 Dec. 2009
- ↑ Follow the Money.org
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State: Elections Information - 2004 Republican Primary Election Results
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State: Elections Information - 2004 General Election Results
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State: Elections Information - 2008 Republican Primary Election Results
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State: Elections Information - 2008 General Election Results
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State: Elections Information - 2010 Primary Election Results
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ernie Preate | Pennsylvania Attorney General 1995–1997 | Succeeded by Mike Fisher |
| Preceded by Jerry Pappert | Pennsylvania Attorney General 2004–2010 | Succeeded by NA |
| Preceded by Ed Rendell | Governor of Pennsylvania 2010–present | Succeeded by NA |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
