Tom Horne

Thomas C. Horne
Attorney General of Arizona
Incumbent
In office
2011 – present
Term ends
January 5, 2015
Years in position	2
Party	Republican
Predecessor	Terry Goddard (D)
Compensation
Base salary	$90,000
Elections and appointments
First elected	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	2 consecutive terms
Prior offices
Arizona House of Representatives
1996-2000
Education
Bachelor's	Harvard University
J.D.	Harvard University School of Law
Personal
Birthday	March 28, 1945
Place of birth	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Religion	Jewish
Websites
Office website
Personal website
Campaign website

Thomas C. Horne (born March 28, 1945, in Montreal, Canada) is the current Republican Attorney General of Arizona, having been first elected to the statewide position in 2010. He was sworn in as attorney general, which is the state's chief legal officer, in January of 2011. His term expires in January of 2015.

Horne has served in all three branches of government. Immediately before becoming attorney general, Horne served as Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2003 to 2011. Prior to that, he was a two term member of the Arizona House of Representatives. Horne's legal experience includes over 30 years working in private practice as a litigating attorney. Over that period of time, he earned his judicial branch credits, holding the positions of Special Assistant Attorney General, Superior Court Judge Pro Tem and Court of Appeals Judge Pro Tem.

Horne switched his registration from Democratic to Republican in 1996 before his first election to the state legislature.

Beginning in Feb. 2012, Horne went under FBI investigation for alleged campaign finance violations. The investigation stemmed from a complaint filed with Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett in which a volunteer from his 2010 attorney general campaign accused Horne of illegally coordinating with the group Business Leaders for Arizona, a supposedly independent contributor to Horne's campaign run by former Horne staffer Kathleen Winn. The charges against Horne were dismissed in May 2013 by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Rea.

Horne is eligible to run for re-election as attorney general in 2014, and he has stated his intention to seek a second term. The general election will be take place November 4, 2014.

Biography

After graduating with honors from Harvard University Law School in 1970, Horne entered into private legal practice. He remained a practicing litigating attorney for the next 30 years. Horne's resume contains service credits from every branch of government, as well as a publishing credit for authoring a legal text for the Arizona State Bar. Other roles Horne occupies or has previously occupied include:

• Member, Arizona Bar (1972-present)
• Former Chair, Arizona Air Pollution Hearing
• Former Chair, Phoenix Library Advisory Board
• Board Member, Phoenix Symphony

Education

• Bachelor's degree, Harvard College (1967)
• Juris Doctorate degree, Harvard University Law School (1970)

Political career

Arizona Attorney General (2011-present)

Horne announced his candidacy for the statewide office of attorney general, the seat being vacated by Democrat Terry Goddard, who chose to campaign for the governorship rather than seek re-election. After a lengthy and bitter primary campaign in which both candidates routinely exchanged scathing criticisms of one another, the results for the election were so close that the ultimate outcome would not be known for some time after the polls closed. Despite speculation to the contrary, Andrew Thomas refused to concede the primary nomination to Horne until every single vote was counted, a process that continued for a nearly a week after Arizona voters went to the polls on Tuesday, August 24, 2010. Finally, on Tuesday, September 1, he conceded the nomination to his primary opponent when, after all the votes had been recounted, it was determined that Horne had maintained a 899 vote lead over the former attorney.

Mortgage settlement transfer

Arizona was awarded a $1.6 billion share - the third greatest, after California and Florida - of the $26 billion settlement from the 49 state lawsuit brought against 5 major mortgage institutions over nefarious lending practices. When the settlement was reached in February, 2012, the terms of how the pot would be distributed among, and within, the lawsuit's member states were laid out; Arizona was to direct $1.3 billion of its share to homeowners whose mortgage debts currently exceed their homes' value, $110 million in payments for those who already lost their homes to lender misconduct, $85 million for interest rate reductions, and, finally, $97.7 million to go straight to the attorney general's office. The $97.7 million, according to the language of the settlement, was reserved for the purposes of avoiding preventable foreclosures, easing the strain imposed on individuals and the economy by the foreclosure crisis, as well as prosecuting further related incidences of fraud.

Months later, Arizona lawmakers devised a plan to balance the budget via a governor-approved absorption of roughly half of that money into the state government's checking account. Horne lobbied against the decision, calling it "bad public policy". Despite informing the legislature and Gov. Jan Brewer that the money was intended for the victims of the crisis, not for general government purposes, he pledged to voluntarily comply with the $50 million transfer. "It would be suicidal for me to get into a war with [them] over a matter that is clearly constitutionally within their area of responsibility, namely the budget," Horne confessed- a statement with which Tim Hogan, an attorney for the Center for Law in the Public Interest, disagreed. In a letter to the attorney general, Hogan wrote that neither the Legislature nor Horne, as the fund's Trustee, has the right to voluntarily give half of the court-ordered trust fund to the state General Fund.

To legally justify the transfer, the bodies responsible for drawing up the budget invoked language from the settlement which permit a state to distill internally from the fund on the specific, necessary condition of compensating "for costs resulting from the alleged unlawful conduct of the defendants". They reasoned the state was covered under this contingency because, "general tax collections plummeted when the housing bubble burst and brought on a recession." Indeed, the crisis wreaked havoc on the state economy, but Hogan contended that provision was not broad enough to include the general costs of government and sought to block the transfer. Horne said he would oppose efforts like Hogan's, and, barring an injunction, intended to proceed with turning over the $50 million to the treasurer on July, 1, 2012, which began the next fiscal year. The money was putatively destined for prison construction.

FBI investigation of 2010 campaign-finance complaint

On February 11, 2012, a former Horne campaign volunteer and lawyer from the attorney general's Tuscon office named Don Dybus filed a complaint with Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett alleging that Horne violated state campaign laws during his election campaign for attorney general in 2010. The FBI was charged with investigating the complaint, which contended that Horne flouted the state's law prohibiting coordination between campaigns and independent expenditure committees, and accused Horne of making a felonious deal with campaign supporter Kathleen Winn, promising her a post-election job in exchange for her alleged services as a coordinator of several of the cited illicit arrangements.

In his complaint, Dybus said Horne collaborated with manager Nathan Sproul of the firm Lincoln Strategy, independent committee Business Leaders for Arizona, and Winn, who was the committee's Chairwoman, to arrange a $115,000 contribution to Business Leaders for Arizona from Horne's brother-in-law in Santa Monica, California. Dybus also accused Lincoln Strategy of facilitating a $350,000 contribution to the independent committee from the Republican State Leadership Committee in Virginia. The independent committee implicated by Dybus reportedly spent roughly $500,000 on a series of advertisements smearing Horne's general election opponent Felecia Rotellini (D), whom Horne narrowly defeated in November 2011.

After Horne took office as attorney general, he hired Winn to serve as his Director of Community Outreach, a high-paid position within the office. As revealed in the Arizona Capitol Times, Dybus called for Winn to be removed from the payroll, and urged Gov. Jan Brewer to replace Horne: “This is a matter of grave concern to all citizens of Arizona who should not tolerate a law-breaking attorney general."

A spokeswoman from his office relayed Horne's explicit denial of any wrongdoing, insisting "the fact is that extraordinary care was exercised to avoid coordination," and referring to Dybus as "disgruntled".

Healthcare reform

See also: State Attorneys General Against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

In mid-September 2010, Horne, who, at the time, was in the midst of his campaign for state attorney general, announced his endorsement of Proposition 106 - The Arizona Health Insurance Reform Amendment, which would amend the State Constitution by barring any rules or regulations that would force state residents to participate in a health-care system. In addition to this, the amendment would also ensure that individuals would have the right to pay for private health insurance. On Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010, Arizona Proposition 106 passed with slightly over fifty-five percent of the public who voted on the measure approving it.

As part of his campaign, Horne promised to join the twenty-plus other state attorneys general in challenging the constitutionality of the newly enacted federal health care reform measures, in particular the "individual mandate" that requires all citizens to purchase health insurance.

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Tom Horne endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Superintendent of Public Instruction (2002-2010)

Ethics Studies

Horne spoke strongly before the Arizona State Legislature in favor of the passage of Senate Bill 1069, which would ban ethnic-studies courses from the state's high schools. Under the law, "a district or charter school that allows such courses would lose 10 percent of its state funds each month;" the money, however, would be returned once the programs had been shuttered. The State Superintendent argued that it is the responsibility of the public schools "to develop the student's identity as Americans and as strong individuals" rather then to "promote ethnic chauvinism."

On Thursday, April 29, 2010, the Arizona House of Representatives passed the ban on ethnic studies programs in the state by a vote of 32 - 26. The measure made it "illegal for a school district to teach any courses that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment of a particular race or class of people, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or "advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals."

Illegal immigration

As State Superintendent, Horne was cited on record for supporting the use of $1.2 billion annually from Arizona taxpayers to pay for educating the children of illegal immigrants. Additionally, he called for a plan in which high school graduates who are in the United States illegally would be granted citizenship upon passing a simple standardized test. Critics argued, however, that this would only serve as an incentive for immigrants to break the law.

In April 2009, Horne opposed a bill "that would have Arizona schools ask students whether they were in the country legally." The legislation was designed specifically to serve as a legal challenge to the 1982 Supreme Court case, Plyler vs. Doe, that prohibited public schools from denying illegal immigrant students access to a public education.

State Legislature (1996-2000)

Horne was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 1996 and ultimately served two terms in office. During his tenure, he served as both the chairman of the Academic Accountability Committee and vice chairman of the Education Committee.

Abortion

Near the end of his tenure as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, Horne voted against House Bill 2708, which closed a legislative loophole by banning "taxpayer funding for abortion."

School Choice

While serving in the state legislature, Horne opposed Arizona House Bill 2074 (HB 2074), also known as the Arizona Tuition Tax Credit Law. The measure, passed by the Arizona House of Representatives in 1997, allowed state taxpayers up to a $500.00 tax credit if they chose to donate to a private school scholarship fund. In addition to reducing state tax liability of private citizens, it facilitated parents more flexibility when choosing educational options for their children.

Elections

2014

See also: Arizona attorney general election, 2014

Horne is planning to run for re-election as Attorney General of Arizona in 2014.

2010

See also: Arizona Attorney General election, 2010

2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Tom Horne	50.1%
	Republican Party	Andrew Thomas	49.9%
Total Votes			552,623

2010 Race for Attorney General - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Tom Horne	51.9%
	Democratic Party	Felecia Rotellini	48.1%
Total Votes			1,677,668

2006

• 2006 Race for Superintendent of Public Instruction - Republican Primary

• Tom Horne ran unopposed in this contest

2006 Race for Superintendent of Public Instruction - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Tom Horne	53.7%
	Democratic Party	Jason Williams	46.3%
Total Votes			1,454,587

2002

2002 Race for Superintendent of Public Instruction - Republican Primary
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Tom Horne	41.2%
	Republican Party	Jaime Molera	30.3%
	Republican Party	Keith Bee	28.5%
Total Votes			293,444

2002 Race for Superintendent of Public Instruction - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Tom Horne	50.1%
	Democratic Party	Jay Blanchard	46.3%
	Libertarian Party	John C. Zajac	3.6%
Total Votes			1,166,849

1998

1998 Race for Arizona House of Representatives, District 24 - Republican Primary
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Tom Horne	58.7%
	Republican Party	a Barbara Leff	41.3%
Total Votes			9,601

1998 Race for Arizona House of Representatives, District 24 - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Tom Horne	34.9%
	Republican Party	a Barbara Leff	32.1%
	Democratic Party	Jacqueline Gasser	16.7%
	Democratic Party	Chris Klein	16.3%
Total Votes			59,564

1996

1996 Race for Arizona House of Representatives, District 24 - Republican Primary
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Tom Horne	24.9%
	Republican Party	a Barbara Leff	22.4%
	Republican Party	Lindy Funkhouser	22.0%
	Republican Party	Kathryn Bailue	15.3%
	Republican Party	Howard Sprague	10.1%
	Republican Party	C. Rosenstock	3.2%
	Republican Party	Angelo DeSimone	2.1%
Total Votes			18,141

1996 Race for Arizona House of Representatives, District 24 - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Tom Horne	31.3%
	Republican Party	a Barbara Leff	30.5%
	Democratic Party	Lynne Sisson	18.2%
	Democratic Party	Chris Alter	15.8%
	Libertarian Party	Jim Hamilton	4.3%
Total Votes			88,999

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 Horne's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Tom Horne's Campaign Contributions
	2010 Arizona Attorney General		2006 Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction		2002 Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
Total Raised	$886,100		$131,913		$600,916
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$701,641 (Dem.)		$125,306 (Dem.)		$119,425 (Dem.)
Top 5 contributors	Thomas Horne	$389,375	Public Fund	$119,425	Tom Horne	$511,563
	Bank of America	$2,000	Shannon Chandler Hughes	$130	Arizona Republican Party	$7,500
	Cash America International	$1,680	Jerry Colangelo	$120	Paradise Valley Fund for Children in Public Education	$3,460
	Saddlebrooke Republican Club 2010	$1,150	Alicia Alvarez	$120	William Jackimell	$1,400
	Cox Communications	$1,000	Irving Shuman	$120	Daniel McAuliffe	$1,250
Individuals	$464,799		$12,230		$71,588
Institutions	$20,120		-		$8,280
In-state donations	$766,546		$130,513		$581,551
Out-of-state donations	$116,892		$1,280		$20,270

Controversies

Speeding tickets

In addition to receiving six speeding tickets from law enforcement officials over an eighteen month period, including one in a school zone, Horne was issued a criminal citation for violating A.R.S. 28-701.02 A2 on Sunday, October 21, 2007 by the Scottsdale Police Department. The charge came with a maximum possible sentence of six months in jail, three years probation, and a $2,500 fine. Three months later, Horne's lawyer was able to negotiate a plea bargain with the Scottsdale prosecutor, who agreed to drop the criminal traffic offense charge in exchange for Horne pleading guilty to a civil offense for violating A.R.S. 28-701A, a charge that normally applies to drivers going 16 to 20 miles per hour above the speed limit; Horne was cited for going 27 miles per hour over the 45 mph speed limit.

Bankruptcy

In annual reports filed between 1997 and 2000 on behalf of his private law firm, Horne denied ever having been a partner in a business that went bankrupt. The truth of the matter, however, was that Horne was the president of T.C. Horne & Co., an investment firm created in the late-1960s that went bankrupt in 1970. Three years later, the future attorney general was sanctioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charging that he had "willfully aided and abetted" his firm in violating securities laws by submitting false balance sheets and misrepresenting his firm's assets. He was eventually barred for life from associating with brokers, dealers, investment advisers, and investment companies. Horne's Republican primary challenger, Andrew Thomas, contended that "the circumstances surrounding the bankruptcy should disqualify Horne from holding the state's top law-enforcement job."

Personal

Horne currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, Martha. The couple has had four children together - Susan, Mary, David, and Mark.

Contact information

Capitol Address:
Attorney General Tom Horne
Office of the Attorney General
1275 West Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Phone: (602) 542-5025
Toll Free Phone: (800) 352-8431 (toll free in State of Arizona, outside Maricopa and Pima Counties)
Fax: (602) 542-4085
E-mail: ag.inquiries@ag.state.az.us

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term "Tom + Horne + Arizona + Attorney"

All stories may not be relevant to this individual due to the nature of the search engine.

Tom Horne News Feed

• Critics: Attorney General Tom Horne's plan to help illegal foreclosure victims ... - ABC15.com (KNXV-TV)
• Arizona Bar drops campaign charge against Horne - Arizona Capitol Times
• AG: Phoenix auto repair shop closed after sting - KTAR.com
• High Court Strikes Down Voting Law In Arizona - 90.3 KAZU
• Tom Horne pushes for border-security panel - Arizona Republic
• Arizona Bar drops campaign charge against Tom Horne - KTAR.com
• Horne re-election campaign e-mail attacks media, Obama to raise money - azcentral.com
• Horne: Panel should decide if border is secure - KTAR.com
• Arizona law on voter registration struck down - Columbus Dispatch
• Arizona citizenship proof law: Supreme Court issues split ruling - azcentral.com

See also

• Attorney General of Arizona
• Governor of Arizona
• Lieutenant Governor of Arizona
• Arizona Secretary of State

External links

Suggest a link

• Official Arizona Attorney General website
• Tom Horne for Arizona Attorney General Campaign website
• Tom Horne's Facebook profile
• Tom Horne's Twitter account
• Project Vote Smart - Tom Horne biography
• Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996

References

Political offices
Preceded by Jaime Molera	Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction 2002–2010	Succeeded by John Huppenthal (R)
Preceded by Terry Goddard (D)	Arizona Attorney General 2010–present	Succeeded by NA