Richard Pombo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Richard Pombo | |
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| In office 1993-(term ends 2007) |
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| Preceded by | Tom Lantos |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent1 |
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| Born | January 8, 1961 Tracy, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Annette Cole |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| 1Jerry McNerney defeated Pombo in the 2006 elections and will replace him in the House on January 3, 2007. | |
Richard William Pombo (born January 8, 1961), American politician, is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing California's 11th congressional district since 1993. After multiple allegations of corruption, misuse of official resources, nepotism, questionable campaign contributions, and concerted opposition from national environmental groups, Pombo lost a reelection bid to to Democratic challenger Jerry McNerney on November 7, 2006. McNerney will replace Pombo in the House on January 3, 2007.
[edit] Early life and career
Pombo was born in Tracy, California; just outside Stockton. Pombo attended Cal-Poly Pomona for three years before dropping out to work for his family's cattle and dairy business. He is a descendant of Portuguese immigrants. Pombo is married to the former Annette Cole and has three children. Even after being elected to Congress, he has continued to own a 500 acre ranch near Tracy, returning to it every week. [1] Pombo is a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
Pombo served as a Councilmember for the City of Tracy from 1990 to 1992.
[edit] House of Representatives
[edit] 1992 election
In 1992, Pombo won the Republican primary, defeating several candidates, in a race for an open seat in a majority-Republican district (California had added seven seats in the House after the 1990 Census). Pombo's strongest opponent in the Republican primary was moderate-Republican Sandra Smoley, a State Assemblywoman.
In November, Pombo defeated Democrat Patti Garamendi (wife of current California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi). Pombo was assisted greatly by his family's name recognition in the Central Valley. His late uncle Ernie Pombo's real estate and land development firm, Pombo Real Estate, made the Pombo family the largest land owner in the 11th district.
[edit] Political positions
[edit] Status within the Republican party
Pombo has a conservative track record. [1] In 1994, during the Republican Revolution, he was one of the signatories of the Contract with America.
[edit] Private property rights
Pombo is especially known for his defense of private property rights. This was spurred by the Southern Pacific Railroad's abandonment of the Altamont Pass route through Tracy, California. Pombo owned land adjacent to the abandoned railroad line. Pombo argued that the abandoned easement should legally revert to the adjacent property owners (such as himself) rather than to the local park district. He argued that as the easement was granted based on a promise that the land would be used for railroad purposes only, that the easements ended entirely when they were abandoned. Pombo's case resulted in Congress passing the Rails to Trails Act.
In a New York Times editorial (October 30, 2005), Pombo was called "an outspoken product of the extreme property rights movement." In 2005, he proposed legislation which would allow mining companies to buy lands on which they have staked claims, even if there is no evidence of valuable minerals on that land. According to the editorial, "This has nothing to do with mining, and everything to do with stealing land that is owned by the American people."
Pombo has written a book with Joseph Farah, founder of WorldNetDaily, about private property issues, entitled This Land is Our Land: How to End the War on Private Property. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1996. (ISBN 0-312-14747-3)
Pombo was a co-founder of the San Joaquin County Citizen’s Land Alliance, a group of farmers and other landowners who advocate private property rights and oppose government encroachment on these rights.
[edit] Environment
Pombo has proposed legislation to sell roughly a quarter of the land managed by the National Park Service. In November 2005, Pombo and Jim Gibbons (R-NV) co-authored an amendment to the Federal Budget Reconciliation Bill easing restrictions of sale of federal lands to mining companies. This amendment was opposed by environmentalists, anti-growth advocates, and even some Republican Senators concerned about the measure's effects on hunting and fishing.[2] The amendment narrowly passed the House, but was defeated in the Senate. The legislation was later described by his chief of staff as a "bureaucratic exercise" designed to evaluate the costs of not drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
Pombo has likewise pushed for oil drilling in the ANWR, despite concerns about the fragile ecosystem and opposition from moderate Republicans. [2].
In September 2005, Pombo helped rewrite the 1973 Endangered Species Act. The proposed revision "was widely denounced by environmentalists as a disturbing retreat from habitat protection and a paperwork nightmare for agencies seeking to revive the 1,268 threatened and endangered plants and animals in the country, 186 of which are in California."[3]
By March 2006, Environmental Science & Technology reported that Pombo was coordinating efforts with Pac/West Communications to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Pac/West has created the Save Our Species Alliance, an anti-environmental front group that is campaigning for Pombo's bill to change the ESA.[4]
The League of Conservation Voters, a nonpartisan PAC, assigned Pombo a lifetime average rating of 7 on a scale of 0 to 100. In 2005, he scored a 6. Subsequently, the organization has also named Pombo as one of the "Dirty Dozen" in 2006 [3]. LCV released an ad on October 31, 2006, citing Pombo's acceptance of $120,000 from oil companies and his ties to indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff [4].
[edit] Iraq
Pombo has expressed support for the Iraq war. In August 2006, anti-war activists criticized him for this support, citing an estimate that taxpayers in the 11th Congressional District had spent $974 million on the war by that time. [5]
[edit] Warrantless wiretapping
Pombo said at a May debate that "intelligence agents should obtain surveillance warrants before monitoring phone calls," but "less than five months later, he voted to allow warrantless wiretapping."[6] He told the Tracy Press that his vote was consistent with his statement.
[edit] Committee and caucuses
[edit] Committee assignments
Until Pombo's 2006 defeat he was the Chairman of the House Resources Committee.[7] The committee has oversight and sets policy on matters involving natural resources, Indian Country and Indian gaming. He is also a member of the House Agriculture Committee.
Pombo was also a co-Chair of the House Energy Action Team (HEAT). This team's stated goal is to find alternative energy solutions.
[edit] Caucuses
Pombo was a member and former Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus. The Western Caucus is made up of Western State members of Congress concerned about Endangered Species Act reform, water rights, private property rights and other issues affecting the western states.
Pombo was the co-founder of the Portuguese Caucus, a coalition of Members of Congress who promote positive Portuguese-American relations.[citation needed] He has hosted prominent visitors of Portugal to the United States. The Portuguese government bestowed Pombo with the Grand Order of Infante D. Henrique, Portugal's highest civilian honor, in recognition of his efforts to improve Portuguese-American relations.
[edit] Controversies and criticisms
In September 2006, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan watchgroup founded in 2005 by liberal and Democratic Party activists[8] released a report naming Pombo as one of the seventeen most corrupt members of the House of Representatives; he had also been named in the group's prior report in January. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from accepting campaign contributions in return for legislative assistance, keeping family members on his campaign payroll, and misusing official resources."[9]
[edit] Corruption allegations
Pombo and his political action committee RICH PAC [10] are among a dozen leaders in the House of Representatives reportedly under investigation as part of the corruption and influence-peddling scandal centered around disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and his policy issues including Indian gaming. Pombo has taken more money from Abramoff than any other member of Congress ($500,000). Fundraisers organized by Indian gaming interests and tied to the 2005 MLB All-Star Game are among those activities under scrutiny.[11]
On January 8, 2006, the Los Angeles Times alleged that Pombo helped one of Jack Abramoff's clients, the Mashpee Indians in Massachusetts, gain official recognition as a tribe. In return, Pombo received campaign contributions from both the tribe and Abramoff.[12]
In the 2006 cycle, Abramoff was one of the top donors to Pombo's political action committee.[13] Several of Pombo's top five donors are political influence brokers from Detroit, Michigan who mingled gambling with major league baseball when they hosted several $5,000 per person fundraisers for Pombo in their owners box at Comerica Park during the 2005 MLB All-Star Game. News reports indicated contributions from the two day fundraising event would go to RICH Political Action Committee; however, FEC reports filed by RICH PAC show only one such contribution and apparently contributions were diverted to some other entity making it difficult to track who attended and contributed.
As it is, the Ilitch family, owners of the MLB Detroit Tigers and Detroit's MotorCity Casino, are also financial backers of various Indian Tribes including one (Shinnecock Indians) seeking to build an Indian casino in the Hamptons, Long Island, New York. Various issues and tribal disputes involving the Shinnecock were before the House Resources Committee chaired by Pombo just days after the fundraiser.[11]
On October 11, 2006 it was reported that Pombo "says he never worked with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in his 14 years in Congress, but billing records suggest at least two interactions between the two in 1996."[14]
[edit] Freeways that could enhance owned real estate
Pombo's father (Ralph Sr.) is one of eleven children. This large and diverse family was born and raised in the Tracy, CA. area. Various members of the Pombo family individually own more than 1,500 undeveloped acres near two proposed freeways. If even one of the proposed freeways is eventually built, the value of the property owned by Pombo's relatives and located near the proposed freeway will be worth far more than its currently assessed value.
Pombo has led an effort to build a multilane freeway (California State Route 130) through the mostly uninhabited Diablo Range to facilitate Bay Area-bound commuting from the greater Tracy.[15][16]
[edit] Windfarm regulations
Pombo's home town of Tracy, California has a large wind farm on Altamont Pass. In 2004, Pombo’s office sent a letter to then-Secretary of the Department of the Interior Gale Norton, urging the suspension of environmental guidelines opposed by the wind power industry. Pombo’s parents have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from wind-powered turbines on their 300-acre ranch. Pombo owns an interest in his parents' ranch.[17]
[edit] Payments to family
Between 2000 and 2004, Pombo used his campaign and PAC funds to pay his brother Randall $272,000, and his wife (between 2003 and 2004) $85,000. In that 2003-04 campaign cycle, Pombo paid more to his family members — $217,000 — than his opponent, Jerry McNerney, spent on his entire campaign. The two have been paid for duties listed as bookkeeping, fundraising, consulting and other unspecified services.[18]
After the publicity about the payments to his family, Randall is no longer on Pombo's payroll (total payments between January 2005 and mid-2006 were less than $7,000). Pombo's wife continues to be paid at the rate of $3,000 per month.[19]
[edit] Steven Ding
In January 2003, Pombo named Steven Ding, a member of his personal staff, to be chief of staff to the House Resources Committee at an annual salary of $150,000. Ding remained in Stockton, California, traveling to Washington when Congress was in session. Pombo's California district office paid $87,000 (with federal funds) for travel, meals and other expenses Ding incurred over the two and one-half years he commuted between California and Washington, D.C.
During this same period, Ding was paid a monthly salary of $100 to work in Pombo’s personal office. According to Ding, he worked 80 to 90 hours a week for both the Resources Committee and Pombo’s district office. At the same time, Mr. Ding also earned $57,000 in outside political consulting fees for work he performed in California.[20]
[edit] Mailings during 2004 campaign
In October 2004, Pombo used the franking privileges afforded members of Congress to mail approximately 175,000 copies of a two-page leaflet that openly praised the House Resources Committee and the Bush Administration for overturning Clinton Administration limits on snowmobiling in national parks. The leaflets were sent to snowmobile owners in the swing states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Pombo authorized the expenditure of $68,081 from House Resources Committee funds for the mailing of the leaflets as "official business." House members are required to seek prior approval and obtain advisory opinions before sending out franked mail; no such approval was obtained prior to the October mailing.[21]
[edit] 2003 RV trip charged to the federal government
In August 2003, Pombo and his family rented an RV and "spent two weeks on vacation, stopping along the way to enjoy ... our national parks." [22] The 5,000-mile trip included stops in the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Joshua Tree, Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Mount Rushmore, the Badlands and other parks. The $4,935 cost of the rental was charged to the federal government.
When asked in February 2006 about the trip -- rules forbid government-funded travel for personal vacations, but allow lawmakers to bring family members on official trips, Pombo said that he had looked into flying into the parks by commercial air or charters, but found the costs to be excessive, and that after choosing to travel instead by RV, he invited his family along with him. [23]
At Yellowstone, Pombo had a lengthy meeting with the park superintendent, which a spokesman charactizered as non-official. Pombo's visit to the Badlands National Park is in dispute: the secretary to the superintendent said he did not show; a spokesman for Pombo said that Pombo was certain he was there and met with a group of Native American tribal leaders nearby. Reports concerning Pombo's visit to Joshua Tree are also contradictory. The Los Angeles Times was told that Pombo had shown up for his meeting but "they were not there." The Tracy Press was told that Pombo met with the park's acting superintendent.
Officials from Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks did not return calls seeking comment. [5] [24]
[edit] Investigation of Charles Hurwitz
One January 8, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Pombo and Representative John Doolittle had joined with then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz. The Times reported that "When the FDIC persisted, Doolittle and Pombo — both considered proteges of DeLay — used their power as members of the House Resources Committee to subpoena the agency's confidential records on the case, including details of the evidence FDIC investigators had compiled on Hurwitz." The investigation was ultimately dropped.
According to the Times, "Although Washington politicians frequently try to help important constituents and contributors, it is unusual for members of Congress to take direct steps to stymie an ongoing investigation by an agency such as the FDIC." The article concluded, "in the Hurwitz case, Doolittle and Pombo were in a position to pressure the FDIC and did so."[12][25]
[edit] Removal of text from Wikipedia article
Pombo's staff has attempted to excise critical information regarding his ties to Abramoff from Wikipedia. [6] According to High Country News, as reported by the Argus, a newspaper in California's East Bay area, this was not just an attempt, but an actual "scrubbing/sanitizing" of his Wiki entry, done during the 2006 Super Bowl weekend.
[edit] Corruption at the Interior Department
On Sep 23, 2006, the Central Valley Record reported that East Bay Representative George Miller and six other House Democrats had requested that Pombo hold "immediate" congressional hearings concerning oil lease payments to the Interior Department. The article noted that "Miller and his allies — including Pombo's challenger, wind-energy consultant Jerry McNerney — want oil companies such as Chevron to renegotiate contracts they inked with Clinton administration officials that failed to include language requiring the firms to pay taxes when oil prices pass $36 a barrel." Pombo "had a provision written into the House's offshore drilling legislation, which passed earlier this year, that would instead levy a fee on those firms that refuse to renegotiate their contracts." [26]
[edit] Probed oil firm linked to Pombo
An Alaskan oil services company under federal investigation in connection with allegations of influence peddling has contributed nearly $18,000 to Pombo.[27] The investigation sparked a Washington state candidate for the U.S. Senate to return his contributions from Anchorage-based VECO Corp the day after the FBI raided offices of several Alaskan state legislators last week.
[edit] 2006 re-election campaign
Former Republican representative of California's 11th congressional district, Pete McCloskey, and Thomas A. Benigno ran against Pombo in the Republican primary. Pombo faced his most significant primary challenge yet, defeating McCloskey with 61% of the vote. McCloskey had been endorsed by the Sacramento Bee, the San Jose Mercury News, and the League of Conservation Voters. Seven weeks later, McCloskey endorsed Pombo's Democratic opponent, Jerry McNerney, who had won the Democratic primary over Steve Filson and Steve Thomas. McNerney received just over half of the Democratic vote and faced Pombo in the 2006 general election in November.[28]
On October 3, 2006, a Democratic-commissioned poll was released with McNerney leading Pombo 48 percent to 46 percent.[29]. There were two polls commissioned by the NRCC, but results weren't released. Based on these events, in early October, CQPolitics.com changed their rating of this race from Republican Favored to Leans Republican[30]
On November 7, 2006, Pombo was defeated by McNerney.[31] McNerney got 53.1 percent of the vote to Pombo's 46.9 percent. Apart from the prevailing national Democratic trends and the corruption allegations dogging Pombo, Pombo was also the number one national target of environmental groups. The Sierra Club -- which is the nation's largest environmental group and happens to be based in San Francisco -- sent over 300 volunteers and organizers to work for McNerney in the final weeks of the campaign. The group, allied with the League of Conservation Voters, also aired issue ads attacking Pombo. And Pombo and Heather Wilson were the two Representatives targeted by the Humane Society, which spent over $100,000 in Pombo's district, including organizers.[32][33]
[edit] References
- ^ Project Vote Smart
- ^ Darren Goode, "GOP senators wary of provision on federal land sales", Government Executive magazine, November 28, 2005
- ^ David Whitney, "Rewriting species act is his: Rep. Pombo of Tracy, a powerful environmental legislator, explains why the act isn’t working", San Luis Obispo Tribune, July 16, 2006
- ^ Paul D. Thacker, "Hidden ties: Big environmental changes backed by big industry: Lobbyists and industry officials who once pushed for the president’s Healthy Forests legislation now collaborate with Rep. Pombo to alter the Endangered Species Act" Environmental Science & Technology, March 8, 2006
- ^ Rebecca F. Johnson, "Pombo under attack from opponents of war policies: Report claims spending near $1 billion on Iraq, Inside Bay Area, August 31, 2006
- ^ Upton, John. "Pombo supported warrants before voting for warrantless wiretaps", San Joaquin News Service, Oct 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
- ^ Matt Weiser, "Pombo’s power grows — and so do the scandals", High Country News, July 25, 2005
- ^ Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza, "A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding", The Washington Post, July 17 2006
- ^ "20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress", Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, September 2006
- ^ Fundraising by Pombo's campaign, OpenSecrets.org
- ^ a b Erica Werner, "Congressman's donors linked to tribal dispute before committee", Associated Press, July 13, 2005
- ^ a b Richard A. Serrano and Stephen Braun, "A Donor Who Had Big Allies: DeLay and two others helped put the brakes on a federal probe of a businessman. Evidence was published in the Congressional Record.", Los Angeles Times, January 8, 2006
- ^ RICH PAC - Political Action Committee and Campaign Finance Details for 2006, campaignmoney.com
- ^ Shaw, Hank. "Pombo, Abramoff linked by records: Papers say workers for both met many times from 1996 to 2001", The Record, Oct 11, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
- ^ Robert Gammon, "Welcome to Pombo Country: Congressman Richard Pombo always sides with property owners. Sometimes that includes his own family", East Bay Express, August 24, 2005
- ^ Jeb Bing, "Funding likely for Pombo freeway study: Money in Transportation Bill to look at Hwy. 130 corridor", Pleasanton Weekly, September 3, 2004
- ^ Lisa Vorderbrueggen, "Activists Seek Ethics Probe for Pombo", Contra Costa Times, April 21, 2005
- ^ Richard Simon, Chuck Neubauer and Rone Tempest, "Political Payrolls Include Families", Los Angeles Times, April 14, 2005
- ^ Payments to Annette Pombo, 2005-2006 cycle, from campaign fund, per OpenSecrets.org
- ^ Thomas Peele, "Lawmakers request audit of Pombo aide", Contra Costa Times, February 8, 2006
- ^ Juliet Eilperin, "Bush Policy Gets a Ride on the House: Taxpayers Pay for Election-Year Mailing", Washington Post, October 13, 2004
- ^ "Purple Mountain Majesties", trip report by Richard Pombo
- ^ Zachary Coile, "Pombo family park tour cost taxpayers: $4,935 to rent RV -- congressman says it was all business", San Francisco Chronicle, February 10, 2006
- ^ Richard A. Serrano, "Democrats Challenge Rep. Pombo's Expenses: They say taxpayers were billed for a vacation, and question an aide's use of funds for commuting", Los Angeles Times, February 15, 2006
- ^ "The Abramoff Galaxy", Washington Post, December 28, 2005
- ^ Shaw, Hank. "Oily mess ahead for Pombo", Central Valley Record', September 24, 2006.
- ^ Probed oil firm linked to Pombo. The Record Sep 7, 2006
- ^ June 6, 2006 primary election results
- ^ Dulin, Dann. "Poll shows Pombo, McNerney just 2 points apart", The Record, Oct 3, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-08-18.
- ^ Ryan Kelly. "Competitive Race Lies Beneath Flurry of GOP Activity in Calif. 11", CQPolitics.com, October 03, 2006.
- ^ "McNerney Unseats Pombo; Doolittle Beats Brown", KCRA, November 8, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
- ^ Philip Brasher, "Animal activists step up political pressure", Des Moines Register, November 12, 2006
- ^ Brody Mullins, <"Puppy Power: How Humane Society Gets the Vote Out", Wall Street Journal, November 2006, accessed November 17, 2006
[edit] External links
Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
Learning resources from Wikiversity
[edit] Official
[edit] Profiles/voting records
Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
- League of Conservation Voters gives Pombo a lifetime score of 7 on a scale of 0 to 100
- PoliticalFriendster - originally a Stanford University student project
[edit] Criticism
[edit] News articles
- Pombo's position as public enemy number 1 for environmental groups from Wall Street Journal article
- Congressman's donors tied to tribal dispute ABC News
- "Will the Real Mr. Pombo Please Stand Up?", profile of Pombo by High Country News
- Probed oil firm linked to Pombo. The Record Sep 7, 2006
| Preceded by Norman D. Shumway (R) |
United States Representative for the 11th Congressional District of California | Succeeded by Jerry McNerney (D) |
Pombo, Richard
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | 1961 births | Living people | American farmers | Conservatives | Jack Abramoff scandals | Portuguese-Americans | Members of the United States House of Representatives from California | Roman Catholic politicians | Current members of the United States House of Representatives | Catholics | American conservatives | People from California
