Ken Calvert

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Ken Calvert
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 44th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1993
Preceded by	None (District Created)
Born	June 8, 1953 (1953-06-08) (age 55) Corona, California
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Divorced
Residence	Corona, California
Religion	Congregationalist

Kenneth Stanton (Ken) Calvert (born June 8, 1953), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing California's 44th congressional district. The district is part of the Inland Empire and south Orange County areas of Southern California.

[edit] Early life, education, and early career

Calvert was born in Corona, California to Marceline Hamblen and Ira D. Calvert, Jr.,^[1] and still lives in Corona. In 1970, shortly after high school, he joined the campaigns of former state legislator Victor Veysey. Calvert worked in Veysey's Washington, D.C., office as an intern after a 1972 victory.

Calvert received an associate of arts degree from Chaffey Community College in 1973 and a bachelors of arts degree San Diego State University in 1975. After graduation, he managed his family's restaurant, the Jolly Fox, in Corona for five years. He then entered the real estate industry and ran Ken Calvert Real Properties until he was elected to Congress.

In 1983, at age 29, Calvert made his first run for Congress. He narrowly lost the Republican primary in the 37th District to Riverside County Supervisor Al McCandless.

[edit] Congressional career

[edit] Elections

Calvert was first elected to the House in 1992, with 47% of the vote (a plurality, but he was the highest vote-getter), defeating Democrat Mark A. Takano. He was re-elected in 1994 with 55 percent, again defeating Takano.

In 1996, he was re-elected with 54 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Guy Kimbrough. In 1998 he defeated Democrat Mike Rayburn with 55 percent of the vote. Calvert won again in 2000 with 74 percent of the vote, facing no major-party opposition.

Calvert was re-elected in 2002, defeating Louis Vandenberg with 64 percent of the vote. He defeated Vandenberg again in 2004 with 61 percent of the vote. Vandenberg, a college administrator, was again Calvert's opponent in the November 2006 election.[1] Calvert won with 59.6 percent of the vote; Vandenburg got 37.5 percent.^[2]

[edit] Committees

• Appropriations Committee
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
• Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine (Co-Chairman)
• Generic Drug Equity Caucus (Co-Chairman)
• Manufactured Housing Caucus (Co-Chairman)

[edit] Other

Calvert is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership and a co-chair to the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine (Meth Caucus).

Giving a floor speech in the House of Representatives, Calvert said of Bill Clinton's private life, "We can't forgive what occurred between the President and Lewinsky."

[edit] Controversies

In September 2006, Calvert was named one of the "20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress" in a report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from his use of earmarks for personal gain and his connections to a lobbying firm under investigation."^[3]

[edit] Real estate investments

A map of Calvert's recent real estate holdings and those of a partner, Woodrow Harpole Jr., show many of them near the transportation projects he has supported with federal appropriations. For example, Calvert and Harpole own properties close to a bus depot in Corona for which Calvert sought funding. According to development experts, improvements to the transportation infrastructure have contributed to the area's explosive growth.

Calvert said he had used earmarking solely to benefit his district. Those appropriations, he said, have had nothing to do with his investments or financial gains. Noting that property values have climbed throughout the Inland Empire, he added: "They haven't passed a law against investing yet."

Calvert's May 2005 financial disclosure statement showed that he owned eight parcels of land, most in Riverside County, as of December 31, 2004.^[4]

[edit] March Air Reserve Base

In 2005, Calvert and Harpole paid $550,000 for a 4.3 acre parcel just south of March Air Reserve Base. Calvert's real estate firm, where Calvert's brother, Quint, is the president,^[5] and Halpole is vice president, received brokerage fees from the seller, Rod Smith of Greeley, Colorado, for representing both buyer and seller in the deal. Less than a year later, Calvert and Harpole sold the property for nearly $1 million. During the time he owned the land, Calvert used the earmarking process to secure $8 million in federal funds for a freeway interchange 16 miles from the property, and an additional $1.5 million to support commercial development of the area around the base.

[edit] Cajalco and I-15 interchange

In early summer 2005, Harpole bought property with a group of investors at 20330 Temescal Canyon Road, a few blocks from the site of the what was then a proposed interchange at Cajalco and I-15. The purchase price was $975,000. Within six months, after the bill passed that provided federal funding for the interchange, they sold the parcel for $1.45 million. Calvert's firm took a commission on the sale.^[4]

[edit] Jurupa CS District

In the spring of 2006, Calvert and Harpole purchased 4 acres of land from Jurupa Community Services District, a water and sewer district in northwestern Riverside County, for $1.2 million, along with five investment partners who jointly had a one-third interest. A newspaper investigation reported in August 2006 that the district apparently never first offered the land to other public agencies, a requirement of state law intended to provide more recreational land. The district's general manager said other agencies were notified, but representatives of those agencies said they received no such notice. The district could not provide evidence of the notification, saying relevant files had been misplaced.

The community services district did not advertise or list the land for sale, a practice required by counties and many other public agencies seeking top dollar on behalf of taxpayers. District general manager Carole McGreevy, who is stepping down from that position in late 2006 and retiring in late 2007, said the district proclaimed the land surplus in the early 1990s after it was no longer needed for flood control. The record of that decision was among the missing documents, as was the updated appraisal that McGreevy said was done in May 2005.

The land could have served as the only community park in a predominately Hispanic, lower-income neighborhood in Mira Loma. The Calvert partnership plans to build a mini-storage business.^[5]

[edit] Connections to lobbyists

Calvert went with businessman Thomas Kontogiannis and now-convicted Congressman Randy Cunningham on a December 2004 trip to Saudi Arabia. They were accompanied by Rancho Santa Fe businessman Ziyad Abduljawad, who paid for the trip. Kontogiannis is currently an unindicted co-conspirator (#3) in the Cunningham scandal.^[6]

The activities of lobbying firm Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton and White (now dissolved) is currently under investigation by a federal grand jury. On May 23, 2006, the FBI obtained Calvert's financial records at the same time it pulled the records of Representative Jerry Lewis, who is at the center of the Copeland Lowery lobbying controversy. Calvert helped pass through at least 13 earmarks sought by Copeland Lowery in 2005, totalling over $91 million.^[3]

[edit] Earmarks for the Corona Transit Center

In May 2007, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the U.S. House of Representatives sent Calvert a letter stating that his earmark request for $5.6 million for the Corona Transit Center did not, in the committee's opinion, constitute a "financial interest". The transit center, a hub for rail commuters and an a transfer point for bus connections, is in the vicinity (from .1 miles to 1.7 miles) of seven properties in which Calvert has an ownership interest. Calvert had successfully obtained earmarks of $700,000 in 2004 and $500,000 in 2006 for the transit center. ^[7]

[edit] Personal

In 1993 Calvert was arrested for soliciting a prostitute.^[8][9] The Riverside Press-Enterprise went to court to force the Corona police to release the police report. In that report, the arresting officer wrote:

"I observed a male subject in the driver seat... As I made my way to the driver door, a female immediately sat up straight in the front passenger seat. It appeared as if her head was originally laying in the driver's lap... Both subjects were extremely nervous. I noticed that the male subject was placing his penis into his unzipped dress slacks, and was trying to hide it with his untucked dress shirt... The male subject started his vehicle and placed it into drive and proceeded to leave. I ordered him three times to turn off the vehicle, and he finally stopped and complied... The male identified himself as Kenneth Stanton Calvert... and stated 'We're just talking that's all, nothing else.' ...I spoke with Linberg separately. I asked her if she had ever been arrested for anything, and she said, 'Yes, for prostitution and under the influence of heroin.' Linberg said she had last 'shot up' approximately one week prior and is currently on methadone."

Also in 1993, Calvert and his former wife, Robin, were divorced after 15 years of marriage. His ex-wife later accused him of not paying the alimony arranged. In addition, his father committed suicide. After these experiences, Calvert said that the experiences "have helped me mature greatly... and become a better person."^[10]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Ken Calvert official House site
• Ken Calvert at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Mr Ken Calvert campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Ken Calvert issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Ken Calvert campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Ken S. Calvert (CA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Ken Calvert profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Ken Calvert voting record
• Re-Elect Ken Calvert Congressman official campaign site
• Associated Press profile
• Calvert's Arrest Report