Randy Forbes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Randy Forbes
Randy Forbes
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 
June 19, 2001
Preceded by Norman Sisisky
Born February 17, 1952 (1952-02-17) (age 56)
Chesapeake, Virginia
Political party Republican
Spouse Shirley Forbes
Religion Baptist

James Randy Forbes (born February 17, 1952) is an American politician who has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the 4th congressional district of Virginia (map).

Born in Chesapeake, Virginia, he graduated first in his class from Randolph-Macon College in 1974, and from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1977. Forbes worked in private practice, for Kaufman & Canoles PC, and served in the Virginia House of Delegates (1989–1997) and the Virginia State Senate (1997–2001). He was also Chair of the Republican Party of Virginia (1996-2001). Forbes was first elected to the House in 2001 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of ten-term Democratic Congressman Norman Sisisky; defeating Democratic State Senator Louise Lucas 52-48%.[1] After that, the 4th district was reconfigured to swing more Republican.[2] Forbes has since ran unopposed by Democrats in 2002 and 2006; in 2004, he faced Jonathan R. Menefee and won with 65% of the vote.[3]

Contents

[edit] Major issues

[edit] Culture

Forbes has made a major issue out of the "culture war," by forming the Push Back Team,[4] basically a fundraising measure for Forbes' campaign. As part of this campaign, Forbes is the founder and chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, formed for the purpose of encouraging prayer through legislation, and opposing laws such as those banning collective prayer led by school officials.[5]

[edit] Gangs

Forbes sponsored H.R. 1279[6] The Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005 (The Gangbusters Bill), which intends to increase support for police in going after gangs, re-define violent crime, and sets higher minimum mandatory sentences for gang related activity.[7] Some critics of the bill say that it re-defines violent crime very broadly, allows the death penalty for "any crime resulting in death," and sets overly stringent minimum sentences.[8] Forbes has said he sees gangs partially as a problem brought in with immigrants, specifically mentioning the MS-13 gang. This bill passed the House on May 11, 2005, and has been referred to the Senate. Similar legislation was passed again on September 21, 2006, yet to be taken up by the Senate.[9]

[edit] Controversial campaign contributions

Forbes received campaign contributions from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ARMPAC. DeLay has since resigned and is being prosecuted on charges of felony money laundering of campaign finances and conspiracy to launder money. To date, Forbes has not offered to return or donate to charity any of the $30,000 he received, despite calls from Democrats to do so.[10] He has donated $1,000 he received from Jack Abramoff to charity; however, he kept the $4,000 he received from Indian tribes that hired Abramoff for lobbying work.[11] He also accepted $1,000 from convicted former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham and $5,000 from the founder of MZM, who pleaded guilty to corruption charges.[12] Also of interest is the "Hero of the Tax Payer" award Forbes received from Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).[13] A Senate report revealed recently that ATR, headed by Grover Norquist who admitted to using ATR to sell clout to and launder money for Jack Abramoff, may have violated its tax exempt status.[14]

[edit] Committees, caucuses, and other groups

  • House Republican Israel Caucus
  • Children's Caucus
  • Diabetes Caucus
  • Immigration Reform Caucus
  • Historic Preservation Caucus
  • Congressional Prayer Caucus
  • Congressional China Caucus
  • Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus
  • Congressional pro-life caucus
  • Army; Navy/Marine Corps; Coast Guard; Special Operations Force Caucuses
  • Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus
  • Internet Caucus
  • Military Retiree-Veterans Caucus

[edit] Electoral history

Virginia's 4th congressional district: Results 2000–2006[15][16]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
2000 Norman Sisisky ** 189,787 99% (no candidate) Write-ins 2,108 1%
2001 Louise Lucas 65,190 48% J. Randy Forbes 70,917 52%
2002 (no candidate) J. Randy Forbes 108,733 98% Write-ins 2,308 2%
2004 Jonathan R. Menefee 100,413 35% J. Randy Forbes 182,444 64% *
2006 (no candidate) J. Randy Forbes 150,967 76% Albert P. Burckard, Jr. Independent Green 46,487 23% *
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2004, write-ins received 170 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 886 votes.

** Sisiky died on March 29, 2001; Forbes won the 2001 special election to fill out the remainder of his term.

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Public Interest Guide to Redistricting
  3. ^ Virginia election results 2004 - washingtonpost.com
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ The Congressional Prayer Caucus
  6. ^ Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
  7. ^ Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Virginia's Fourth District - Gangbusters Bill
  8. ^ Sentencing: House Passes Orwellian "Anti-Gang" Mandatory Minimums
  9. ^ Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Virginia's Fourth District - Press Releases
  10. ^ [3]
  11. ^ Capital Eye
  12. ^ [4]
  13. ^ Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Virginia's Fourth District - Press Releases
  14. ^ [5][dead link]
  15. ^ Election Statistics. Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
  16. ^ Our Campaigns - VA District 4 - Special Race

[edit] External links

Find more about Randy Forbes on Wikipedia's sister projects:
Dictionary definitions
Textbooks
Quotations
Source texts
Images and media
News stories
Learning resources
Preceded by
Norman Sisisky		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 4th congressional district
2001–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
v • d • e
Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Representative(s)
State delegations
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Non-voting delegations