Steve Shannon

Stephen C. Shannon
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 35th district
In office
January 3, 2004 – January 13, 2009
Preceded by Jeannemarie Devolites Davis
Succeeded by Mark Keam
Personal details
Born April 5, 1971 ( 1971 -04-05) (age 40)
Berkeley, California
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Abigail Suzanne Hochberg
Residence Dunn Loring, Virginia
Alma mater Fairfield University
Georgetown University
University of Virginia School of Law
Profession Lawyer
Committees Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources; Appropriations; Education
Religion Roman Catholic

Stephen C. Shannon (born April 5, 1971) is an American politician. From 2004 to 2009, Shannon represented Virginia’s 35th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. He was the 2009 Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Virginia.[1] He was defeated by his opponent, Republican Ken Cuccinelli.

Contents

Early life

Shannon graduated from Fenwick High School in 1989, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fairfield University in 1993, a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University in 1996, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1999.[2]

In 2001, Shannon and his wife Abby co-founded the Metropolitan Washington AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Plan, a local extension of the nationwide child recovery program.[3] Shannon’s plan for a regional AMBER system successfully coordinated local law enforcement, media, and community groups to create a rapid-response child recovery network. In recognition of this, the Shannons received Fairfax County's highest public service award.[4]

Shannon served as Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for Fairfax County where he worked with the state’s chief felony prosecutor. Shannon devoted much of his time to consumer protection and child safety issues, frequently prosecuting criminals charged with assault, child molestation, rape and domestic violence. Additionally, Shannon prosecuted one of the state’s largest embezzlement cases in an effort to combat institutional corruption.[5]

From 2002 to 2003 Shannon served as Vice-Chairman of the Fairfax County Consumer Protection Commission, where he was responsible for protecting citizens from illegal, fraudulent or deceptive consumer practices.[2]

Legislative career

In 2003 Shannon was elected to represent the 35th District in Virginia’s House of Delegates. He was re-elected in 2005 and 2007 (winning with 60% and 63%, respectively).[6] He was succeeded in the house by fellow Democrat Mark L. Keam.

Shannon introduced several public safety bills in the Virginia House of Delegates. These included stronger witness protections in cases of violent crime, increased penalties for gang-related violence, Reform of Emergency Response Plans in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, and expansion of Virginia’s Rape Shield Statute, and making it a crime to evade sex offender registration[7][8][9][10][11]

Shannon introduced legislation intended to protect Virginians against identity theft – specifically requiring database managers to implement security measures to guard against unauthorized access to customer information.[12]

In January 2009, Shannon responded to the economic crisis by introducing a bill with the intention of increasing government accountability, improving budget oversight, and reducing wasteful bureaucratic spending. Shannon’s House Resolution was intended to repair the state’s budget shortfalls, strongly recommending that the House of Delegates implement cost saving measures which he deemed necessary.[13]

2009 Virginia Attorney General Election

Shannon ran as a Democrat for Virginia Attorney General in 2009. His platform included increased restrictions on sex offenders use of Social Networking services[14] and several measures to deter drunk driving, and attempting to curb gang recruitment.[15] His candidacy was endorsed by The Washington Post, and the The Virginia Pilot. He was defeated by Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli on November 3, 2009.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Steve Shannon, Attorney General". http://shannon2009.com. Retrieved 2008-11-24. 
  2. ^ a b "Project Vote Smart: Steve Shannon Bio". http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=50946. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  3. ^ "Governor Kaine Promotes Initiative to Provide Wireless Amber Alerts". 2006-06-21. http://www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/viewRelease.cfm?id=167. 
  4. ^ "Virginia House of Delegates, Steve Shannon". http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/bbad288bd8d612d285256c23006d3f86/816409c08ebc9ed78525738a0052b60c?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  5. ^ "Steve Shannon, Attorney General – Fighting Crime". http://shannon2009.com/node/18. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  6. ^ "Virginia Public Access Project, Stephen C Shannon Electoral History". http://www.vpap.org/candidates/profile/elections/56182. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  7. ^ "HB 964 Sex offender registry; penalty for failure to register". 2008-01-09. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+ful+HB964. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  8. ^ "HB 1857 Protective orders; issuance upon conviction in cases of family abuse". 2009-01-14. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+ful+HB1857. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  9. ^ "HB 2570 Victims of crime; right to nondisclosure of certain information". 2007-01-10. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB2570. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  10. ^ "HB 969 Criminal street gangs; causing or encouraging acts rendering children delinquent". 2008-01-09. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+ful+HB969. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  11. ^ "HB 2612 Emergency response plans; ensuring victims' rights". 2009-01-23. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+ful+HB2612. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  12. ^ "HB 971 Identity theft; notice of database breach". 2008-01-09. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+ful+HB971. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  13. ^ "HJ 668 directed to study legislative efficiency and recommend improvements". 2009-01-14. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+ful+HJ668. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  14. ^ "Shannon 2009, Internet Predators Plan". http://www.shannon2009.com/files/internetpredators.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  15. ^ "Shannon 2009, Gangs Plan". http://shannon2009.com/gangs. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
  16. ^ "Endorsements". http://shannon2009.com/endorsements. Retrieved 2009-10-27. 

External links