Alan Mollohan
Alan Mollohan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Mollohan |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Barbara Whiting |
| Residence | Fairmont, West Virginia |
| Alma mater | College of William and Mary, West Virginia University |
| Occupation | attorney |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1970-1983 |
| Unit | Reserves |
Alan Bowlby Mollohan (born May 14, 1943, in Fairmont, West Virginia) is a Democratic member of United States House of Representatives, representing West Virginia's 1st district (map). The district encompasses the northern part of the state; it based in Wheeling and includes Parkersburg, Morgantown, Fairmont and Clarksburg. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee and was ranking Democrat on the Ethics Committee until being asked to step down in 2006. He was defeated in a Democratic primary by Mike Oliverio in 2010, and will likely retire from Congress after the 2010 elections.<refname=WaPo>Washington Post (2010). Alan Mollohan loses primary fight. Retrieved May 11, 2010.</ref>
He attended Greenbrier Military School and graduated from the College of William and Mary. Thereafter, Mollohan completed a law degree at West Virginia University. When his father, Bob, retired in 1982 after 16 years in Congress spread out over two stints, he endorsed his son as his successor. Alan was elected that November in a very competitive contest. He faced another close race in 1984, but was unopposed for a third term in 1986. He has not faced serious opposition in a general election since, running unopposed in 1992, 1996, 2002 and 2008. In 1998 and 2000, no Republican candidate ran against Mollohan. In both of those years he was opposed by a Libertarian Richard Kerr, but Mollohan won.
He last faced any serious electoral competition when, in 1992, West Virginia lost a House seat due to the 1990 Census. The redistricting placed Mollohan against another representative, 2nd District Congressman Harley O. Staggers, Jr.. No other party put up a candidate, meaning that the Democratic primary was tantamount to election. It was predicted to be a tough primary, however Mollohan succeeded in winning his party's nomination with 60% of the vote.[1]
Mollohan is ranked as the 24th richest congressman out of 435. Mollohan reports his assets at $7.1 million to $29.3 million. [2]
Scandals and controversies
On February 28, 2006, National Legal and Policy Center filed a 500-page ethics complaint against Mollohan, alleging that the congressman misrepresented his assets on financial disclosure forms. Mollohan's real estate holdings and other assets have increased from $562,000 in 2000 to at least $6.3 million in 2004. For the period 1996 through 2004, NLPC alleged that his Financial Disclosure Reports failed to disclose real estate, corporate and financial assets that public records showed were owned by Mollohan and his wife.
On April 7, 2006, The New York Times reported that Mollohan "has fueled five non-profit groups in his West Virginia district with $250 million in earmark funding." [1][3] Mollohan created these nonprofit groups, which include the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation, Institute for Scientific Research, Canaan Valley Institute, Vandalia Heritage Foundation, and MountainMade Foundation.[4] Leaders of these groups were sometimes investors with him, possibly leading to his own personal gain. [5]
On April 21, 2006, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced that Mollohan would temporarily step down as the Ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee. Howard Berman of California took Mollohan's place.
On April 25, 2006, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mollohan cooperated with CEO Dale R. McBride of FMW Composite Systems Inc. of Bridgeport, West Virginia for the joint purchase of his 300-acre (1.2 km2) farm along West Virginia's Cheat River. Mollohan had directed a $2.1 million government contract earmarked to FWM Composite Systems to develop lightweight payload pallets for space-shuttle missions. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have started asking questions in Washington and West Virginia about Mollohan’s investments and whether they were properly disclosed, according to the Journal. Mollohan had previously acknowledged he may have made inadvertent mistakes on financial disclosure forms, and in June he filed more than two dozen corrections to his disclosure statements.
In October 2009, NewBridge Bank foreclosed on North Carolina beachfront property owned by Mollohan, Laura Kurtz Kuhns, a former Molohan staffer and CEO of the Vandalia Heritage Foundation, and David Kuhns, who is employed by state Senator Brooks McCabe's company. The group purchased the property for $450,000 in 2004. It was assessed at $540,000 in 2007 and sold at foreclosure for $192,000.[6]
In its 2009 report, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) named Mollohan one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress, stating that he has "steered hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks to family, friends, former employees and corporations in exchange for contributions to his campaign and political action committees. In addition, Rep. Mollohan misreported his personal assets on his financial disclosure forms. He is currently the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice." Due to the pending investigation, Mollohan stepped down from his position on the House Appropriations Committee. [7] Mollohan was also listed on the organization's 2006, 2007, and 2008 reports.[8]
In a January 2010 statement, Mollohan announced his attorneys had been informed by the U.S. Department of Justice that no charges would be filed against him and its investigation closed. Mollohan attributed the allegations of wrongdoing to politically-motivated attacks.[9]. Ben Friedman of the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington told CREW that the Justice Department has "closed the investigation into the case."[10] Mollohan may still face action from the House Ethics Committee, which had previously been asked to defer investigating Mollohan by the Department of Justice.[11]
Elections
2010 election
Mollohan faced a Democratic primary challenge on May 11, 2010, and lost to State senator Mike Oliverio.[12] It was Mollohan's first contested primary since he faced Harley Staggers Jr. in 1992 after their Congressional districts were merged.[13]
Since his first election in 1982 he has only faced a total of six Republican challengers, the most recent being former state delegate Chris Wakim in 2006. In that race, Mollohan won 64% of the vote.[14]
Mollohan was defeated in the Democratic primary on May 11, 2010 by state senator Mike Oliverio, and will leave Congress in January 2011.[15]
Past election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan Mollohan | 187,734 | 99.9 | |
| Write-In | Ted Osgood | 69 | 0.0 | |
| Write-In | R.J. Smith | 61 | 0.0 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan Mollohan | 100,939 | 64.3 | |
| Republican | Chris Wakim | 55,963 | 35.6 | |
| Write-In | Bennie Kyle | 29 | 0.0 | |
| Write-In | David Moran | 69 | 0.0 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan Mollohan | 166,583 | 67.8 | |
| Republican | Alan Parks | 79,196 | 32.2 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan Mollohan | 110,941 | 99.7 | |
| Write-In | Louis Davis | 320 | 0.3 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan Mollohan | 170,974 | 87.8 | |
| Libertarian | Richard Kerr | 23,797 | 12.2 | |
Committee assignments
Footnotes
- ^ Barone. Almanac of American Politics. 2006 edition. Pages 1793–1795.
- ^ http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/532057.html?startIndex=151
- ^ "W. Va. congressman earmarks well". UPI. April 7, 2006. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ "Local Projects, Federal Funds". New York Times. April 7, 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/23/AR2009112303602.html
- ^ Beard, David (November 5, 2009). "Mollohan property auction stands: No other bids placed on N.C. beach land". The Dominion Post. Morgantown, West Virginia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/23/AR2009112303602.html
- ^ http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/summaries/mollohan.php
- ^ http://www.wvgazette.com/News/politics/201001260259
- ^ http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/43985
- ^ Yachnin, Jennifer (January 27, 2010). "DOJ Ends Mollohan Probe; Is Ethics Next?". Roll Call. Archived from the original on unknown date. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|archivedate=(help) - ^ Cite error: The named reference
WaPowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Surber, Don (February 19, 2010). "Cook Report: Mollohan and Rahall are in trouble". Charleston Daily Mail. Charleston, West Virginia. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ a b "2006 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. December 20, 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ http://www.wtov9.com/politics/23524247/detail.html
- ^ "2008 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ "2004 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ "2002 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ "2000 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
External links
- U.S. Congressman Alan B. Mollohan official House site