Tom Corbett

This article is about the US politician. For the fictional character, see Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.

Tom Corbett
46th Governor of Pennsylvania
Incumbent
Assumed office January 18, 2011
Lieutenant	Jim Cawley
Preceded by	Ed Rendell
46th Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office January 18, 2005 – January 18, 2011
Preceded by	Jerry Pappert
Succeeded by	Linda Kelly[a]
In office October 3, 1995 – January 22, 1997
Preceded by	Ernie Preate
Succeeded by	Mike Fisher
Personal details
Born	Thomas W. Corbett (1949-06-17) June 17, 1949 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Susan Manbeck
Residence(s)	Governor's Residence (Harrisburg) (official) Shaler Township (private)
Alma mater	Lebanon Valley College St. Mary's University, Texas
Profession	Lawyer
Signature
Website	Official state site
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army Pennsylvania Army National Guard
Years of service	1971–1984
Rank	Captain
Unit	28th Infantry Division
a. ^ From January 18 until May 27, William Ryan served as acting Attorney General. Corbett nominated Kelly to be his permanent successor in March; she was confirmed by the State Senate on May 24, and took the oath of office three days later.

Thomas W. "Tom" Corbett (born June 17, 1949) is the 46th and current Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. He is a former Attorney General of Pennsylvania and was elected to that office in 2004 and reelected in 2008. He is a member of the Republican Party. Corbett also served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General from 1995 until 1997 when he was appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to fill the unexpired term of Ernie Preate, following Preate's indictment.

Early life, education, and early career

Corbett received his Bachelor's degree from Lebanon Valley College and was employed as a 9th grade teacher for one year. Corbett then earned his J.D. from St. Mary's University Law School. He served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard 28th Infantry Division from 1971 to 1984, rising to the rank of Captain.

Corbett's career has been split between private practice and civil service. He began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Pittsburgh's Allegheny County. After three and a half years, he was hired in 1980 as assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

In 1983, Corbett went into private practice for several years. During this period, Corbett won his first election as a township commissioner in the Pittsburgh suburb of Shaler Township.

In 1988, a judge appointed him to monitor the Allegheny County jail while it was under the court's supervision. Not long afterwards, President George H. W. Bush appointed him to serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, a role in which he served until August 1993.

Following his resignation as US Attorney, Corbett returned to private practice, also serving as an adviser to the gubernatorial campaign of Tom Ridge. Following Ridge's victory, Corbett served on a number of state commissions including the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which he served as chairman.

Corbett left office in 1997 and again went into the private sector, first as general counsel for Waste Management, Inc., then opening his own practice.

Attorney General

1995 appointment

In 1995, Corbett was appointed to the position of State Attorney General by Governor Ridge to fill the remainder of the term left by the conviction of Ernest Preate. As a condition of his Senate confirmation, Senate Democrats required him to pledge that he would not run for re-election in 1996. This is a common practice in Pennsylvania for appointments to elected offices. Jerry Pappert made the same pledge in 2003 when he succeeded Mike Fisher as State Attorney General.

2004 election

Main article: Pennsylvania Attorney General election, 2004

The race began with Corbett, Montgomery County district attorney Bruce Castor, and Joe Peters fighting for the Republican party endorsement. With Corbett from western Pennsylvania, Castor from the southeast, and Peters from the northeast, it was initially expected that endorsement votes would follow geographic lines. However, four of the five southeastern county chairmen came out in support of Corbett with Castor taking only Montgomery County.

Furious that he had lost party endorsements, Castor lashed out at the county chairman with accusations of backroom deals with Bob Asher, the state's national GOP committeeman and a convicted felon connected to Budd Dwyer. During the campaign, Castor launched attack ads against Corbett for his prior employment at Waste Management Inc, and the financial support he received from Asher. Corbett's campaign responded with advertisements critical of Castor's acceptance of $625,000 in contributions from Drew Lewis after Lewis was convicted of DUI but permitted to serve his sentence at an upscale rehab facility in New England.

Corbett held on to large majorities in Western Pennsylvania including 82% in his base of Allegheny County, while Castor prevailed in the Southeast with almost a similar margin. Ultimately, Corbett won the race with 52.8% of the vote. Castor subsequently announced his support of Corbett in the general election against Democrat Jim Eisenhower.

The General election was not as contentious as it was close. After early returns were reported, the Associated Press called the race in Eisenhower's favor, only to retract that call later as the numbers closed. Corbett declared victory the following morning, having defeated Eisenhower by nearly 110,000 votes, winning 50.4% to 48.3%. Green party candidate Marakay Rogers captured 1.3% of the vote.

General Election Results, 2004

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Corbett	2,730,718	50.4
	Democratic	Jim Eisenhower	2,621,927	48.3
	Green	Marakay J. Rogers	70,624	1.3

2008 election

Main article: Pennsylvania Attorney General election, 2008

Corbett was re-elected in 2008. He won with the largest vote total of any Republican in the state's history. He defeated Democrat John Morganelli, bucking the trend of Democratic success in Pennsylvania that year.

General Election Results, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Corbett	3,002,927	52.36
	Democratic	John Morganelli	2,619,791	45.84
	Libertarian	Marakay J. Rogers	109,856	1.89

Healthcare reform

Main article: Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services

On March 23, 2010, Corbett, along with 13 other state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against the mandates in the just-signed federal Healthcare Bill, claiming it is unconstitutional. As of January 2011, a total of 27 states have joined this lawsuit.

Governor of Pennsylvania

2010 election

Main article: Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2010

On March 17, 2009, it was reported that Corbett had formed an exploratory committee and had begun filing the paperwork necessary to begin a run for Governor of Pennsylvania. On September 15, 2009 Corbett formally declared his candidacy and, on May 18, 2010 won the GOP primary with nearly 70% of the vote.

It was reported on May 18, 2010 that Tom Corbett filed a criminal subpoena against twitter ordering them to divulge "any and all subscriber information" of the person(s) behind two accounts – @bfbarbie and @CasaBlancaPA who had been criticizing the Republican candidate.

In July 2010, Corbett garnered attention for suggesting that some of the unemployed are exploiting the extension of unemployment benefits prior to seeking employment, and later noting the prevalence of "help wanted" ads in the newspapers as evidence of the availability of employment.

In September, 2010, at the first gubernatorial debate, Corbett again gained attention for seemingly violating his "no-tax pledge" in suggesting that he would consider raising the payroll contribution tax.

On November 2, 2010, Corbett was elected governor of Pennsylvania, succeeding Democrat Ed Rendell. Corbett assumed the office of governor on January 18, 2011 at 12:29 PM.

Tenure

Budget

Corbett became governor on January 18, 2011. One of his first actions was the proposal of a new state budget that would decrease spending by 3%. The proposed budget received significant criticism due to its cuts in state-supported higher education by 50%. Under the new budget, funding granted to the 14 universities of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and state-related universities Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple, and Lincoln would be cut in half, totaling $625 million. Corbett has said, however, that he will not attempt to limit collective bargaining, as have Republican Governors John Kasich of Ohio and Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

Natural gas

As governor, Corbett maintains that Pennsylvania should not tax the natural gas industry. In February 2011, Corbett repealed a four month old policy regulating natural gas drilling in park land, deeming it "unnecessary and redundant" according to a spokesperson. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party called the repeal a "payoff" to oil and gas interests which donated a million dollars to Corbett's campaign. According to Corbett, "had they not given me a dime, I would still be in this position, saying we need to grow jobs in Pennsylvania.".

Personal life

Corbett is married; he and his wife Susan have two children, Tom and Katherine. Tom is an interactive gaming producer and Katherine is a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.

External links

• Governor Tom Corbett official government site
• Tom Corbett for Governor official campaign site
• Template:GovLinks
• Tom Corbett: Pennsylvania at NAAG.org