Bill Lowery (US politician)

Infobox_Congressman
name =William David Lowery


date of birth=Birth date and age|1947|5|2|mf=y
place of birth =San Diego, California, USA
state = California
district = 41st
term = 1981–1991
preceded = Bob Wilson
succeeded = Jay Kim
party =Republican
spouse = Divorced son= Bill Lowery jr.

William David "Bill" Lowery (born May 2, 1947) was a Republican politician from California.

Lowery was born in southeastern San Diego, California, USA, where he grew up. He attended San Diego State University.

Lowery was married and divorced twice, first to Kathleen E. Brown on September 9, 1968 and second to Melinda Morrin.

Lowery started his political career as a San Diego city councilman from 1977 to 1980.

Congress

In 1980, Lowery was elected to Congress from ushr|California|41, which included most of San Diego, after 28-year incumbent Bob Wilson retired. Lowery was reelected five times with little difficulty.

In the redistricting after the 1990 Census, Lowery was moved into the district of a fellow Republican, Duke Cunningham. At that time, the House banking scandal ("Rubbergate") had just broken: several members of Congress had written bad checks on the House bank. Lowery was one of the worst offenders, with over 300 bad checks. Lowery also had accepted yacht parties and trips from Don Dixon, who as part of the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s, plundered his Texas savings and loan and forced the U.S. government to bail it out for $1.3 billion. Lowery was also criticized for taking overseas junkets.Erica Werner, [http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/15047449.htm "Lawmaker-turned-lobbyist at center of 'earmarking' probe"] , "Associated Press", July 15, 2006] These issues virtually wiped out any advantage Lowery might have had due to seniority.

Cunningham repeated his 1990 campaign theme of "A Congressman We Can Be Proud Of," and built up a huge lead in the polls. Believing that he had no chance of staying in Congress, Lowery dropped out a few weeks before the Republican primary. Ironically, Cunningham would become the center of a multi-million dollar bribery scandal a decade later and be forced to resign after pleading guilty to bribery in 2005.

Lobbyist

Since leaving Congress, Lowery has worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.. He specializes in adding "earmarks" into appropriation bills for his clients. Lowery has been particularly effective in lobbying his friend Representative Jerry Lewis. Lowery, his firm, and clients have donated 37% of Lewis' $1.3 million PAC income in the past six years. [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20051223-9999-lz1n23lewis.html "Close ties make Rep. Lewis, lobbyist Lowery a potent pair", San Diego "Union-Tribune" 2005-12-23 by Jerry Kammer] ]

Lowery owns two homes, a townhouse on Capitol Hill and a 14-acre (0.06 km²) waterfront property in King William County, Virginia.

External links

References