Tom Corbett

Tom Corbett is the current Attorney General of the state of Pennsylvania, United States, elected in 2004. 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 who was convicted of mail fraud.

Biography

Corbett's career has been split between private practice and civil service. He began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. 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 Shaler Township, Pennsylvania.

He re-entered the public arena in 1988 when 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 US Attorney, a role in which he would serve until August 1993.

Following his resignation as US Attorney, Corbett returned to private practice, also serving as an advisor 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.

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.

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

Corbett also served as a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard from 1971 until 1984, having achieved the rank of captain.

2004 Attorney General election

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, 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, [ [http://www.alleghenycounty.us/elect/200404pri/rpt001.asp 2004 Primary Election Results, Allegheny County Department of Elections, 4/27/04] ] while Castor prevailed in the Southeast with almost a similar margin. Ultimately, Corbett won the race with 52.8% of the vote. [ [http://web.dos.state.pa.us/cgi-bin/ElectionResults/county2.cgi?eyear=2004&etype=P&office=ATT, 2004 Primary Election Results, Pennsylvania Department of State, 4/27/04] ] 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.

Education

*J.D., St. Mary's University Law School
*Bachelor's degree, Lebanon Valley College
*Certification in Breaking Those Cuffs, Lebanon Valley College

Personal

Corbett is married; he and his wife Susan have two children, Tom and Katherine.

References

* [http://www.montcogop.org/gopteam_corbett.htm Bio from Montgomery County GOP, used to cite dates]
* [http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10927797&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=8 Editorial: A rare public dispute in ranks of the GOP, "Delco Times", 02/06/2004]
* [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04119/307815.stm Corbett, Eisenhower win in attorney general race, "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", 4/28/04]
* [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_190535.html Most still undecided on Corbett, Castor, "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review", 4/22/04]
* [http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1306&dept_id=187819&newsid=11858398&PAG=461&rfi=9 Castor backs Corbett in attorney general race "The Colonial", 6/4/04]
* [http://www.wpxi.com/politics/3886534/detail.html PA's Attorney General Race May Trigger Recount, "WPXI-TV" 11/3/04]
* [http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=10&OfficeID=5 Primary Election Results, Pennsylvania Department of State]
* [http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=11&OfficeID=5 General Election Results, Pennsylvania Department of State]

External links

* [http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/theoffice.aspx?id=42 Official bio of A.G. Corbett]
* [http://www.naag.org/ag/ag_bios.php?id=126 NAAG bio]