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This article is about the US politician. For the fictional character, see Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.| Tom Corbett | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 45 Pennsylvania Attorney General | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 18, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Jerry Pappert |
| 42 Pennsylvania Attorney General | |
| In office October 3, 1995 – January 22, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Ernie Preate |
| Succeeded by | Mike Fisher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-06-17) June 17, 1949 (age 75) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Susan Manbeck Corbett |
| Alma mater | St. Mary's University Law School Lebanon Valley College |
| Profession | Captain in Pennsylvania National Guard, Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army's Army National Guard |
| Years of service | 1971–1984 |
| Rank | Captain  |
| Unit | 28th Infantry Division |
Thomas Corbett (born June 17, 1949) is the Attorney General of the state of Pennsylvania, United States, elected 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, who was indicted on federal charges for mail fraud for which he served a sixteen month prison sentence in Duluth Minnesota.
Corbett is the Republican candidate in the 2010 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election.
Background
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, 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 the Pittsburgh suburb of 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 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.
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, Inc, then opening his own practice.
Corbett is married; he and his wife Susan have two children, Tom and Katherine. Tom is an interactive gaming producer, currently working on a children's game entitled Sparkles And The Magical Double-Crossed Beaver, and Katherine is a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.
2004 Attorney General election
Main article: Pennsylvania Attorney General election, 2004The 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.
| 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 Re-Election Campaign
Main article: Pennsylvania Attorney General election, 2008Corbett 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.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Corbett | 52.36 | |||
| Democratic | John Morganelli | 45.84 | |||
| Libertarian | Marakay J. Rogers | 1.89 | |||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
2010 Gubernatorial Bid
Main article: Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2010On 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.
As the Republican candidate, Corbett has maintained a lead of approximately 10% over Democratic candidate, and Allegheny County Executive, Dan Onorato in polls through July 28, 2010
In 2008, a lawsuit was filed by a former state employee against the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office that alleges public dollars were “illegally paid out to vendors” and contends wrongful termination. However, there have been no charges filed.
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.
Healthcare Reform Lawsuit
Main article: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act § Legal challengeOn 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 May 2010, a total of 21 states have joined this lawsuit.
References
 | This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation) and Citation bot (documentation). (May 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
- http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com
- http://nl.newsbank.com
- "Corbett comes from behind to win in AG race". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2008-11-05. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/Ernie_Preate
- O'Toole, James (September 15, 2009). "Corbett announces he will run for governor in 2010". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- 2004 Primary Election Results, Allegheny County Department of Elections, 4/27/04
- 2004 Primary Election Results, Pennsylvania Department of State, 4/27/04
- O'Toole, James (September 15, 2009). "Corbett announces he will run for governor in 2010". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Corbett announces he will run for governor in 2010
- Benenson, Bob. Pennsylvania Governor: Corbett vs. Onorato. CQ Politics. 18 May 2010.
- http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/pennsylvania/election_2010_pennsylvania_governor
- http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/03/analysis_can_tom_corbett_conti.html
- http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/our-money/Corbett_subpoenas_Twitter_for_critics_names.html?submit=Vote&oid=1&94476234=Y&mr=1&cid=8500281&pid=94476234
- http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2010/05/10/daily61.html
- Bio from Montgomery County GOP, used to cite dates
- Corbett, Eisenhower win in attorney general race, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/28/04
- Primary Election Results, Pennsylvania Department of State
- General Election Results, Pennsylvania Department of State
External links
- Attorney General Tom Corbett official government site
- Tom Corbett for Governor official campaign site
- Template:GovLinks
- Tom Corbett: Pennsylvania at NAAG.org
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byJerry Pappert | Attorney General of Pennsylvania 2005 - present |
Succeeded byIncumbent |
| Preceded byErnie Preate | Attorney General of Pennsylvania 1995 - 1997 |
Succeeded byMike Fisher |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded byMike Fisher | Republican nominee for Attorney General of Pennsylvania 2004 (won), 2008 (won) |
Succeeded byMost recent |
| Preceded byLynn Swann | Republican nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania 2010 |
Succeeded byCurrent nominee |
| Statewide political officials of Pennsylvania | ||
|---|---|---|
| U.S. senators |  | |
| State government | ||
| Senate |
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| House |
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| Supreme Court |
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- Articles needing cleanup from May 2010
- Articles with bare URLs for citations from May 2010
- 1949 births
- Living people
- Pennsylvania Attorneys General
- Pennsylvania lawyers
- People from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
- St. Mary's University School of Law alumni
- United States Attorneys for the Western District of Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania National Guard
- Pennsylvania Republicans
- Lebanon Valley College alumni