| Alan Mollohan | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1983 |
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| Preceded by | Bob Mollohan |
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| Born | May 14, 1943 Fairmont, West Virginia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Whiting |
| Residence | Fairmont, West Virginia |
| Alma mater | College of William and Mary, West Virginia University |
| Occupation | attorney |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | 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 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]
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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] UPI. Mollohan created these nonprofit groups and the leaders of these groups were sometimes investors with him, possibly leading to his own personal gain. [3]
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 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. [4] Mollohan was also listed on the organization's 2006, 2007, and 2008 reports.[5]
2010 election
In 2010, Mollohan will face a primary opponent for the first time since the 1982 election. Mollohan will also face one of seven Republican challengers in the 2010 Election. Since his first election in 1982 he has only faced a total of six Republican challengers.
The 2010 Democrat Challengers Are:
- R. J. Smith [6]
The 2010 Republican Challengers Are:
- State Senator Clark Barnes [7]
- Cindy Hall [8]
- David McKinley [9]
- R. Scott Smith [10]
- Tom Stark [11]
- Daniel Swisher [12]
- Mac Warner [13]
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
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/23/AR2009112303602.html
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/23/AR2009112303602.html
- ^ http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/summaries/mollohan.php
- ^ http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections/candidates-committees/pre-candidates/Documents/rptPrecandidateList.pdf
- ^ http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/528934.html
- ^ http://www.cindyhallforcongress.com/
- ^ http://dailymail.com/News/statenews/200911230834?page=2&build=cache
- ^ http://www.scottsmith2010.com/
- ^ http://www.tstark2010.com/
- ^ http://www.danielswisherforcongress.com/home.php
- ^ http://dailymail.com/News/statenews/200911230834?page=2&build=cache
External links
- U.S. Congressman Alan B. Mollohan official House site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Alan Mollohan at the Open Directory Project
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Robert Mollohan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st congressional district 1983–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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