Sheldon Whitehouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sheldon Whitehouse | |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2007 Serving with Jack Reed |
|
| Preceded by | Lincoln Chafee |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Born | October 20, 1955 New York City, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Sandra Whitehouse |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is the Junior Senator from the state of Rhode Island. A Democrat, he previously served as United States Attorney (1994–1998) and state Attorney General for Rhode Island.
Whitehouse was born in New York City, New York, the son of Mary Celine Rand and career diplomat Charles Whitehouse, and grandson of diplomat Sheldon Whitehouse. He graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and from Yale University in 1978. He received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1982.
In 1986 Whitehouse married Dr. Sandra Thornton Whitehouse, a marine biologist and granddaughter of James Worth Thornton and Elena Mumm Thornton Wilson. Her step-grandfather was prominent essayist and critic Edmund Wilson. They live in Rhode Island with their two children, Molly and Alexander.
Whitehouse defeated Republican incumbent Lincoln Chafee in the November 7, 2006 election to become the junior Senator from Rhode Island.
Contents |
[edit] Early career
Whitehouse worked as a clerk for Judge Richard F. Neely in the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from 1982 to 1983. He also worked in the Rhode Island Attorney General's office as a special assistant attorney general from 1985 to 1990, chief of the Regulatory Unit (which oversaw utilities) from 1988 to 1990, and also an assistant attorney general from 1989 to 1990.[1]
Whitehouse worked as Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun's Executive Counsel beginning in 1991, and was later tapped to serve as Director of Policy. He oversaw the state's response to the RISDIC banking crisis,[8] which took place right after Sundlun took office. Whitehouse was appointed by Sundlun to be the state's Director of Business Regulation in 1992, where he oversaw a drastic reform in the state's workers's compensation insurance system.[1]
[edit] U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island
President Bill Clinton appointed Whitehouse to serve as United States attorney for Rhode Island in 1994. Whitehouse held the position for four years, and was the first prosecutor to convict a member of organized crime under Clinton's "three strikes law" for organized crime.[1] Whitehouse also initiated the investigation into municipal corruption in Rhode Island that led to Operation Plunder Dome, in which Providence Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci was eventually convicted on conspiracy charges.[2]
[edit] Political career
[edit] State attorney general
In 1998, Whitehouse was elected as attorney general. He initiated a lawsuit against the lead paint industry that ended in a mistrial; the state later won a second lawsuit against former lead paint manufacturers Sherwin Williams Co., Millennium Holdings and NL Industries that found them responsible for creating a public nuisance.[3] Whitehouse also founded the Rhode Island Quality Institute,[9] "an organization dedicated to improving health care quality in the State of Rhode Island,"[4] and authorized the first Rhode Island State Police wire tap to investigate public corruption.
Whitehouse's tenure as attorney general also saw some controversy. When black Providence police officer Cornel Young Jr. was shot and killed by two fellow officers while he was off-duty in January 2000,[5] Whitehouse was criticized for not appointing an independent prosecutor to investigate the shooting.[6] Later that year, Whitehouse was criticized when 15-year-old Jennifer Rivera, a witness in a murder case, was shot by a relative of the man she was to testify against later that year.[7] After Rivera's shooting, Whitehouse strengthened the state's witness protection program.
[edit] Gubernatorial candidate
Whitehouse was a candidate for governor in 2002. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by former State Senator and two time failed gubernatorial candidate Myrth York who went on to lose for a third time in the general election, against Republican Donald Carcieri.
[edit] U.S. Senate
[edit] Election campaign
In 2006, Whitehouse ran for the seat occupied by Senator Lincoln Chafee, a Republican seeking a second full term. After winning the Democratic primary by a large margin, Whitehouse went on to defeat Chafee with 53 percent of the vote.
[edit] Freshman Senator
[edit] Committee Membership
Whiteouse is a member of the following committees:[8][9][10]
On August 3, 2007, it was announced that Whitehouse would receive the Golden Gavel award, having presided over Senate debates for more than 100 hours in his first six months in office.
[edit] U.S. Attorney controversy
- See also: Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy
| Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy |
Whitehouse has received notice from journalist Michael McGoouh of the Los Angeles Times for his careful questioning and thoughtful statements, understanding that the less said, the more effective his efforts may be. McGough cites this statement by Whitehouse:[11]
| “ | "His stated definition of what is improper for him and his staff, believe it or not, tracks the legal standard for criminal obstruction of justice," Whitehouse said of Gonzales. "Is that the kind of attorney general we want?" | ” |
[edit] Political positions
In traditionally liberal Rhode Island, both Democratic Whitehouse and Republican Chafee hold liberal political positions.
Both supports stem cell research, abortion rights, allowing gay marriages, pro-environmental and pro-health care policy. They also both opposed intervention in Iraq (Chafee was the only Republican senator who voted against it) and the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Whitehouse, however, supports the federal use of the death penalty (but supports it being illegal in Rhode Island), while Chafee opposed it overall[12]. Whitehouse also opposed NAFTA, while Chafee supported[13].
[edit] Electoral History
| Rhode Island U.S. Senate Election 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Sheldon Whitehouse | 205,274 | 53.5 | ||
| Republican | Lincoln Chafee (Incumbent) | 178,548 | 46.5 | -11.3 | |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c Sheldon Whitehouse for Governor, "About Sheldon" (cached 9/1/2002).[1]
- ^ Rhode Island Cancer Council, "Sheldon Whitehouse".[2]
- ^ Peter B. Lord, "3 companies found liable in lead-paint nuisance suit," The Providence Journal, February 23, 2006.[3]
- ^ Rhode Island Quality Institute, "Who We Are".[4]
- ^ Ken Mingis, "Off-duty Providence police officer shot, killed by 2 other officers," The Providence Journal, January 28, 2000.[5]
- ^ Jonathan D. Rockoff, "Minority leaders seek independent inquiry," The Providence Journal, February 6, 2000.[6]
- ^ Mark Arsenault, "Grounded in law, Whitehouse builds his case on leadership," The Providence Journal, August 25, 2002.[7]
- ^ Committee Assignments United States Senate. Retrieved June 20, 207.
- ^ [ http://senate.gov/general/committee_membership/committee_memberships_SSJU.htm Senate Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee membership] United States Senate. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
- ^ Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Subcommittee membership United States Senate. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
- ^ McGough, Michael. "Whitehouse takes Gonzales to the woodshed: How the freshman senator built the strongest case against the attorney general.", Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
- ^ Sheldon Whitehouse on the Issues
- ^ Sheldon Whitehouse on the Issues
[edit] External links
- United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senate 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
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Sheldon Whitehouse profile
- About.com — Sheldon Whitehouse profile
- Whitehouse for Senate, Campaign site
- Ancestry
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jefferey Pine |
Attorney General of Rhode Island 1999 – 2003 |
Succeeded by Patrick C. Lynch |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by Lincoln Chafee |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Rhode Island 2007 – present Served alongside: Jack Reed |
Incumbent |
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Whitehouse, Sheldon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | United States Senator from the state of Rhode Island |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 20, 1955 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City, New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
