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Wikipedia

Bob McDonnell

April 27, 2023

"Robert McDonnell" redirects here. For the Irish surgeon, see Robert McDonnell (surgeon).

Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. His career ended after his corruption scandal and conviction, which was later unanimously overturned by the Supreme Court. A member of the Republican Party, McDonnell also served on the executive committee of the Republican Governors Association.[1] McDonnell was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve. He also served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992 to 2006, and was attorney general of Virginia from 2006 to 2009.

Bob McDonnell
McDonnell in 2010
71st Governor of Virginia
In office
January 16, 2010 – January 11, 2014
LieutenantBill Bolling
Preceded byTim Kaine
Succeeded byTerry McAuliffe
44th Attorney General of Virginia
In office
January 14, 2006 – February 20, 2009
GovernorTim Kaine
Preceded byJudith Jagdmann
Succeeded byBill Mims
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 84th district
In office
January 8, 1992 – January 14, 2006
Preceded byGlenn McClanan
Succeeded bySal Iaquinto
Personal details
Born
Robert Francis McDonnell

(1954-06-15) June 15, 1954 (age 68)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Maureen Gardner
​
​
(m. 1976; div. 2020)​
Children5
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame (BBA)
Boston University (MS)
Regent University (MA, JD)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1976–1981 (active)
1981–1997 (reserve)
Rank Lieutenant colonel
UnitJ.A.G. Corps

McDonnell was elected governor of Virginia after using the campaign slogan "Bob's for Jobs."[2] He defeated Democratic state Senator Creigh Deeds by a 17-point margin in the 2009 general election, which was marked by the severe recession of the late 2000s. McDonnell succeeded Democrat Tim Kaine, who was term-limited by Virginia law.[3][4]

After taking office as governor, McDonnell advocated privatization and promoted offshore drilling for Virginia. He moved to extend a contract to outsource the state's computer operations and sought to fund transportation improvements from asset sales, including a proposal to auction off liquor stores operated by the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The state's unemployment rate declined from 7.4% in January 2010, when McDonnell took office, to 5.2% in December 2013, comparable to the decline in the national unemployment rate from 9.8% to 6.7% during the same period.[5][6] McDonnell's governorship ended with a 55% to 32% approval to disapproval rating among registered voters.[7]

On January 21, 2014, McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were indicted on federal corruption charges for receiving improper gifts and loans from a Virginia businessman. They were convicted on most counts by a federal jury on September 4, 2014. McDonnell, the first Virginia governor to be indicted or convicted of a felony, was sentenced on January 6, 2015, to two years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. However, he was free on bond during the subsequent appeals process.[8] On June 27, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously overturned McDonnell's conviction and remanded the case to a lower court.[9][10] Less than three months later, the Justice Department announced that they would not prosecute the case again and moved to dismiss the charges against the former governor and his wife.[11] The case cost McDonnell over $27 million in legal bills.[12]

McDonnell currently serves as a professor at Regent University and runs the McDonnell Group, a real estate consulting firm, with his sister.[12]

Early life and education

McDonnell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Emma B. Meta (née Meiller; 1928–1994) and John Francis McDonnell (1916–2010).[13] His paternal grandparents were Irish immigrants, and his maternal grandparents were from Alsace-Lorraine in what was then the German Empire.[14] His family moved to Fairfax County, Virginia, in 1955 when he was a year old.

He spent four years of his early childhood in Germany when his father, a United States Air Force officer, was sent out on assignment.[15] After returning to Virginia, the McDonnells permanently established residence in Fairfax County.[15] McDonnell's mother worked at Mount Vernon. McDonnell graduated from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1972.[16][17]

McDonnell attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, on an ROTC scholarship,[15] graduating with a BBA in management in 1976. Immediately following graduation, he served as a medical supply officer in the United States Army for four years.[18] His military posts were medical clinics in Germany from 1976 to 1979, and in Newport News, Virginia, from 1979 to 1981.[15][19]

In addition, he took night classes and received an MS in business administration from Boston University in 1980.[15] After leaving active duty in 1981, McDonnell worked for the American Hospital Supply Corporation, primarily in the custom products regional division.[citation needed]

His career path shifted from business to law and public policy when he selected a joint degree program at Christian Broadcasting Network University now known as Regent University.[20] He obtained an M.A./J.D. there in 1989.[16][17] During his studies, McDonnell interned under Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-California).[21]

House of Delegates (1992–2006)

McDonnell first ran and was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1991, defeating Democratic incumbent Glenn McClanan 53%–47%.[22] He won re-election in 1993 against Thomas Carnes 64%–36%,[23] and was unopposed in 1995, 1997, 2001, and 2003, serving seven terms. The 1999 election against the extremely popular challenger, Sheriff Frank Drew was then the most expensive State Delegate campaign in the history of Virginia. The combined cost of over $985,000 crushed previous records. He represented the 84th district in Virginia Beach. Under the 1998–2001 power-sharing arrangement between House Republicans and Democrats, he was Co-Chair of the Committee on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries in 2000–01. He became Chair of the Courts of Justice Committee in 2003. He also served on the Rules Committee 2000–05, and was Assistant Majority Leader.[16][24][25] While serving in state office, McDonnell continued to serve in the Army Reserve as a JAG officer until retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1997. In 1994, McDonnell supported, and was a major co-sponsor of George Allen's initiative to abolish parole for those convicted of a felony.

Attorney General (2006–2009)

Main article: 2005 Virginia Attorney General election

In 2005, McDonnell ran for attorney general. He campaigned on issues including protecting children from sexual predators, drug enforcement, identity theft, gang violence, and terrorism. The first result showed him with a victory of 323 votes, out of over 1.9 million votes cast, over his opponent, Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds. Deeds filed for a recount, which began on December 20, 2005. A court decision limited the recount to just recompiling vote totals instead of examining individual optically scanned ballots.[26] After preliminary figures revealed 37 more votes for McDonnell and that Deeds could not make up the difference, he conceded the next day, giving McDonnell a 323-vote margin of victory.[27]

McDonnell outspent Deeds in the general election by nearly $1 million.[28] He was inaugurated on January 14, 2006, in Williamsburg, along with Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling.

Tenure

In 2007, McDonnell "played a key role in early negotiations" on the transportation package that was the key issue of contention in the General Assembly.[29] However, subsequently the package was declared unconstitutional based on a challenge filed by a Republican state senator.[30]

Prior to a performance of the Sex Workers' Art Show at the College of William and Mary in 2008, McDonnell forbade the sale of the group's books on school grounds.[31] McDonnell took the side of defecting Northern Virginia Episcopalians in a property lawsuit over the right of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia to retain church property.[32]

In February 2009, McDonnell resigned as attorney general to campaign full-time for the governorship of Virginia in the 2009 election.[16][33]

2009 campaign for governor

Main articles: 2009 Virginia gubernatorial election and 2009 Bob McDonnell gubernatorial campaign

McDonnell announced his candidacy for the 2009 Virginia gubernatorial election at American Legion's Boy's State of Virginia 2007, making him the seventh consecutive elected attorney general to run. The statewide candidates, including McDonnell as governor, were selected at a Republican State convention rather than a primary.[34]

Less than two weeks later, Creigh Deeds won his party's nomination in a primary, setting up a "rematch" of the state attorney general's race four years earlier.

In early June, Deeds held a slight edge, with a 47%–41% advantage in a Rasmussen poll.[35] As the campaign continued, the polls shifted toward McDonnell's favor, with several giving him a commanding lead.[36]

However, when The Washington Post released McDonnell's thesis from Regent University, McDonnell's lead dwindled to only two percentage points in Rasmussen polling.[37] As the election drew near, McDonnell's campaign regained steam, however. McDonnell defeated Deeds in the general election by a vote of 59%–41%, receiving the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate for governor since 1961.[38] At the same time, the other two statewide offices on the ballot were also won by Republicans.[39]

Issues

In a political and economic climate marked by the late-2000s recession, McDonnell promised that his priority as governor was employment for Virginians, with such campaign slogans as, "Bob's for Jobs." He supported right-to-work laws, low operating cost of government and a simplified tax code.[40] Having lived in various parts of the state, his road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own", and "Fairfax's Own".[41][42][43]

The McDonnell campaign strategy was cast as focusing on economic issues, transportation, and public safety.[44] McDonnell's proposals included new job initiatives, boosting Virginia's tourism, hospitality, and film industries, making Wallops Island the top commercial spaceport in America, and expanding growth in rural Virginia.[45]

McDonnell proposed measures to move $480 million per year from school administration, and put it directly into classrooms; establish more specialized high schools to support high-demand industries; increase online learning through virtual schools; and support educational mentoring programs.[46][47] McDonnell frequently expressed his support for President Barack Obama's ideas on increasing parental choice through charter schools.[48]

Abortion

Identifying as anti-abortion, McDonnell campaigned as an opponent of elective abortion. He did not favor standard exceptions on abortion in cases of rape and incest.[49] As a state legislator, he had been the lead sponsor for legislation to ban partial birth abortions, as well as for legislation requiring parental consent for minors' abortions, and informed consent for women seeking abortions.[50]

Energy

McDonnell advocated making Virginia the energy capital of the East Coast.[51] He supported drilling for oil off of the coast of Virginia while simultaneously developing new technologies for wind, solar, biomass, and other renewable energy resources.[52] He also intended to expand investments in renewable energy sources and incentivize green job creation.[51]

Gun rights

According to Mayors Against Illegal Guns, McDonnell sent personal letters to the governors of the other 49 states urging them to follow his state in closing loopholes that allowed mentally unstable people to purchase guns. After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, Virginia made this issue a top priority. McDonnell wrote in his letter: "I believe that we can all work together to help prevent these acts from occurring again anywhere in our Nation. I write to ask for your support in providing critical information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System."

However, McDonnell campaigned as a gun rights advocate. He held an "A" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund and won their endorsement.[53]

Gay rights

McDonnell opposed same-sex marriage. He advocated a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.[54]

Marijuana

McDonnell opposed legalizing marijuana. He later signed a bill that criminalized the use of synthetic cannabis. It was approved unanimously in both the house and the senate by both political parties.[55][56]

Transportation

McDonnell's campaign also turned to transportation, a major issue in heavily congested areas of Virginia, advocating issuing $3 billion in transportation bonds that had been approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 2007, but not funded with a revenue source, modernizing the Virginia Department of Transportation, and encouraging public-private partnerships to improve infrastructure.[57] He supported widening I-66 inside the Beltway, improving I-95, and finishing the Metrorail to Dulles Airport project.

Transparency

McDonnell criticized Governor Tim Kaine for not disclosing his full schedule, and for making out-of-state political appearances as Chair of the Democratic National Committee. McDonnell stated, "The citizens must be certain that the governor is attending to the duties for which he was elected. The governor is Virginia's chief executive, and represents the commonwealth at all times."[58] However, in March 2010, McDonnell received similar criticism for disclosing very few meetings or political appearances on his publicly released schedule.[58]

Thesis

McDonnell's 1989 thesis for Regent University[59] was a 93-page document titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade. The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births, and examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions. It gained attention in the campaign because it outlined a 15-point conservative agenda, including 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly, according to press analysis.[60]

The agenda included opposition to abortion, support for school vouchers and covenant marriage, and tax policies that favored heterosexual families.[61] In his thesis, McDonnell wrote "government policy should favor married couples over 'cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.'"[62] McDonnell "described working women and feminists as 'detrimental' to the family."[62]

McDonnell also "criticized a landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision" which legalized the use of contraceptives, writing that "man's basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter."

McDonnell responded to the article, stating "Virginians will judge me on my 18-year record as a legislator and attorney general and the specific plans I have laid out for our future – not on a decades-old academic paper I wrote as a student during the Reagan era and haven't thought about in years."[60]

The Washington Post reported that McDonnell maintained: "Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." McDonnell said that his evolved position on family policy was best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation where he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work."[60]

Campaign organization and financial support

McDonnell's campaign headquarters was located in Richmond. His campaign finance report for September 15, 2009, indicated that he had nearly 1,500 more new donors than the Deeds campaign had total donors, a total of 6,239 donors, and 4,946 of them were new.[63] During the campaign, McDonnell's largest individual donor was former coal magnate Richard Baxter Gilliam, who was also McDonnell's fifth largest overall donor after the United States Chamber of Commerce.[64] McDonnell received over $1.5 million from the energy and natural resources sector, including $622,198 from coal mining interests.[65]

The McDonnell For Governor campaign printed a variety of bumper stickers appealing to many interest groups, including "Women for McDonnell," "Sportsmen for McDonnell," and "Independents for McDonnell." Some appealed to the diverse minority groups throughout the Commonwealth. Some featured the mascots of select public universities such as the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, James Madison University, Virginia Military Institute, and Old Dominion University. "Irish for McDonnell" stickers were printed for the select Virginia residents who attended the University of Notre Dame as well. His road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own," "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own."[66][41][43][67] It was suspected that McDonnell failed to comply with gift disclosure requirements over a $15,000 gift that a major campaign donor, Jonnie Williams Sr., made to cover the cost of catering for his daughter's wedding. McDonnell himself paid $8,000 towards the catering and a $3,500 refund for overpayment was returned to McDonnell, rather than to his daughter, potentially giving McDonnell a financial stake in the donor's gift.[68] Virginia required public disclosure of all gifts to public officials over $50.

Endorsements

McDonnell was endorsed by Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television and owner of the Washington Mystics;[69] Virginia AgPAC: the Political Action Committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau, representing over 147,000 members;[70] the Virginia Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in Virginia with over 33,000 members;[71] The Virginia Credit Union League, a trade association representing the Commonwealth's 194 not-for-profit credit unions and the 3 million member-owners residing in Virginia;[72] The Virginia Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a group whose membership consists of over 6,000 small businesses across Virginia;[73] and the National Rifle Association, which reversed its pro-Deeds 2005 endorsement for attorney general.

Governor of Virginia

 
McDonnell at his inauguration as Governor

On January 16, 2010, McDonnell was inaugurated as the 71st governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, succeeding Kaine as governor.[74] This was the first inaugural ceremony to occur on the newly renovated steps of the Virginia State Capitol. In keeping with tradition, McDonnell signed executive orders after taking the oath. Instead of keeping with a 30-year practice[75] by signing an executive order banning discrimination in state employment (which he later signed on February 5), McDonnell signed orders establishing a Commission on job creation and a Virginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring.[76]

Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism. On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek to chair the 31-member advisory commission on reforming state government created by one of his initial executive orders.[77] On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions while personnel director in the Nixon administration and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement.[78] On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment, and stated that he was unaware of Malek's role in the Nixon administration,[79] a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told The Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief."[78][80][81][82][83] McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.[84][85][86]

 
Gov. McDonnell speaks with a U.S. Coast Guard after a military appreciation proclamation ceremony

On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers, and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates.[87][88][89] Critics argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.[88][89]

After his election as governor, McDonnell shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which raised $1,194,934 through June 2010.[90] Many of the donations came from industries regulated by the state.[91]

In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman.[92] At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation, which was passed, to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency report directly to the governor instead of to an independent board.[92][93] Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010.[94][95] As a result, 45,000 people were unable to renew their driver's licenses. Computer systems for nearly a third of the state's agencies were affected.[96][97][98] Over 4,000 people had to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos retaken after an August 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable.[99] The system had also experienced a prior unrelated outage on August 9.[98] Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.[95]

The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities that solicit donations in Virginia.[100] The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), who made large contributions to certain Republican candidates.[101] After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, but he signed the bill into law anyway.[101] As a result, the organization, which was under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed),[102] Florida, and Missouri, as well as other non-profit veterans' organizations, did not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive.[101] McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received from Thompson.[103] In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nationwide arrest warrant had been issued for Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA. Corday stated, "We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million."[104]

On January 14, 2011, McDonnell issued a directive ordering the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cease enforcing regulations prohibiting the carrying firearms in state parks. He also gave preliminary approval to amend the regulations to allow people to carry open or concealed firearms in state forests. The regulations were already amended in 2003 to allow concealed weapons on park property.[105]

On August 15, 2011, McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association.[1]

Social issues

 
McDonnell speaking at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Committee

Confederate History Month proclamation

At the request of the Sons of Confederate Veterans,[106] McDonnell issued a proclamation designating April 2010 as "Confederate History Month" following similar designations by two of his Republican predecessors, George Allen (in 1995, 1996, and 1997)[107] and James S. Gilmore, but unlike the two Democratic governors immediately preceding McDonnell, who did not designate such a month.

Unlike Gilmore's proclamation,[clarification needed (What about Allen's?)] which included anti-slavery language, McDonnell's initial proclamation omitted direct mention of slavery, drawing criticism from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the NAACP.[108][109][110][111] When initially asked why he had made the omission, McDonnell stated that "there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia."[112]

On April 7, 2010, McDonnell conceded that omitting slavery from his proclamation was "a major omission," apologized, and amended the document.[106] McDonnell had previously refused to rule out the possibility that he would run for vice president in 2012;[113] while news analysts Chris Cillizza, Mark Plotkin, and Teddy Davis speculated that the mistake may have a significant adverse impact on McDonnell's chances for a future vice presidential nomination, a May 22 Time magazine article described McDonnell as "a politician who inexplicably kneecapped himself is clawing his way back."[3][114][115]

On September 24, 2010, McDonnell addressed an academic conference on slavery and announced that he will declare April 2011 as "Civil War in Virginia" month rather than "Confederate History Month." He also called the April 2010 proclamation an "error of haste and not of heart."[116]

State health benefits for same-sex partners

In December 2009, Governor Kaine had started a process to extend state employee health benefits to same-sex partners.[117] At McDonnell's request, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion that this change to the coverage of the state employees' health plan could not be made without explicit legislation authorizing it, thereby halting the administrative process to make the change.[118] However, McDonnell signed a law allowing Virginia employers to offer private life insurance coverage for employees' same-sex partners, after the bill passed with bipartisan support.[119]

Death sentence for Teresa Lewis

In a decision that drew controversy, McDonnell declined to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment in the case of Teresa Lewis, who was executed on September 23, 2010. She was the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912. Calls had been made for leniency, citing her below average mental capacity.[120]

Abortion

In 2012, national attention was focused on a bill before the Virginia state legislature, controlled by Republicans, to require a trans-vaginal ultrasound for any woman contemplating an abortion in Virginia. McDonnell initially supported the bill, but backed off after public protests. He persuaded the legislators to pass instead a slightly watered-down version requiring a less invasive abdominal ultrasound before an abortion and exempting women who were pregnant as a result of rape or incest, provided they reported it to the police. The redrafted bill was opposed by pro-choice groups and a minority in the legislature, but McDonnell signed it into law on March 7, 2012. McDonnell was called "Governor Vagina", "Governor Ultrasound", and other similar pejorative monikers by legislators opposing the controversial bill.[121][122]

Voting rights restoration for felons

In April 2010, McDonnell drew criticism from black leaders and civil rights groups when a draft policy proposal was mistakenly sent to 200 felons, informing them of his decision to require a written essay from each applicant seeking to have voting and other civil rights restored.[123] Previously, applicants were required to fill out a one-page application.[124] Only Virginia and Kentucky require the governor to act on individual requests for restoring voting rights.[124][125]

On May 21, McDonnell announced new policies on the issue of restoration of rights, imposing a 60-day deadline for his administration to act on an application once all of the required documentation was received from the applicant and the courts; reducing the time nonviolent felons must wait to apply for restoration of rights from three to two years, and cutting the waiting period for reapplication if a request is denied from two years to one.[126] Democratic Delegate David Englin commented, "By establishing a timely and more clearly defined process for non-violent ex-offenders seeking to have their rights restored, the Governor's new policy has the potential make an important step in the right direction."[127] By the end of his term on January 11, 2014, McDonnell had restored the rights of 8,013 ex-felons; more than any previous governor in Virginia history.[128]

Transportation

On April 30, 2010, McDonnell authorized issuing $493 million in transportation bonds in May 2010 and an additional $1.493 billion over the five years to finance previously approved transportation projects. The bonds were a part of a transportation package enacted three years previously, but had not been issued while Republican State Delegate Robert Marshall filed a lawsuit challenging their constitutionality while certain transportation notes issued during the Gilmore Administration had not yet been paid off. Critics noted that Virginia lacked a revenue source to amortize the bonds.[129][130] On December 9, 2010, McDonnell announced a revised transportation funding plan which included both $1.8 billion in bonds that had been approved in 2007, as well as an additional $1.1 billion which he proposed to pay back from future federal transportation funds. He also proposed to spend $150 million of the 2009–2010 budget surplus and $250 million in reserves to protect against gasoline tax revenue shortfalls.[131] On January 9, 2011, McDonnell proposed funding projects to address traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton roads by diverting 0.25% of the sales tax collected in those areas from the General Fund into the transportation fund. Legislation was required to implement the proposal, and Democrats responded that the revenues were needed in the General Fund for schools and public safety and that the projected revenues were insufficient to make a difference on highway needs.[132]

On May 10, 2010, McDonnell filed an application with the Federal Highway Administration seeking permission to collect tolls on Interstate 95 near the North Carolina border. The highway had been constructed with taxpayer funds, 90% from the federal government and 10% from Virginia gasoline taxes. However, Virginia claimed that they did not have sufficient revenues to maintain I-95 at a safe level and proposed the toll to raise a projected $30 to $60 million annually. McDonnell asked the Federal Highway Administration to authorize the toll under its "Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program".[133]

In 2008, the federal government and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority had reached an agreement for federal funding of $1.5 billion in capital improvements contingent on Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia pledging to develop dedicated funding for the Metro system. WMATA was created by an interstate compact, a kind of agreement between states similar to a treaty or contract which must also be approved by the U.S. Congress, and founded in 1967 with a board of directors whose members are appointed by each local jurisdiction in its service area, including four from Virginia appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC). In June 2010, McDonnell threatened to withhold Virginia's WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA's board was modified to allow Virginia's governor to appoint two of the seats. The interstate compact establishing WMATA specified that its Virginia members were selected by the NVTC.[134] In turn, Virginia law specified that local jurisdictions appointed that Commission's members.[135] Rather than proposing to amend either law, McDonnell merely threatened to withhold Virginia's "dedicated" matching funds if the NVTC did not appoint two people that he selected instead of appointing representatives from local jurisdictions.[136][137][138] On June 17, 2010, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding were to continue.[139] On June 24, 2010, McDonnell withdrew his request to appoint two members of the Metro Board as a precondition for making the scheduled "dedicated" payment under the 2008 agreement.[140] On July 1, 2010, the WMATA Board of Directors approved an agreement with Virginia to provide matching funds without regard to McDonnell's request for board seats. Based on that agreement, the federal funds were reconfirmed, and WMATA signed a $886 million contract for 428 new Metrorail cars.[141]

Health care

In April 2010, McDonnell signed a bill seeking to nullify the insurance purchase requirement in the then proposed federal health care legislation. On March 10, 2010, before Congress finished its final consideration of the package, a bipartisan Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act passed the General Assembly by an 80–17 majority,[142] which McDonnell signed on March 24, 2010.[143] McDonnell supported Virginia's legal challenge to the constitutionality of the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[144] Although abortion funding was not debated during the regular session of the General Assembly, McDonnell raised the issue through the use of his amendatory veto power. During the April 21, 2010 veto session, the Virginia legislature passed restrictions on state public funding for elective abortion except in the instances of rape, incest, life of the mother, or life-threatening fetal anomaly.[145]

In April 2012 McDonnell vetoed HB 399, which sought to improve neonatal care by fast-tracking implementation of newborn screening for life-threatening congenital heart malformations.[146]

Education

In Virginia, public schools are funded from both local real estate taxes as well as state general funds under a formula that attempts to assure minimum statewide standards called "The Standards of Quality". Virginia also earmarks revenues from its state lottery for education. Outgoing Governor Tim Kaine proposed $11.4 billion for K-12 education in the 2010–2012 budget.[147] On February 17, 2010, McDonnell proposed $268.8 million in cuts.[147][148] McDonnell's cuts included changing the formula for measuring the ability of localities to pay for education, reducing funding for technology expenditures, and reducing funding under the Standards of Quality.[147]

The House adopted $620 million in education cuts, and the Senate adopted a budget with $133 million in education cuts.[149] The final, signed budget cut over $646 million for public schools.[150]

Because K-12 education comprised 37% of the general fund budget, critics noted that McDonnell's proposal to fund transportation bonds from the general fund would have resulted in further education cuts in future years. McDonnell disagreed, saying he could lean heavily on growth in revenues rather than pulling from existing money.[151][152]

Although McDonnell supported the Race to the Top federal education funding program during his campaign for governor,[153] on May 26, 2010, he withdrew Virginia from the second round of "Race to the Top". Virginia had finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round; McDonnell decided that Virginia should not file its application for the second round because he erroneously believed the competition required the use of multi-state education performance standards instead of Virginia's standards.[154] However, the use of common performance standards were not required and counted for 40 points out of a possible 500 total points in evaluating state proposals.[155][156] McDonnell later stated on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous standards in addition to whatever multi-state standards they join.[157][158] However, the "Race to the Top" regulations award the points even if states adopt standards more rigorous than the optional, common standards.[159]

Offshore drilling

Previously, the General Assembly passed a bill in 2006 to allow offshore exploratory gas drilling outside a 50-mile limit.[160] On March 11, 2010, McDonnell signed into law bipartisan legislation to allow the drilling for oil and gas in federal waters 50 miles or more off the Virginia coast if also permitted by the Federal government.[161] (see Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast). The plan was criticized by some environmentalists and Democrats who argued that tourism and wildlife would be threatened and that oil drilling would not make a difference in achieving long-term energy independence.[162][163] Congressman James P. Moran (D-Va), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department, and others, argued further that most of the proposed drilling area was located in an area reserved for naval operations.[164]

McDonnell advocated drilling off the Virginia coast of the Atlantic Ocean as a possible revenue source for the state. However, according to the law, Virginia could not receive any revenues from drilling in federal waters, which included all drilling sites more than 3 miles off the coast.[161] On May 6, 2010, the Department of Interior suspended the proposed auction of offshore Virginia leasing rights.[165] Congressman Moran issued a statement commending the decision.[166] On May 18, Moran forwarded to McDonnell a Department of Defense report finding that the proposed lease site would interfere with naval operations.[167] On May 25, McDonnell reaffirmed his interest in having oil drilling off the Virginia coast notwithstanding the British Peteroleum oil spill and the inability of Virginia to get any of the royalty income.[168] On May 27, President Obama announced that the offshore Virginia lease sale was cancelled.[169][170] Subsequently, McDonnell proposed continuing a federal environmental study of drilling off the Virginia coast or drilling for just gas and not oil. However, a consulting firm said that liquids are almost always produced with gas offshore and so the proposed idea may not be possible.[171]

Budget

On December 18, 2009, outgoing Governor Kaine proposed $76.8 billion of expenditures for adoption by the incoming state legislature. Kaine's budget proposed to rationalize state revenues by increasing the income tax while lowering property taxes and other fees. As incoming governor, McDonnell refused to publicly recommend any modifications to Kaine's budget and instead worked with the House of Delegates to bring Kaine's plan up for a quick vote and defeat. Privately, McDonnell advocated cutting $300 million from health programs, $730 million from K-12 education, changing the state retirement system, and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees, to offset budgetary shortfalls for 2010–2012.[172] On February 17, 2010, after political pressure, McDonnell publicly released his proposed cuts.[147][173] The Senate adopted a budget which restored a number of cuts to education, health and human services, and a House–Senate conference managed to work out a compromise on March 14 containing about $250 million in cuts before the expiration of the legislative session.[174] However, a number of interest groups lobbied the governor to use his amendatory veto power to alter the adopted budget.

On April 14, 2010, McDonnell proposed 96 budget amendments to the two-year 2010–2012 budget resulting in $42.1 million in spending increases and $51 million in additional budget cuts, tax increases, and court fees for criminals.[145][175] He proposed to increase spending by $15 million to give incentives for SRI International and Bank of America to keep offices in Virginia.[citation needed] To boost revenue, McDonnell proposed raising $7.2 million by increasing the fines on motorists who exceed the speed limit. He proposed to cut an additional $9.9 million from state funded programs for at-risk and troubled children and proposed cutting $600,000 from state grants to public radio and television stations. McDonnell also issued amendatory vetoes on non-budget legislation. For example, although Virginia has provided free electronic filing of tax returns for years, his veto outsourced electronic filing to firms that charge a fee for that service.[176][177] McDonnell also amended a bill to prohibit Planned Parenthood from spending funds raised from its affinity license plates on abortions.[178] The Legislature met to vote on the Governor's amendments on April 21. A bipartisan majority accepted some of McDonnell's proposed cuts while rejecting others including those to public broadcasting, the funding for at-risk and troubled children, and the shifting of Virginia Medicaid mental health program to a managed-care plan.[179]

Results from 2010 fiscal year

The first budget enacted under the McDonnell administration took effect on July 1, 2010.[180] Two of McDonnell's legislative initiatives increased the surplus for the 2009–2010 fiscal year. First, the budget bill accelerated the payment of state sales taxes resulting in a one-time shift of revenues to be collected in July 2010 into the previous fiscal year. Second, the budget bill deferred a $620 million payment to the Virginia Retirement System to future years.[181] The end of year surplus triggered the payment of a 3% bonus to state employees in December 2010.[182][183] Members of both parties called on McDonnell to use the surplus to reverse the Virginia Retirement System deferral.[184]

Liquor sales

In August 2010, McDonnell embarked on a promotional tour advocating legislation to sell Virginia's liquor stores to private owners. McDonnell held eight town hall meetings around the state to discuss the plan.[185] He argued that retail alcohol sales is not an appropriate state activity and proposed that any sales proceeds could be used to finance transportation needs. Opponents noted that the liquor stores generate $248 million per year for Virginia's general fund.[186]

On September 8, 2010, McDonnell presented his plan for auctioning liquor licenses to his government reform commission.[187] He proposed tripling the number of stores selling liquor to 1,000, with the licenses to operate these new stores being auctioned. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Of the 1,000 licenses, 600 would be available to big retailers, whose lawyers and lobbyists helped craft the governor's proposal. An additional 150 licenses would be reserved for package stores, with 250 for small retailers, such as convenience-store operators."[188] McDonnell estimated that winning bidders would pay $265 million for the licenses, and that the state could receive $33 million from selling existing state-owned liquor store properties. In addition, $160 million would be collected in wholesale license fees. To make up from the annual loss of general fund revenues from the current state-owned stores, McDonnell proposed a $17.50 per gallon excise tax (which is above the national average and above that charged in neighboring states) and to charge an annual fee of $500 to $2,000 to each store license holder, imposing a new 1% gross receipts tax on wholesalers of liquor, and a 2.5% tax on restaurants and bars that chose to purchase alcohol from wholesalers instead of retail outlets. Just before the presentation, McDonnell dropped his proposed 1.5% fee on all restaurants and retail establishments that was in earlier drafts of his plan.[189][190] McDonnell proposed to call a special session of the Virginia legislature in November 2010 to consider the proposal.[190][191]

The plan drew immediate opposition from conservative lawmakers as a "tax increase". It was also opposed by the Virginia Retail Federation,[188] the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association, and the Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association.[192] The Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy opposed the plan out of concerns that it would increase alcohol consumption.[193] The plan was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police,[194] the Virginia Transportation Construction Industry, and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.[188]

On the eve of McDonnell taking the plan to the restructuring commission for their endorsement, The Washington Post reported that he modified it by dropping the restaurant tax and certain other proposed fees. He also proposed to set aside over 100 licenses for companies that employ less than 50 people in order to help small family owned stores, and wanted to give small businesses several years to pay off their auction bids. The Post suggested that "he might call off plans for a November special session" of the General Assembly.[195][196] On October 4, the Malek commission voted 22 to 3 to endorse McDonnell's modified plan.[197] The Commission proposed a number of cost savings in government operations to offset the projected $47 million annual revenue loss from selling the ABC liquor stores.[197]

In October 2010, McDonnell's modified plan drew criticism from Republican members of the House of Delegates, including Del. Thomas D. Gear who chaired the House subcommittee that considered the proposal, and Del. Timothy D. Hugo, chairman of the House Republican caucus. Concerns heightened when Phil Cox, who headed McDonnell's political action committee, threatened to withhold campaign funds from Republican delegates who failed to support the modified plan. According to The Washington Post, "Delegates have privately complained that the plan was developed with too little input from legislators and too much from lobbyists for retail and alcohol interests."[198] On October 22, 2010, McDonnell decided not call a special session, but to instead appoint a "working group" to further refine the plan so that implementing legislation could be on the first day of the 2011 legislative session. McDonnell's working group of Republican legislators, wholesalers, distillers, and retailers sought to develop a compromise designed to win adoption by the legislature.[185][199]

On November 23, 2010, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee released a report which found that the McDonnell proposal had overstated the expected proceeds of liquor store sales and licenses. In response, McDonnell's spokesman said that he was committed to privatization and was considering alternative plans. McDonnell hired a consultant at a cost of $75,000 to formulate a new privatization plan prior to the legislative session in January 2011. The auditors found that McDonnell's proposal would have increased the retail price of distilled spirits 11 to 26 percent, which in turn would have led to a drop in liquor sales that could have resulted in a loss of as much as $15.4 million in sales tax revenues.[200]

In what The Washington Post described as "the biggest legislative defeat of his tenure", both houses of the Virginia General Assembly refused to hold hearings on McDonnell's plan during the 2011 legislative session. Both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate killed the bill implementing McDonnell's proposal without a vote. McDonnell's director of policy, Eric Finkbeiner told the Post, "Whether we do it this year, next year or the year after, it's going to get done in this administration."[201]

Job creation

McDonnell amended the budget to increase the incentives that a governor was able to provide employers to relocate to or remain in Virginia. He campaigned to have Northrop Grumman move its 300-job headquarters to Virginia, but stated that the renewal of Virginia's computer outsourcing contract was not linked to the relocation decision.[202] When Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the closing of the 6,000-job Joint Forces Command in August 2010, McDonnell sought private meetings to seek to preserve the jobs.[203]

However, McDonnell was disappointed that Secretary Gates did not meet with him to discuss the issue.[204] McDonnell was later included in a meeting between Gates and Virginia's congressional delegation on November 23, 2010.[205]

Redistricting

McDonnell played a significant role in the redistricting conducted in response to the 2010 census. In a special session of the General Assembly, the redistricting of both the House of Delegates and the State Senate were passed in single bill that was approved by the House with an 86 to 8 vote and the Senate with a 22 to 18 vote.[206] The bill was developed without regard to the advisory commission's recommendations.[206] On April 15, 2011, McDonnell vetoed the bill on the grounds that "the Senate plan is the kind of political gerrymandering that Virginians have ask that we leave in the past."[207] Although McDonnell had the power to amend the bill with his veto, he simply sent it back for the General Assembly to either over-ride the veto or adopt a different bill. Because the Democrats lacked the 2/3 majority necessary to override the veto, the State Senate had to adopt a new plan. At first, Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw promised to merely readopt the vetoed redistricting map, but then began negotiations with the governor's office about a new plan.[206][208] Republican members of the House and Senate criticized the Governor for overturning the timetable for approval of new districts prior to the 2011 elections.[206][209] After lengthy negotiations, on April 28, both houses passed a revised set of district maps and McDonnell announced that he would sign the revised bill.[210]

Executive mansion spending

In June 2013, McDonnell and his wife were the subject of a critical article in The Washington Post detailing their improper spending at the Executive Mansion, for items such as energy drinks, dog food, and a "detox cleanse". Following the report, a McDonnell spokesman explained that energy drinks were a standard part of their breakfast routine.[211]

In July 2013, according to The Washington Post, McDonnell reimbursed the state about $2,400 for the food and other items that the governor's children had removed from the Executive Mansion to take to their college dorms.[212]

Federal corruption charges

On January 21, 2014, McDonnell and his wife were indicted on federal corruption charges. The charges followed a months-long federal investigation into gifts McDonnell received from a political donor.[213][214] They were charged with 14 different counts relating to their acceptance of more than $135,000 in gifts, including a Rolex watch, loans, trips and other items from Jonnie Williams Sr., former CEO of Star Scientific, a company developing a compound called anatabine as a dietary supplement and as a drug. In 2013, McDonnell repaid more than $120,000 to Williams and apologized for bringing "embarrassment" to the state. McDonnell insisted he did not break the law and vowed to fight "these false allegations".[215][216] He became the first Governor of Virginia to be indicted for actions committed during his tenure.[217] In July and August 2014, Williams testified at McDonnell's federal corruption trial.[218]

The trial lasted five weeks and focused heavily on McDonnell's relationship with his wife, putting details of their relationship and private life on public display.[219][220] McDonnell said in a 2017 interview that prosecutors threatened his children to be careful of conversations with their parents lest the children be charged with obstruction of justice.[12] After three days of jury deliberations in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, McDonnell and his wife were found guilty of public corruption charges on September 4, 2014.[8] He was convicted of honest services wire fraud, obtaining property under color of official right, and extortion under color of official right.[221][222] His wife was convicted of honest services wire fraud, obtaining property under color of official right, extortion under color of official right, and obstruction of a federal proceeding.[221][222] Senior United States District Judge James R. Spencer set sentencing for January 6, 2015. The United States Probation Office recommended sentencing between ten years and one month to twelve years and seven months.[223] Following his conviction, McDonnell lost his Liberty University teaching job.[224]

On January 6, 2015, Judge Spencer sentenced the former governor to two years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. Prior to sentencing, the judge agreed with the defense counsel, believing McDonnell's gifts were overstated, and reduced McDonnell's potential sentence. In arguing for leniency, McDonnell's attorneys from the Jones Day megafirm produced over 400 letters, including ones from McDonnell's predecessor, Tim Kaine, and a group of 44 former attorneys general,[225] arguing that McDonnell led an exemplary public life marred by one mistake.[226]

Supreme Court case

Main article: McDonnell v. United States

On January 26, 2015, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that McDonnell remain free pending appeal,[227] but on July 10, 2015, the court affirmed McDonnell's conviction.[228] On August 31, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that McDonnell remain free pending a decision from that court to hear or not hear the case.[229] On December 8, 2015, the U.S. Solicitor General and others filed a brief with the Supreme Court requesting the court not to hear the case.[230] In January 2016, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.[231]

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case on April 27, 2016,[232] and unanimously vacated McDonnell's conviction on June 27, holding that the trial court's construction of the statutory term "official act" was too broad, encompassing activities such as setting up meetings, hosting parties and calling Virginia officials to discuss Williams' business.[10][233] Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, left open the option for retrying McDonnell under a more restrictive construction of the disputed term, writing, "If the court below determines that there is sufficient evidence for a jury to convict Governor McDonnell of committing or agreeing to commit an 'official act', his case may be set for a new trial. If the court instead determines that the evidence is insufficient, the charges against him must be dismissed. We express no view on that question." There was criticism of the decision, some noting that all of the justices themselves had each received expensive gifts or travel while serving on the Supreme Court at the time that the decision was handed down.[234][235][236][237]

After reviewing the Supreme Court decision and the response of the original prosecution team, which wanted to retry the case, the Justice Department announced on September 8, 2016, it would move to dismiss all charges against McDonnell and his wife.[11] McDonnell said he felt vindicated[238] and told NBC's Chuck Todd in an interview, "I know in my heart, Chuck, I never believed that anything that I did was wrong or illegal."[239]

Personal life

 
McDonnell donating plasma during the Covid-19 pandemic, October 2020

McDonnell married Maureen Patricia Gardner in 1976; they have five children,[15] the eldest of whom, Jeanine, served as a U.S. Army Signal Corps officer in Iraq.[15][240] Bob and Maureen McDonnell divorced in 2020.[241]

See also

McDonnell v. United States

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Further reading

  • "Past members; Robert F. McDonnell". Virginia House of Delegates. Retrieved July 19, 2013.

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Bob McDonnell.

  Media related to Bob McDonnell at Wikimedia Commons

  • Appearances on C-SPAN
  • (Archived)
  • Official campaign website
  • Interview with Governor-Elect Bob McDonnell, Cal Thomas, Townhall.com, December 4, 2009
  • New Face for the GOP, Cal Thomas, Townhall.com, December 4, 2009
Virginia House of Delegates
Preceded by Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 84th district
1992–2006 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Virginia
2006–2009 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Virginia
2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Response to the State of the Union address
2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Republican Governors Association
2011–2012 		Succeeded by
Bobby Jindal
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Virginia
2010–2014 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former Governor Order of precedence of the United States Succeeded byas Former Governor

April 27, 2023
mcdonnell, robert, mcdonnell, redirects, here, irish, surgeon, robert, mcdonnell, surgeon, robert, francis, mcdonnell, born, june, 1954, american, attorney, businessman, politician, former, military, officer, served, 71st, governor, virginia, from, 2010, 2014,. Robert McDonnell redirects here For the Irish surgeon see Robert McDonnell surgeon Robert Francis McDonnell born June 15 1954 is an American attorney businessman politician and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014 His career ended after his corruption scandal and conviction which was later unanimously overturned by the Supreme Court A member of the Republican Party McDonnell also served on the executive committee of the Republican Governors Association 1 McDonnell was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve He also served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992 to 2006 and was attorney general of Virginia from 2006 to 2009 Bob McDonnellMcDonnell in 201071st Governor of VirginiaIn office January 16 2010 January 11 2014LieutenantBill BollingPreceded byTim KaineSucceeded byTerry McAuliffe44th Attorney General of VirginiaIn office January 14 2006 February 20 2009GovernorTim KainePreceded byJudith JagdmannSucceeded byBill MimsMember of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 84th districtIn office January 8 1992 January 14 2006Preceded byGlenn McClananSucceeded bySal IaquintoPersonal detailsBornRobert Francis McDonnell 1954 06 15 June 15 1954 age 68 Philadelphia Pennsylvania U S Political partyRepublicanSpouseMaureen Gardner m 1976 div 2020 wbr Children5EducationUniversity of Notre Dame BBA Boston University MS Regent University MA JD SignatureMilitary serviceAllegiance United StatesBranch service United States ArmyYears of service1976 1981 active 1981 1997 reserve RankLieutenant colonelUnitJ A G CorpsMcDonnell was elected governor of Virginia after using the campaign slogan Bob s for Jobs 2 He defeated Democratic state Senator Creigh Deeds by a 17 point margin in the 2009 general election which was marked by the severe recession of the late 2000s McDonnell succeeded Democrat Tim Kaine who was term limited by Virginia law 3 4 After taking office as governor McDonnell advocated privatization and promoted offshore drilling for Virginia He moved to extend a contract to outsource the state s computer operations and sought to fund transportation improvements from asset sales including a proposal to auction off liquor stores operated by the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control The state s unemployment rate declined from 7 4 in January 2010 when McDonnell took office to 5 2 in December 2013 comparable to the decline in the national unemployment rate from 9 8 to 6 7 during the same period 5 6 McDonnell s governorship ended with a 55 to 32 approval to disapproval rating among registered voters 7 On January 21 2014 McDonnell and his wife Maureen were indicted on federal corruption charges for receiving improper gifts and loans from a Virginia businessman They were convicted on most counts by a federal jury on September 4 2014 McDonnell the first Virginia governor to be indicted or convicted of a felony was sentenced on January 6 2015 to two years in prison followed by two years of supervised release However he was free on bond during the subsequent appeals process 8 On June 27 2016 the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously overturned McDonnell s conviction and remanded the case to a lower court 9 10 Less than three months later the Justice Department announced that they would not prosecute the case again and moved to dismiss the charges against the former governor and his wife 11 The case cost McDonnell over 27 million in legal bills 12 McDonnell currently serves as a professor at Regent University and runs the McDonnell Group a real estate consulting firm with his sister 12 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 House of Delegates 1992 2006 3 Attorney General 2006 2009 3 1 Tenure 4 2009 campaign for governor 4 1 Issues 4 2 Abortion 4 3 Energy 4 4 Gun rights 4 5 Gay rights 4 6 Marijuana 4 7 Transportation 4 8 Transparency 4 9 Thesis 4 10 Campaign organization and financial support 4 11 Endorsements 5 Governor of Virginia 5 1 Social issues 5 1 1 Confederate History Month proclamation 5 1 2 State health benefits for same sex partners 5 1 3 Death sentence for Teresa Lewis 5 2 Abortion 5 3 Voting rights restoration for felons 5 4 Transportation 5 5 Health care 5 6 Education 5 7 Offshore drilling 5 8 Budget 5 8 1 Results from 2010 fiscal year 5 8 2 Liquor sales 5 9 Job creation 5 10 Redistricting 5 11 Executive mansion spending 5 12 Federal corruption charges 5 12 1 Supreme Court case 6 Personal life 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksEarly life and education EditMcDonnell was born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania the son of Emma B Meta nee Meiller 1928 1994 and John Francis McDonnell 1916 2010 13 His paternal grandparents were Irish immigrants and his maternal grandparents were from Alsace Lorraine in what was then the German Empire 14 His family moved to Fairfax County Virginia in 1955 when he was a year old He spent four years of his early childhood in Germany when his father a United States Air Force officer was sent out on assignment 15 After returning to Virginia the McDonnells permanently established residence in Fairfax County 15 McDonnell s mother worked at Mount Vernon McDonnell graduated from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria Virginia in 1972 16 17 McDonnell attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend Indiana on an ROTC scholarship 15 graduating with a BBA in management in 1976 Immediately following graduation he served as a medical supply officer in the United States Army for four years 18 His military posts were medical clinics in Germany from 1976 to 1979 and in Newport News Virginia from 1979 to 1981 15 19 In addition he took night classes and received an MS in business administration from Boston University in 1980 15 After leaving active duty in 1981 McDonnell worked for the American Hospital Supply Corporation primarily in the custom products regional division citation needed His career path shifted from business to law and public policy when he selected a joint degree program at Christian Broadcasting Network University now known as Regent University 20 He obtained an M A J D there in 1989 16 17 During his studies McDonnell interned under Congressman Jerry Lewis R California 21 House of Delegates 1992 2006 EditMcDonnell first ran and was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1991 defeating Democratic incumbent Glenn McClanan 53 47 22 He won re election in 1993 against Thomas Carnes 64 36 23 and was unopposed in 1995 1997 2001 and 2003 serving seven terms The 1999 election against the extremely popular challenger Sheriff Frank Drew was then the most expensive State Delegate campaign in the history of Virginia The combined cost of over 985 000 crushed previous records He represented the 84th district in Virginia Beach Under the 1998 2001 power sharing arrangement between House Republicans and Democrats he was Co Chair of the Committee on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries in 2000 01 He became Chair of the Courts of Justice Committee in 2003 He also served on the Rules Committee 2000 05 and was Assistant Majority Leader 16 24 25 While serving in state office McDonnell continued to serve in the Army Reserve as a JAG officer until retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1997 In 1994 McDonnell supported and was a major co sponsor of George Allen s initiative to abolish parole for those convicted of a felony Attorney General 2006 2009 EditMain article 2005 Virginia Attorney General election In 2005 McDonnell ran for attorney general He campaigned on issues including protecting children from sexual predators drug enforcement identity theft gang violence and terrorism The first result showed him with a victory of 323 votes out of over 1 9 million votes cast over his opponent Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds Deeds filed for a recount which began on December 20 2005 A court decision limited the recount to just recompiling vote totals instead of examining individual optically scanned ballots 26 After preliminary figures revealed 37 more votes for McDonnell and that Deeds could not make up the difference he conceded the next day giving McDonnell a 323 vote margin of victory 27 McDonnell outspent Deeds in the general election by nearly 1 million 28 He was inaugurated on January 14 2006 in Williamsburg along with Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling Tenure Edit In 2007 McDonnell played a key role in early negotiations on the transportation package that was the key issue of contention in the General Assembly 29 However subsequently the package was declared unconstitutional based on a challenge filed by a Republican state senator 30 Prior to a performance of the Sex Workers Art Show at the College of William and Mary in 2008 McDonnell forbade the sale of the group s books on school grounds 31 McDonnell took the side of defecting Northern Virginia Episcopalians in a property lawsuit over the right of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia to retain church property 32 In February 2009 McDonnell resigned as attorney general to campaign full time for the governorship of Virginia in the 2009 election 16 33 2009 campaign for governor EditMain articles 2009 Virginia gubernatorial election and 2009 Bob McDonnell gubernatorial campaign McDonnell announced his candidacy for the 2009 Virginia gubernatorial election at American Legion s Boy s State of Virginia 2007 making him the seventh consecutive elected attorney general to run The statewide candidates including McDonnell as governor were selected at a Republican State convention rather than a primary 34 Less than two weeks later Creigh Deeds won his party s nomination in a primary setting up a rematch of the state attorney general s race four years earlier In early June Deeds held a slight edge with a 47 41 advantage in a Rasmussen poll 35 As the campaign continued the polls shifted toward McDonnell s favor with several giving him a commanding lead 36 However when The Washington Post released McDonnell s thesis from Regent University McDonnell s lead dwindled to only two percentage points in Rasmussen polling 37 As the election drew near McDonnell s campaign regained steam however McDonnell defeated Deeds in the general election by a vote of 59 41 receiving the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate for governor since 1961 38 At the same time the other two statewide offices on the ballot were also won by Republicans 39 Issues Edit In a political and economic climate marked by the late 2000s recession McDonnell promised that his priority as governor was employment for Virginians with such campaign slogans as Bob s for Jobs He supported right to work laws low operating cost of government and a simplified tax code 40 Having lived in various parts of the state his road side billboard varied with geographic location describing him as Tidewater s Own Northern Virginia s Own and Fairfax s Own 41 42 43 The McDonnell campaign strategy was cast as focusing on economic issues transportation and public safety 44 McDonnell s proposals included new job initiatives boosting Virginia s tourism hospitality and film industries making Wallops Island the top commercial spaceport in America and expanding growth in rural Virginia 45 McDonnell proposed measures to move 480 million per year from school administration and put it directly into classrooms establish more specialized high schools to support high demand industries increase online learning through virtual schools and support educational mentoring programs 46 47 McDonnell frequently expressed his support for President Barack Obama s ideas on increasing parental choice through charter schools 48 Abortion Edit Identifying as anti abortion McDonnell campaigned as an opponent of elective abortion He did not favor standard exceptions on abortion in cases of rape and incest 49 As a state legislator he had been the lead sponsor for legislation to ban partial birth abortions as well as for legislation requiring parental consent for minors abortions and informed consent for women seeking abortions 50 Energy Edit McDonnell advocated making Virginia the energy capital of the East Coast 51 He supported drilling for oil off of the coast of Virginia while simultaneously developing new technologies for wind solar biomass and other renewable energy resources 52 He also intended to expand investments in renewable energy sources and incentivize green job creation 51 Gun rights Edit According to Mayors Against Illegal Guns McDonnell sent personal letters to the governors of the other 49 states urging them to follow his state in closing loopholes that allowed mentally unstable people to purchase guns After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 Virginia made this issue a top priority McDonnell wrote in his letter I believe that we can all work together to help prevent these acts from occurring again anywhere in our Nation I write to ask for your support in providing critical information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System However McDonnell campaigned as a gun rights advocate He held an A rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund and won their endorsement 53 Gay rights Edit McDonnell opposed same sex marriage He advocated a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman 54 Marijuana Edit McDonnell opposed legalizing marijuana He later signed a bill that criminalized the use of synthetic cannabis It was approved unanimously in both the house and the senate by both political parties 55 56 Transportation Edit McDonnell s campaign also turned to transportation a major issue in heavily congested areas of Virginia advocating issuing 3 billion in transportation bonds that had been approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 2007 but not funded with a revenue source modernizing the Virginia Department of Transportation and encouraging public private partnerships to improve infrastructure 57 He supported widening I 66 inside the Beltway improving I 95 and finishing the Metrorail to Dulles Airport project Transparency Edit McDonnell criticized Governor Tim Kaine for not disclosing his full schedule and for making out of state political appearances as Chair of the Democratic National Committee McDonnell stated The citizens must be certain that the governor is attending to the duties for which he was elected The governor is Virginia s chief executive and represents the commonwealth at all times 58 However in March 2010 McDonnell received similar criticism for disclosing very few meetings or political appearances on his publicly released schedule 58 Thesis Edit McDonnell s 1989 thesis for Regent University 59 was a 93 page document titled The Republican Party s Vision for the Family The Compelling Issue of The Decade The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births and examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions It gained attention in the campaign because it outlined a 15 point conservative agenda including 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly according to press analysis 60 The agenda included opposition to abortion support for school vouchers and covenant marriage and tax policies that favored heterosexual families 61 In his thesis McDonnell wrote government policy should favor married couples over cohabitators homosexuals or fornicators 62 McDonnell described working women and feminists as detrimental to the family 62 McDonnell also criticized a landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision which legalized the use of contraceptives writing that man s basic nature is inclined towards evil and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography drug abuse or homosexuality the government must restrain punish and deter McDonnell responded to the article stating Virginians will judge me on my 18 year record as a legislator and attorney general and the specific plans I have laid out for our future not on a decades old academic paper I wrote as a student during the Reagan era and haven t thought about in years 60 The Washington Post reported that McDonnell maintained Like everybody my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older McDonnell said that his evolved position on family policy was best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation where he worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work 60 Campaign organization and financial support Edit McDonnell s campaign headquarters was located in Richmond His campaign finance report for September 15 2009 indicated that he had nearly 1 500 more new donors than the Deeds campaign had total donors a total of 6 239 donors and 4 946 of them were new 63 During the campaign McDonnell s largest individual donor was former coal magnate Richard Baxter Gilliam who was also McDonnell s fifth largest overall donor after the United States Chamber of Commerce 64 McDonnell received over 1 5 million from the energy and natural resources sector including 622 198 from coal mining interests 65 The McDonnell For Governor campaign printed a variety of bumper stickers appealing to many interest groups including Women for McDonnell Sportsmen for McDonnell and Independents for McDonnell Some appealed to the diverse minority groups throughout the Commonwealth Some featured the mascots of select public universities such as the University of Virginia Virginia Tech James Madison University Virginia Military Institute and Old Dominion University Irish for McDonnell stickers were printed for the select Virginia residents who attended the University of Notre Dame as well His road side billboard varied with geographic location describing him as Tidewater s Own Northern Virginia s Own and Fairfax s Own 66 41 43 67 It was suspected that McDonnell failed to comply with gift disclosure requirements over a 15 000 gift that a major campaign donor Jonnie Williams Sr made to cover the cost of catering for his daughter s wedding McDonnell himself paid 8 000 towards the catering and a 3 500 refund for overpayment was returned to McDonnell rather than to his daughter potentially giving McDonnell a financial stake in the donor s gift 68 Virginia required public disclosure of all gifts to public officials over 50 Endorsements Edit McDonnell was endorsed by Sheila Johnson co founder of Black Entertainment Television and owner of the Washington Mystics 69 Virginia AgPAC the Political Action Committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau representing over 147 000 members 70 the Virginia Association of Realtors the largest trade association in Virginia with over 33 000 members 71 The Virginia Credit Union League a trade association representing the Commonwealth s 194 not for profit credit unions and the 3 million member owners residing in Virginia 72 The Virginia Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business NFIB a group whose membership consists of over 6 000 small businesses across Virginia 73 and the National Rifle Association which reversed its pro Deeds 2005 endorsement for attorney general Governor of Virginia Edit McDonnell at his inauguration as Governor On January 16 2010 McDonnell was inaugurated as the 71st governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia succeeding Kaine as governor 74 This was the first inaugural ceremony to occur on the newly renovated steps of the Virginia State Capitol In keeping with tradition McDonnell signed executive orders after taking the oath Instead of keeping with a 30 year practice 75 by signing an executive order banning discrimination in state employment which he later signed on February 5 McDonnell signed orders establishing a Commission on job creation and a Virginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring 76 Two of McDonnell s appointments drew criticism On May 7 2010 McDonnell appointed Fred Malek to chair the 31 member advisory commission on reforming state government created by one of his initial executive orders 77 On May 10 2010 several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek s controversial actions while personnel director in the Nixon administration and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement 78 On May 25 2010 McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment and stated that he was unaware of Malek s role in the Nixon administration 79 a remark which State Senator A Donald McEachin D Richmond told The Washington Post that McDonnell s claim was absolutely stunning and frankly beyond belief 78 80 81 82 83 McDonnell also nominated Robert C Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd s refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships 84 85 86 Gov McDonnell speaks with a U S Coast Guard after a military appreciation proclamation ceremony On January 27 2010 McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama s State of the Union Address The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates 87 88 89 Critics argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell s speech did not comply with House Rule 82 88 89 After his election as governor McDonnell shifted his fundraising activities to his Opportunity Virginia PAC which raised 1 194 934 through June 2010 90 Many of the donations came from industries regulated by the state 91 In April 2010 McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state s computer operations to Northrop Grumman 92 At that time McDonnell proposed legislation which was passed to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency report directly to the governor instead of to an independent board 92 93 Subsequently McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week long computer outage from August 25 through September 2 2010 94 95 As a result 45 000 people were unable to renew their driver s licenses Computer systems for nearly a third of the state s agencies were affected 96 97 98 Over 4 000 people had to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos retaken after an August 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable 99 The system had also experienced a prior unrelated outage on August 9 98 Subsequently Northrop Grumman agreed to pay 250 000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage 95 The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities that solicit donations in Virginia 100 The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson director of the U S Navy Veterans Association USNVA who made large contributions to certain Republican candidates 101 After the bill passed both the House and Senate newspaper accounts of that charity s questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it but he signed the bill into law anyway 101 As a result the organization which was under investigation in New Mexico which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed 102 Florida and Missouri as well as other non profit veterans organizations did not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive 101 McDonnell later donated to charity the 5 000 campaign contribution that he had received from Thompson 103 In August 2010 Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nationwide arrest warrant had been issued for Thompson who had stolen the identity and Social Security number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA Corday stated We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least 1 9 million and we estimate that nationally he collected at least 20 million 104 On January 14 2011 McDonnell issued a directive ordering the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cease enforcing regulations prohibiting the carrying firearms in state parks He also gave preliminary approval to amend the regulations to allow people to carry open or concealed firearms in state forests The regulations were already amended in 2003 to allow concealed weapons on park property 105 On August 15 2011 McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association 1 Social issues Edit McDonnell speaking at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Committee Confederate History Month proclamation Edit At the request of the Sons of Confederate Veterans 106 McDonnell issued a proclamation designating April 2010 as Confederate History Month following similar designations by two of his Republican predecessors George Allen in 1995 1996 and 1997 107 and James S Gilmore but unlike the two Democratic governors immediately preceding McDonnell who did not designate such a month Unlike Gilmore s proclamation clarification needed What about Allen s which included anti slavery language McDonnell s initial proclamation omitted direct mention of slavery drawing criticism from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the NAACP 108 109 110 111 When initially asked why he had made the omission McDonnell stated that there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states Obviously it involved slavery It involved other issues But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia 112 On April 7 2010 McDonnell conceded that omitting slavery from his proclamation was a major omission apologized and amended the document 106 McDonnell had previously refused to rule out the possibility that he would run for vice president in 2012 113 while news analysts Chris Cillizza Mark Plotkin and Teddy Davis speculated that the mistake may have a significant adverse impact on McDonnell s chances for a future vice presidential nomination a May 22 Time magazine article described McDonnell as a politician who inexplicably kneecapped himself is clawing his way back 3 114 115 On September 24 2010 McDonnell addressed an academic conference on slavery and announced that he will declare April 2011 as Civil War in Virginia month rather than Confederate History Month He also called the April 2010 proclamation an error of haste and not of heart 116 State health benefits for same sex partners Edit In December 2009 Governor Kaine had started a process to extend state employee health benefits to same sex partners 117 At McDonnell s request Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion that this change to the coverage of the state employees health plan could not be made without explicit legislation authorizing it thereby halting the administrative process to make the change 118 However McDonnell signed a law allowing Virginia employers to offer private life insurance coverage for employees same sex partners after the bill passed with bipartisan support 119 Death sentence for Teresa Lewis Edit In a decision that drew controversy McDonnell declined to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment in the case of Teresa Lewis who was executed on September 23 2010 She was the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912 Calls had been made for leniency citing her below average mental capacity 120 Abortion Edit In 2012 national attention was focused on a bill before the Virginia state legislature controlled by Republicans to require a trans vaginal ultrasound for any woman contemplating an abortion in Virginia McDonnell initially supported the bill but backed off after public protests He persuaded the legislators to pass instead a slightly watered down version requiring a less invasive abdominal ultrasound before an abortion and exempting women who were pregnant as a result of rape or incest provided they reported it to the police The redrafted bill was opposed by pro choice groups and a minority in the legislature but McDonnell signed it into law on March 7 2012 McDonnell was called Governor Vagina Governor Ultrasound and other similar pejorative monikers by legislators opposing the controversial bill 121 122 Voting rights restoration for felons Edit In April 2010 McDonnell drew criticism from black leaders and civil rights groups when a draft policy proposal was mistakenly sent to 200 felons informing them of his decision to require a written essay from each applicant seeking to have voting and other civil rights restored 123 Previously applicants were required to fill out a one page application 124 Only Virginia and Kentucky require the governor to act on individual requests for restoring voting rights 124 125 On May 21 McDonnell announced new policies on the issue of restoration of rights imposing a 60 day deadline for his administration to act on an application once all of the required documentation was received from the applicant and the courts reducing the time nonviolent felons must wait to apply for restoration of rights from three to two years and cutting the waiting period for reapplication if a request is denied from two years to one 126 Democratic Delegate David Englin commented By establishing a timely and more clearly defined process for non violent ex offenders seeking to have their rights restored the Governor s new policy has the potential make an important step in the right direction 127 By the end of his term on January 11 2014 McDonnell had restored the rights of 8 013 ex felons more than any previous governor in Virginia history 128 Transportation Edit On April 30 2010 McDonnell authorized issuing 493 million in transportation bonds in May 2010 and an additional 1 493 billion over the five years to finance previously approved transportation projects The bonds were a part of a transportation package enacted three years previously but had not been issued while Republican State Delegate Robert Marshall filed a lawsuit challenging their constitutionality while certain transportation notes issued during the Gilmore Administration had not yet been paid off Critics noted that Virginia lacked a revenue source to amortize the bonds 129 130 On December 9 2010 McDonnell announced a revised transportation funding plan which included both 1 8 billion in bonds that had been approved in 2007 as well as an additional 1 1 billion which he proposed to pay back from future federal transportation funds He also proposed to spend 150 million of the 2009 2010 budget surplus and 250 million in reserves to protect against gasoline tax revenue shortfalls 131 On January 9 2011 McDonnell proposed funding projects to address traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton roads by diverting 0 25 of the sales tax collected in those areas from the General Fund into the transportation fund Legislation was required to implement the proposal and Democrats responded that the revenues were needed in the General Fund for schools and public safety and that the projected revenues were insufficient to make a difference on highway needs 132 On May 10 2010 McDonnell filed an application with the Federal Highway Administration seeking permission to collect tolls on Interstate 95 near the North Carolina border The highway had been constructed with taxpayer funds 90 from the federal government and 10 from Virginia gasoline taxes However Virginia claimed that they did not have sufficient revenues to maintain I 95 at a safe level and proposed the toll to raise a projected 30 to 60 million annually McDonnell asked the Federal Highway Administration to authorize the toll under its Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program 133 In 2008 the federal government and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority had reached an agreement for federal funding of 1 5 billion in capital improvements contingent on Virginia Maryland and the District of Columbia pledging to develop dedicated funding for the Metro system WMATA was created by an interstate compact a kind of agreement between states similar to a treaty or contract which must also be approved by the U S Congress and founded in 1967 with a board of directors whose members are appointed by each local jurisdiction in its service area including four from Virginia appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission NVTC In June 2010 McDonnell threatened to withhold Virginia s WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA s board was modified to allow Virginia s governor to appoint two of the seats The interstate compact establishing WMATA specified that its Virginia members were selected by the NVTC 134 In turn Virginia law specified that local jurisdictions appointed that Commission s members 135 Rather than proposing to amend either law McDonnell merely threatened to withhold Virginia s dedicated matching funds if the NVTC did not appoint two people that he selected instead of appointing representatives from local jurisdictions 136 137 138 On June 17 2010 Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding were to continue 139 On June 24 2010 McDonnell withdrew his request to appoint two members of the Metro Board as a precondition for making the scheduled dedicated payment under the 2008 agreement 140 On July 1 2010 the WMATA Board of Directors approved an agreement with Virginia to provide matching funds without regard to McDonnell s request for board seats Based on that agreement the federal funds were reconfirmed and WMATA signed a 886 million contract for 428 new Metrorail cars 141 Health care Edit In April 2010 McDonnell signed a bill seeking to nullify the insurance purchase requirement in the then proposed federal health care legislation On March 10 2010 before Congress finished its final consideration of the package a bipartisan Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act passed the General Assembly by an 80 17 majority 142 which McDonnell signed on March 24 2010 143 McDonnell supported Virginia s legal challenge to the constitutionality of the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 144 Although abortion funding was not debated during the regular session of the General Assembly McDonnell raised the issue through the use of his amendatory veto power During the April 21 2010 veto session the Virginia legislature passed restrictions on state public funding for elective abortion except in the instances of rape incest life of the mother or life threatening fetal anomaly 145 In April 2012 McDonnell vetoed HB 399 which sought to improve neonatal care by fast tracking implementation of newborn screening for life threatening congenital heart malformations 146 Education Edit In Virginia public schools are funded from both local real estate taxes as well as state general funds under a formula that attempts to assure minimum statewide standards called The Standards of Quality Virginia also earmarks revenues from its state lottery for education Outgoing Governor Tim Kaine proposed 11 4 billion for K 12 education in the 2010 2012 budget 147 On February 17 2010 McDonnell proposed 268 8 million in cuts 147 148 McDonnell s cuts included changing the formula for measuring the ability of localities to pay for education reducing funding for technology expenditures and reducing funding under the Standards of Quality 147 The House adopted 620 million in education cuts and the Senate adopted a budget with 133 million in education cuts 149 The final signed budget cut over 646 million for public schools 150 Because K 12 education comprised 37 of the general fund budget critics noted that McDonnell s proposal to fund transportation bonds from the general fund would have resulted in further education cuts in future years McDonnell disagreed saying he could lean heavily on growth in revenues rather than pulling from existing money 151 152 Although McDonnell supported the Race to the Top federal education funding program during his campaign for governor 153 on May 26 2010 he withdrew Virginia from the second round of Race to the Top Virginia had finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round McDonnell decided that Virginia should not file its application for the second round because he erroneously believed the competition required the use of multi state education performance standards instead of Virginia s standards 154 However the use of common performance standards were not required and counted for 40 points out of a possible 500 total points in evaluating state proposals 155 156 McDonnell later stated on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous standards in addition to whatever multi state standards they join 157 158 However the Race to the Top regulations award the points even if states adopt standards more rigorous than the optional common standards 159 Offshore drilling Edit Previously the General Assembly passed a bill in 2006 to allow offshore exploratory gas drilling outside a 50 mile limit 160 On March 11 2010 McDonnell signed into law bipartisan legislation to allow the drilling for oil and gas in federal waters 50 miles or more off the Virginia coast if also permitted by the Federal government 161 see Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast The plan was criticized by some environmentalists and Democrats who argued that tourism and wildlife would be threatened and that oil drilling would not make a difference in achieving long term energy independence 162 163 Congressman James P Moran D Va chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department and others argued further that most of the proposed drilling area was located in an area reserved for naval operations 164 McDonnell advocated drilling off the Virginia coast of the Atlantic Ocean as a possible revenue source for the state However according to the law Virginia could not receive any revenues from drilling in federal waters which included all drilling sites more than 3 miles off the coast 161 On May 6 2010 the Department of Interior suspended the proposed auction of offshore Virginia leasing rights 165 Congressman Moran issued a statement commending the decision 166 On May 18 Moran forwarded to McDonnell a Department of Defense report finding that the proposed lease site would interfere with naval operations 167 On May 25 McDonnell reaffirmed his interest in having oil drilling off the Virginia coast notwithstanding the British Peteroleum oil spill and the inability of Virginia to get any of the royalty income 168 On May 27 President Obama announced that the offshore Virginia lease sale was cancelled 169 170 Subsequently McDonnell proposed continuing a federal environmental study of drilling off the Virginia coast or drilling for just gas and not oil However a consulting firm said that liquids are almost always produced with gas offshore and so the proposed idea may not be possible 171 Budget Edit On December 18 2009 outgoing Governor Kaine proposed 76 8 billion of expenditures for adoption by the incoming state legislature Kaine s budget proposed to rationalize state revenues by increasing the income tax while lowering property taxes and other fees As incoming governor McDonnell refused to publicly recommend any modifications to Kaine s budget and instead worked with the House of Delegates to bring Kaine s plan up for a quick vote and defeat Privately McDonnell advocated cutting 300 million from health programs 730 million from K 12 education changing the state retirement system and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees to offset budgetary shortfalls for 2010 2012 172 On February 17 2010 after political pressure McDonnell publicly released his proposed cuts 147 173 The Senate adopted a budget which restored a number of cuts to education health and human services and a House Senate conference managed to work out a compromise on March 14 containing about 250 million in cuts before the expiration of the legislative session 174 However a number of interest groups lobbied the governor to use his amendatory veto power to alter the adopted budget On April 14 2010 McDonnell proposed 96 budget amendments to the two year 2010 2012 budget resulting in 42 1 million in spending increases and 51 million in additional budget cuts tax increases and court fees for criminals 145 175 He proposed to increase spending by 15 million to give incentives for SRI International and Bank of America to keep offices in Virginia citation needed To boost revenue McDonnell proposed raising 7 2 million by increasing the fines on motorists who exceed the speed limit He proposed to cut an additional 9 9 million from state funded programs for at risk and troubled children and proposed cutting 600 000 from state grants to public radio and television stations McDonnell also issued amendatory vetoes on non budget legislation For example although Virginia has provided free electronic filing of tax returns for years his veto outsourced electronic filing to firms that charge a fee for that service 176 177 McDonnell also amended a bill to prohibit Planned Parenthood from spending funds raised from its affinity license plates on abortions 178 The Legislature met to vote on the Governor s amendments on April 21 A bipartisan majority accepted some of McDonnell s proposed cuts while rejecting others including those to public broadcasting the funding for at risk and troubled children and the shifting of Virginia Medicaid mental health program to a managed care plan 179 Results from 2010 fiscal year Edit The first budget enacted under the McDonnell administration took effect on July 1 2010 180 Two of McDonnell s legislative initiatives increased the surplus for the 2009 2010 fiscal year First the budget bill accelerated the payment of state sales taxes resulting in a one time shift of revenues to be collected in July 2010 into the previous fiscal year Second the budget bill deferred a 620 million payment to the Virginia Retirement System to future years 181 The end of year surplus triggered the payment of a 3 bonus to state employees in December 2010 182 183 Members of both parties called on McDonnell to use the surplus to reverse the Virginia Retirement System deferral 184 Liquor sales Edit In August 2010 McDonnell embarked on a promotional tour advocating legislation to sell Virginia s liquor stores to private owners McDonnell held eight town hall meetings around the state to discuss the plan 185 He argued that retail alcohol sales is not an appropriate state activity and proposed that any sales proceeds could be used to finance transportation needs Opponents noted that the liquor stores generate 248 million per year for Virginia s general fund 186 On September 8 2010 McDonnell presented his plan for auctioning liquor licenses to his government reform commission 187 He proposed tripling the number of stores selling liquor to 1 000 with the licenses to operate these new stores being auctioned According to the Richmond Times Dispatch Of the 1 000 licenses 600 would be available to big retailers whose lawyers and lobbyists helped craft the governor s proposal An additional 150 licenses would be reserved for package stores with 250 for small retailers such as convenience store operators 188 McDonnell estimated that winning bidders would pay 265 million for the licenses and that the state could receive 33 million from selling existing state owned liquor store properties In addition 160 million would be collected in wholesale license fees To make up from the annual loss of general fund revenues from the current state owned stores McDonnell proposed a 17 50 per gallon excise tax which is above the national average and above that charged in neighboring states and to charge an annual fee of 500 to 2 000 to each store license holder imposing a new 1 gross receipts tax on wholesalers of liquor and a 2 5 tax on restaurants and bars that chose to purchase alcohol from wholesalers instead of retail outlets Just before the presentation McDonnell dropped his proposed 1 5 fee on all restaurants and retail establishments that was in earlier drafts of his plan 189 190 McDonnell proposed to call a special session of the Virginia legislature in November 2010 to consider the proposal 190 191 The plan drew immediate opposition from conservative lawmakers as a tax increase It was also opposed by the Virginia Retail Federation 188 the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association and the Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association 192 The Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy opposed the plan out of concerns that it would increase alcohol consumption 193 The plan was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police 194 the Virginia Transportation Construction Industry and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce 188 On the eve of McDonnell taking the plan to the restructuring commission for their endorsement The Washington Post reported that he modified it by dropping the restaurant tax and certain other proposed fees He also proposed to set aside over 100 licenses for companies that employ less than 50 people in order to help small family owned stores and wanted to give small businesses several years to pay off their auction bids The Post suggested that he might call off plans for a November special session of the General Assembly 195 196 On October 4 the Malek commission voted 22 to 3 to endorse McDonnell s modified plan 197 The Commission proposed a number of cost savings in government operations to offset the projected 47 million annual revenue loss from selling the ABC liquor stores 197 In October 2010 McDonnell s modified plan drew criticism from Republican members of the House of Delegates including Del Thomas D Gear who chaired the House subcommittee that considered the proposal and Del Timothy D Hugo chairman of the House Republican caucus Concerns heightened when Phil Cox who headed McDonnell s political action committee threatened to withhold campaign funds from Republican delegates who failed to support the modified plan According to The Washington Post Delegates have privately complained that the plan was developed with too little input from legislators and too much from lobbyists for retail and alcohol interests 198 On October 22 2010 McDonnell decided not call a special session but to instead appoint a working group to further refine the plan so that implementing legislation could be on the first day of the 2011 legislative session McDonnell s working group of Republican legislators wholesalers distillers and retailers sought to develop a compromise designed to win adoption by the legislature 185 199 On November 23 2010 the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee released a report which found that the McDonnell proposal had overstated the expected proceeds of liquor store sales and licenses In response McDonnell s spokesman said that he was committed to privatization and was considering alternative plans McDonnell hired a consultant at a cost of 75 000 to formulate a new privatization plan prior to the legislative session in January 2011 The auditors found that McDonnell s proposal would have increased the retail price of distilled spirits 11 to 26 percent which in turn would have led to a drop in liquor sales that could have resulted in a loss of as much as 15 4 million in sales tax revenues 200 In what The Washington Post described as the biggest legislative defeat of his tenure both houses of the Virginia General Assembly refused to hold hearings on McDonnell s plan during the 2011 legislative session Both the Republican controlled House and the Democratic controlled Senate killed the bill implementing McDonnell s proposal without a vote McDonnell s director of policy Eric Finkbeiner told the Post Whether we do it this year next year or the year after it s going to get done in this administration 201 Job creation Edit McDonnell amended the budget to increase the incentives that a governor was able to provide employers to relocate to or remain in Virginia He campaigned to have Northrop Grumman move its 300 job headquarters to Virginia but stated that the renewal of Virginia s computer outsourcing contract was not linked to the relocation decision 202 When Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the closing of the 6 000 job Joint Forces Command in August 2010 McDonnell sought private meetings to seek to preserve the jobs 203 However McDonnell was disappointed that Secretary Gates did not meet with him to discuss the issue 204 McDonnell was later included in a meeting between Gates and Virginia s congressional delegation on November 23 2010 205 Redistricting Edit McDonnell played a significant role in the redistricting conducted in response to the 2010 census In a special session of the General Assembly the redistricting of both the House of Delegates and the State Senate were passed in single bill that was approved by the House with an 86 to 8 vote and the Senate with a 22 to 18 vote 206 The bill was developed without regard to the advisory commission s recommendations 206 On April 15 2011 McDonnell vetoed the bill on the grounds that the Senate plan is the kind of political gerrymandering that Virginians have ask that we leave in the past 207 Although McDonnell had the power to amend the bill with his veto he simply sent it back for the General Assembly to either over ride the veto or adopt a different bill Because the Democrats lacked the 2 3 majority necessary to override the veto the State Senate had to adopt a new plan At first Senate Majority Leader Richard L Saslaw promised to merely readopt the vetoed redistricting map but then began negotiations with the governor s office about a new plan 206 208 Republican members of the House and Senate criticized the Governor for overturning the timetable for approval of new districts prior to the 2011 elections 206 209 After lengthy negotiations on April 28 both houses passed a revised set of district maps and McDonnell announced that he would sign the revised bill 210 Executive mansion spending Edit In June 2013 McDonnell and his wife were the subject of a critical article in The Washington Post detailing their improper spending at the Executive Mansion for items such as energy drinks dog food and a detox cleanse Following the report a McDonnell spokesman explained that energy drinks were a standard part of their breakfast routine 211 In July 2013 according to The Washington Post McDonnell reimbursed the state about 2 400 for the food and other items that the governor s children had removed from the Executive Mansion to take to their college dorms 212 Federal corruption charges Edit On January 21 2014 McDonnell and his wife were indicted on federal corruption charges The charges followed a months long federal investigation into gifts McDonnell received from a political donor 213 214 They were charged with 14 different counts relating to their acceptance of more than 135 000 in gifts including a Rolex watch loans trips and other items from Jonnie Williams Sr former CEO of Star Scientific a company developing a compound called anatabine as a dietary supplement and as a drug In 2013 McDonnell repaid more than 120 000 to Williams and apologized for bringing embarrassment to the state McDonnell insisted he did not break the law and vowed to fight these false allegations 215 216 He became the first Governor of Virginia to be indicted for actions committed during his tenure 217 In July and August 2014 Williams testified at McDonnell s federal corruption trial 218 The trial lasted five weeks and focused heavily on McDonnell s relationship with his wife putting details of their relationship and private life on public display 219 220 McDonnell said in a 2017 interview that prosecutors threatened his children to be careful of conversations with their parents lest the children be charged with obstruction of justice 12 After three days of jury deliberations in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia McDonnell and his wife were found guilty of public corruption charges on September 4 2014 8 He was convicted of honest services wire fraud obtaining property under color of official right and extortion under color of official right 221 222 His wife was convicted of honest services wire fraud obtaining property under color of official right extortion under color of official right and obstruction of a federal proceeding 221 222 Senior United States District Judge James R Spencer set sentencing for January 6 2015 The United States Probation Office recommended sentencing between ten years and one month to twelve years and seven months 223 Following his conviction McDonnell lost his Liberty University teaching job 224 On January 6 2015 Judge Spencer sentenced the former governor to two years in prison followed by two years of supervised release Prior to sentencing the judge agreed with the defense counsel believing McDonnell s gifts were overstated and reduced McDonnell s potential sentence In arguing for leniency McDonnell s attorneys from the Jones Day megafirm produced over 400 letters including ones from McDonnell s predecessor Tim Kaine and a group of 44 former attorneys general 225 arguing that McDonnell led an exemplary public life marred by one mistake 226 Supreme Court case Edit Main article McDonnell v United States On January 26 2015 the 4th U S Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that McDonnell remain free pending appeal 227 but on July 10 2015 the court affirmed McDonnell s conviction 228 On August 31 2015 the U S Supreme Court ordered that McDonnell remain free pending a decision from that court to hear or not hear the case 229 On December 8 2015 the U S Solicitor General and others filed a brief with the Supreme Court requesting the court not to hear the case 230 In January 2016 the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case 231 The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case on April 27 2016 232 and unanimously vacated McDonnell s conviction on June 27 holding that the trial court s construction of the statutory term official act was too broad encompassing activities such as setting up meetings hosting parties and calling Virginia officials to discuss Williams business 10 233 Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the court left open the option for retrying McDonnell under a more restrictive construction of the disputed term writing If the court below determines that there is sufficient evidence for a jury to convict Governor McDonnell of committing or agreeing to commit an official act his case may be set for a new trial If the court instead determines that the evidence is insufficient the charges against him must be dismissed We express no view on that question There was criticism of the decision some noting that all of the justices themselves had each received expensive gifts or travel while serving on the Supreme Court at the time that the decision was handed down 234 235 236 237 After reviewing the Supreme Court decision and the response of the original prosecution team which wanted to retry the case the Justice Department announced on September 8 2016 it would move to dismiss all charges against McDonnell and his wife 11 McDonnell said he felt vindicated 238 and told NBC s Chuck Todd in an interview I know in my heart Chuck I never believed that anything that I did was wrong or illegal 239 Personal life Edit McDonnell donating plasma during the Covid 19 pandemic October 2020 McDonnell married Maureen Patricia Gardner in 1976 they have five children 15 the eldest of whom Jeanine served as a U S Army Signal Corps officer in Iraq 15 240 Bob and Maureen McDonnell divorced in 2020 241 See also Edit Biography portal Politics portal Virginia portalMcDonnell v United StatesElectoral history of Bob McDonnellReferences Edit a b Va s McDonnell succeeds Perry at GOP governors group USA Today August 15 2011 Retrieved April 10 2012 Walker Julian January 17 2010 Can McDonnell s proposals revive job creation The Virginian Pilot Archived from the original on January 18 2012 Retrieved August 8 2011 a b Bob McDonnell in Va From Conservative to Pragmatist Time May 22 2010 Archived from the original on May 23 2010 National Implications McDonnell s Win Is a Model for Conservative Revival Richmond Times Dispatch November 4 2009 Retrieved September 8 2014 Unemployment in the U S Google Public Data Explorer Retrieved July 19 2013 Unemployment Rates for States www bls gov Retrieved October 19 2020 Approval Rating Status Quo PDF NBC4 a b Matt Zapotosky Rosalind S Helderman September 4 2014 Robert McDonnell guilty of 11 corruption counts The Washington Post Retrieved September 4 2014 Cain Andrew and Frank Green Appeals court panel upholds former Va Gov Bob McDonnell s convictions Richmond Times Dispatch July 10 2015 Supreme Court overturns corruption conviction of former Va governor McDonnell Washington Post a b Liptak Adam June 28 2016 Supreme Court Vacates Ex Virginia Governor s Graft Conviction The New York Times p A1 Retrieved August 26 2016 a b de Vogue Ariane September 8 2016 No new trial for ex Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell CNN Retrieved September 8 2016 a b c After long journey to legal vindication Bob McDonnell seeks to reclaim place in public life salve family ties Virginian Pilot Bernstein Adam November 3 2010 John F Jack McDonnell retired Air Force officer and father of Va governor dies at 94 The Washington Post Bob McDonnell ancestry Freepages genealogy rootsweb ancestry com Archived from the original on October 25 2013 Retrieved April 10 2012 a b c d e f g Saenz Arlette May 3 2012 Gov Bob McDonnell as Vice President ABC News Retrieved October 19 2020 a b c d Session 2005 McDonnell Robert F Bob Virginia House of Delegates Archived from the original on May 25 2009 Retrieved November 26 2008 a b Queen Karen Haywood 2006 Commonwealth Conservative As Attorney General Regent graduate Bob McDonnell is poised and present Christian Leader Regent University Retrieved November 26 2008 10 Things You Didn t Know About Bob McDonnell U S News amp World Report U S News amp World Report Retrieved March 4 2010 Bob McDonnell Wavy Archived from the original on January 11 2010 Retrieved March 4 2010 Robert F McDonnell Bio Archived from the original on June 30 2012 Retrieved July 23 2012 Governor Robert F McDonnell bio Governor virginia gov Archived from the original on March 4 2010 Retrieved March 4 2010 Candidate Data for 1991RVAHH84 Vavh iath virginia edu Retrieved July 19 2013 Candidate Data for 1993RVAHH84 Vavh iath virginia edu Retrieved July 19 2013 Session 2003 McDonnell Robert F Bob Virginia House of Delegates Archived from the original on May 25 2009 Retrieved November 26 2008 Session 2000 McDonnell Robert F Bob Virginia House of Delegates Retrieved November 26 2008 Morello Carol December 22 2005 McDonnell Clinches Attorney General Race The Washington Post Retrieved November 12 2010 O Neil John November 8 2006 A Virginia Recount Would Not Come Soon The New York Times Retrieved November 26 2008 Attorney General Virginia Public Access Project Archived from the original on January 11 2012 Retrieved May 25 2009 Nuckols Christina April 5 2007 General Assembly approves compromise transportation plan The Virginian Pilot Retrieved November 26 2008 Court rules transportation taxes unconstitutional News amp Messenger March 1 2008 Archived from the original on August 9 2011 Retrieved September 8 2014 Barnes Lindsay February 7 2008 Lust bust Porn case prompts statewide crackdown The Hook Benton Nicolas June 4 2008 Battle for Episcopal Properties Back in Court Falls Church News Press p 5 Kumar Anita February 3 2009 McDonnell Resigns To Run for Governor The Washington Post Kumar Anita May 31 2009 Robert F McDonnell Accepts GOP Nomination for Virginia Governor The Washington Post Retrieved March 4 2010 Toplines Virginia Governor Election Rasmussen Reports June 10 2009 Retrieved March 4 2010 Election 2009 Virginia Governor Election Rasmussen Reports Retrieved March 4 2010 Toplines Virginia Governor Election Rasmussen Reports September 16 2009 Retrieved March 4 2010 Can the Clinton Coalition Survive Obama RealClearPolitics November 13 2009 Retrieved March 4 2010 Tyler Whitley November 4 2009 McDonnell leads GOP sweep of statewide races Richmond Times Dispatch Archived from the original on November 7 2009 Retrieved September 8 2014 McDonnell for Governor Issues McDonnell Governor March 26 2008 Archived from the original on February 5 2009 Retrieved March 4 2010 a b Bobby McSlick Virginia s Own Zelig August 28 2009 Retrieved May 12 2010 Fairfax s Own Bob McDonnell August 28 2009 Retrieved May 12 2010 a b McCartney Bob October 8 2009 Can Northern Virginia trust McDonnell s promises The Washington Post Retrieved May 12 2010 McDonnell I am focusing on the economic issues Decision Virginia August 17 2009 Retrieved March 4 2010 Candidate Bob McDonnell promotes tourism in the Commonwealth WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville Archived from the original on March 22 2010 Retrieved September 8 2014 McDonnell Releases Virginia Education Funding Plan NewsChannel 8 September 2 2009 Retrieved March 4 2010 McDonnell for Governor Issues McDonnell Governor Archived from the original on August 15 2009 Retrieved March 4 2010 Kunkle Fredrick August 23 2009 Fact Checker The Washington Post Retrieved March 4 2010 Bob McDonnell on Abortion On the Issues Retrieved April 10 2012 News and Features Richmond Magazine Retrieved March 4 2010 a b McDonnell for Governor Issues McDonnell Governor Archived from the original on March 11 2010 Retrieved March 4 2010 McDonnell Asks Candidates to Support Offshore Drilling WHSV TV Retrieved March 4 2010 NRA endorses McDonnell for Va governor The Washington Times September 14 2009 Kumar Anita May 10 2011 McDonnell Gay marriage ban was the right decision The Washington Post Walker Julian March 24 2011 Va gov signs bill criminalizing synthetic marijuana The Virginian Pilot Retrieved October 7 2013 Medical Marijuana Bill Goes Before Virginia House Committee Marijuana and Cannabis News Toke of the Town January 24 2012 Retrieved October 7 2013 Virginia s Transportation Mess The Washington Post July 29 2009 Retrieved March 4 2010 a b Kumar Anita March 7 2010 McDonnell s public schedule omissions draw complaints The Washington Post p C1 The Republican Party s Vision for the Family The Compelling Issue of The Decade PDF The Washington Post 1989 a b c 89 Thesis A Different Side of McDonnell Va GOP Candidate Wrote on Women Marriage and Gays by Amy Gardner The Washington Post August 30 2009 Retrieved 8 30 09 Gardner Amy August 30 2009 Va Candidate McDonnell Says Views Changed Since He Wrote Thesis The Washington Post p 2 Retrieved March 4 2010 a b Gardner Amy August 30 2009 Va Candidate McDonnell Says Views Changed since He Wrote Thesis washingtonpost com p 1 Retrieved April 27 2010 Kumar Anita September 15 2009 Virginia Politics Blog McDonnell 2 9 Million in July August The Washington Post Retrieved March 4 2010 Virginia Public Access Project Bob McDonnell Retrieved August 26 2012 Virginia Public Access Project Bob McDonnell Retrieved August 26 2012 Kumar Anita August 13 2009 Virginia Notebook Where Is McDonnell From The Washington Post Retrieved May 12 2010 Fairfax s Own Bob McDonnell August 28 2009 Retrieved May 12 2010 Helderman Rosalind April 9 2013 New documents raise more questions about financing of McDonnell s daughter s wedding The Washington Post McDonnell for Governor Press Releases Sheila Crump Johnson Endorses Bob McDonnell for Governor McDonnell Governor Archived from the original on July 28 2012 Retrieved March 4 2010 McDonnell for Governor Press Releases McDonnell Endorsed by Virginia AgPAC the Political Action Committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau Fed McDonnell Governor Archived from the original on January 18 2013 Retrieved March 4 2010 McDonnell for Governor Press Releases McDonnell Endorsed by Virginia Realtors McDonnell Governor Archived from the original on July 23 2012 Retrieved March 4 2010 McDonnell for Governor Press Releases Virginia Credit Union League Endorses Bob McDonnell McDonnell Governor Archived from the original on July 21 2012 Retrieved March 4 2010 McDonnell for Governor Press Releases Virginia NFIB Endorses Bob McDonnell Governor Archived from the original on September 6 2012 Retrieved March 4 2010 Virginia Governor McDonnell Inauguration Jan 16 2010 Video C SPAN org C SPAN org Retrieved January 18 2018 Helderman Rosalind February 10 2010 Virginia governor s anti bias order removes language regarding sexual orientation The Washington Post Retrieved June 10 2010 McDonnell is the first Virginia governor in more than 30 years not to sign an order on the issue of discrimination on the grounds covered by federal law as one of his first acts in office Governor McDonnell Signs First Executive Orders Reform virginia gov Archived from the original on June 4 2010 Retrieved April 10 2012 Governor McDonnell Announces Members of Governor s Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring Governor Governor s Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring Archived from the original on March 8 2012 Retrieved April 10 2012 a b Va delegate says commission chair anti Semitic WTOP May 10 2010 Retrieved May 29 2010 McDonnell unaware of reform chairman s past WTOP May 25 2010 Retrieved May 26 2010 Helderman Rosalind May 26 2010 McDonnell Says he didn t know of Malek disputes Made List of Jews for Nixon The Washington Post p B1 Nixon aides discussed job offers to get candidates out of primary races The Washington Post June 3 2010 Retrieved June 9 2010 Smith Jeffrey June 3 2010 New memos detail Republican Frederic Malek s role in Nixon campaign against Jews The Washington Post Kumar Anita June 1 2010 Malek apologizes for his role in compiling a list of Jews for Nixon The Washington Post Retrieved June 10 2010 Bowman Rex December 31 2009 McDonnell commerce appointee intends to keep corporate board positions The Roanoke Times Archived from the original on January 3 2010 Retrieved September 8 2014 Whitley Tyler January 18 2010 McDonnell withdraws Sledd nomination for commerce post makes him unpaid adviser Retrieved May 26 2010 Whitley Tyler January 18 2010 McDonnell withdraws Sledd nomination for commerce post Richmond Times Dispatch Archived from the original on February 4 2013 Retrieved September 4 2010 Condon Stephanie January 21 2010 Bob McDonnell to Give GOP State of the Union Response Political Hotsheet CBS News Retrieved March 4 2010 a b Kumar Anita February 2 2010 Howell challenged on use of House chamber The Washington Post p B4 Retrieved April 8 2010 a b Slipek Edwin Jr February 9 2010 Hollow Hall Style Richmond VA Retrieved April 8 2010 Opportunity Virginia PAC Archived from the original on January 11 2012 Retrieved September 5 2010 Opportunity Virginia PAC Archived from the original on February 3 2010 Retrieved June 7 2010 a b Helderman Roslind April 7 2010 Va revises irksome Northrup contract The Washington Post p B1 Vander Veen Chad August 18 2010 CIO Sam Nixon Tries to Fix Virginia s IT Outsourcing Effort Government Technology Retrieved September 28 2010 Mearian Lucas September 2 2010 Northrop Grumman takes blame for Va IT services outage Computerworld Retrieved September 28 2010 a b Helderman Rosalind September 13 2010 Northrop to pay 250 000 for study of August computer outage The Washington Post Retrieved September 27 2010 Rosalind Helderman and Anita Kumar September 2 2010 Computer crash has tech world watching The Washington Post p B1 Jeff E Schapiro and Peter Bacque September 3 2010 Northrop Grumman regrets computer outage Richmond Times Dispatch Retrieved September 3 2010 dead link a b Ly Sherri August 31 2010 Computer Problems Persist at Virginia DMV Other Agencies Fox News Channel 5 Archived from the original on September 4 2010 Retrieved September 8 2014 Kumar Anita September 3 2010 Driver license applicants must return to DMV following computer outage The Washington Post Retrieved September 4 2010 Bill Tracking SB563 Retrieved June 22 2010 a b c Helderman Rosalind May 18 2010 Democrats criticize Cuccinelli donation Donor s group scrutinized The Washington Post p B1 Letter barring USNVA from soliciting in New Mexico PDF April 1 2010 Retrieved September 6 2010 Sluss Michael May 18 2010 McDonnell to give away 5K from Navy vets charity Roanoke Times Retrieved June 22 2010 Cornwell Lisa August 5 2010 Ohio AG Navy vets group leader stole identity Navy Times Associated Press Retrieved September 5 2010 Kunkle Frederick January 20 2011 McDonnell Lifts Ban on Open Carry in Va Parks The Washington Post p B1 a b Kumar Anita April 8 2010 McDonnell Admits a Major Omission The Washington Post p A1 Governor Is Criticized For Confederacy Month The New York Times April 11 1997 Antia Kumar and Rosalind Helderman April 7 2010 McDonnell revives storm over VA s Confederate past The Washington Post p A1 Antia Kumar and Rosalind Helderman April 7 2010 McDonnell s Confederate History Month Proclamation Irks Civil Rights Leaders The Washington Post Original Confederate History Month Declaration amp Governor s Apology WUSA TV Archived from the original on March 20 2012 Retrieved April 10 2012 Why Does McDonnell Think This Is A Good Time For Confederate History Month National Public Radio April 7 2010 Retrieved April 10 2010 Wing Nicholas April 7 2010 Bob McDonnell Apologizes For Slavery Omission In Confederate History Month Proclamation Huffington Post Gov Bob McDonnell doesn t rule out running for Vice president in 2012 Richmond Times Dispatch February 24 2010 Archived from the original on July 22 2011 Retrieved April 8 2010 Cillizza Chris April 8 2010 Bob McDonnell the Confederacy and the Veepstakes The Washington Post Retrieved April 8 2010 McDonnell s Mea Culpa Virginia s GOP Governor Says Slavery Omission Was Mistake ABC News The Note April 7 2010 Retrieved April 10 2010 Helderman Rosalind September 25 2010 Va Governor Confederate Month No More The Washington Post p A1 Kumar Antia December 4 2009 Kaine Plans to Extend Health Benefits to Same Sex Partners The Washington Post Retrieved June 11 2010 Walker Julian February 1 2010 Same sex Partner Benefits Tossed Out Outgoing Gov Tim Kaine Proposed the Policy Change But the State s New Attorney General Advised Against It Roanoke Times Archived from the original on September 9 2012 Retrieved September 10 2014 Johnson Chris April 27 2010 Pro Gay Life Insurance Bill Becomes Law in Va Washington Blade Retrieved June 11 2010 Steinmetz Katy September 10 2010 Virginia Woman Faces Execution amid Calls for Leniency Time Archived from the original on September 11 2010 Retrieved September 24 2010 Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell signs pre abortion ultrasound bill Los Angeles Times March 7 2012 Bassett Laura February 24 2012 Bob McDonnell Virginia Governor Didn t Realize Ultrasound Bill Mandated Invasive Procedure Retrieved February 6 2020 Restoration of Rights Archived from the original on April 29 2010 Retrieved April 27 2010 a b Kumar Anita April 12 2010 Another Squall for McDonnell The Washington Post p C1 Kumar Anita April 14 2010 McDonnell Spokesman Says Voting Rights Letter Sent to Felons Without Approval The Washington Post 1 dead link David Englin comments on his website David Englin May 21 2010 Archived from the original on October 6 2011 Retrieved April 10 2012 Kumar Anita September 26 2010 More Va felons get rights restored The Washington Post p C1 Bonds to fund VDOT projects The Washington Post May 1 2010 p B6 Whitley Tyler McDonnell Authorizes Sale of Transportation Bonds Richmond Times Dispatch Archived from the original on May 2 2010 Retrieved September 10 2014 Anita Kumar and Rosalind S Helderman December 10 2010 McDonnell Outlines Transportation Plans The Washington Post p B5 Anita Kumar and Rosalind S Helderman January 10 2011 McDonnell Would Tap Sales Tax to Fund Roads The Washington Post p B1 Governor Files Application to Toll Interstate 95 Near North Carolina Border Governor s Office May 10 2010 Archived from the original on May 13 2010 Retrieved May 10 2010 WMATA Compact Article III Section 5 Archived from the original on December 15 2008 Retrieved September 10 2014 Virginia Code 15 2 4503 1 Leg1 state va us Retrieved April 10 2012 Alpert David June 18 2010 McDonnell Makes Case For Rider Seats on Metro Board The Washington Post Retrieved June 19 2010 McDonnell s Plan May Threaten Metro Funding NBC 4 June 17 2010 Retrieved June 19 2010 McCartney Robert June 24 2010 Revitaizing Metro Not Grandstanding Is a Fitting Tribute to Crash Victims The Washington Post p B1 Lisa Rein and Anita Kumar Va could jeopardize Metro plan The Washington Post p B5 Kumar Anita June 24 2010 Virginia commits money to Metro Connaughton says The Washington Post Retrieved June 26 2010 Lisa Rein and Anita Kumar July 2 2010 Metro s Directors Back 300 Million Accord with Va The Washington Post p B4 Retrieved December 26 2013 Bob Lewis AP Political Writer Va Votes to Block Health Care Mandate Wavy Archived from the original on March 8 2012 Retrieved April 10 2012 Press Release Archived from the original on 1 May 2010 Retrieved 27 April 2010 Nolan Jim March 23 2010 McDonnell backs Cuccinelli on challenge to health care bill Richmond Times Dispatch Archived from the original on February 4 2013 Retrieved June 25 2010 a b Walker Julian April 22 2010 McDonnell Bid to Restrict Abortion Funding Upheld The Virginian Pilot Retrieved April 10 2012 Children s National Disappointed in Gov Bob McDonnell s Veto of Newborn Heart Disease Screening Legislation Retrieved April 10 2012 a b c d K 12 Education PDF The Washington Post Retrieved June 6 2010 Kumar Anita February 17 2010 After Weeks of Pressure McDonnell Releases Budget Cut Proposals The Washington Post Retrieved June 6 2010 State Senate Passes 2010 2012 Biennial Budget Rockbridge Weekly February 26 2010 Archived from the original on July 15 2011 Retrieved June 6 2010 Hightower Ed April 2 2010 Virginia Hampton Roads Schools Face Major Budget Cuts World Socialist Web Site Retrieved June 6 2010 Vivian s Views on Budget and Taxes Del Vivian Watts Archived from the original on March 25 2010 Retrieved June 11 2010 Stuart Bob October 18 2009 Deeds Toll Fix to Road Woes News Virginian Retrieved June 11 2010 Kumar Anita June 1 2010 McDonnell on MSNBC Race to the Top too burdensome The Washington Post Virginia s stance against national standards is a blow for students The Washington Post June 5 2010 Retrieved June 15 2010 Nick Anderson and Rosalind Helderman May 27 2010 Virginia Withdraws from Obama s Race to the Top The Washington Post p B4 Race to the Top Program Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions PDF US Department of Education May 27 2010 Retrieved June 11 2010 Race to the Top does not endorse any particular consortium or set of standards Criterion B 1 specifies characteristics of consortia and standards that earn States points under this criterion Garofalo Pat June 1 2010 McDonnell Falsely Claims That Race To The Top Would Force Virginia To Lower Its Academic Standards Retrieved June 11 2010 McDonnell on MSNBC Race to the Top would bring burdensome federal standards Archived from the original on December 18 2010 Retrieved June 11 2010 Quote A State may supplement the common standards with additional standards provided that the additional standards do not exceed 15 percent of the State s total standards for that content area Overview Information Race to the Top Fund Federal Register November 18 2009 Archived from the original on March 9 2010 Retrieved June 11 2010 Kumar Anita May 24 2009 Va Candidates Weigh In on Offshore Drilling The Washington Post Retrieved September 28 2010 a b Kumar Anita March 17 2010 Virginia leaders express interest in offshore drilling The Washington Post Retrieved April 26 2010 Offshore Oil Benefits WTVR March 17 2010 Archived from the original on March 13 2010 Sullivan Kathleen and Pratt Marirose Six Months of Oil Not Worth a Disaster on Southern Coasts Says SELC Southernenvironment org September 21 2009 Archived from the original on January 5 2011 Retrieved April 10 2012 Twelve Reasons Why Offshore Drilling for Natural Gas is Wrong for Virginia Sierra Club Virginia Chapter July 8 2008 Archived from the original on September 7 2008 Retrieved September 10 2014 Straub Noelle May 6 2010 Interior Suspends Planned Va Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sale The New York Times Retrieved May 9 2010 Statement on the Interior Dept s Suspension of Oil and Gas Lease Sale off Virginia s Coast May 6 2010 Archived from the original on August 9 2010 Retrieved September 10 2014 Virginia Off Shore Drilling Off Limits says DoD report May 18 2010 Archived from the original on May 25 2010 Retrieved May 26 2010 McDonnell Oil spill a setback to offshore drilling WTOP May 25 2010 Retrieved May 25 2010 Transcript of President Obama s May 27 2010 Press Conference whitehouse gov May 27 2010 Archived from the original on January 27 2017 Retrieved May 30 2010 via National Archives Kumar Anita May 27 2010 Environmentalists cheer Obama s offshore drilling decision The Washington Post Retrieved May 30 2010 Nealon Cory May 27 2010 Obama cancels Virginia s drilling plans Newport News Daily Press Retrieved July 5 2010 Kumar Anita February 17 2010 In private Virginia governor pushes deep budget cuts Washinigton Post Retrieved April 12 2010 Nobles Ryan February 17 2010 Gov McDonnell outlines budget cuts proposal NBC12 Archived from the original on January 20 2012 Retrieved April 12 2010 Sluss Michael Virginia budget debate heads into overtime Roanoke Times Archived from the original on September 9 2012 Retrieved April 12 2010 Governor McDonnell Returns Amendments to Biennial Budget Press Release Archived from the original on April 17 2010 Retrieved April 15 2010 Wilkinson Karen April 16 2010 Legislation Changes Virginia s Online Tax Preparation Program Government Technology Retrieved September 26 2010 Nolan Jim April 14 2010 State to end free online tax filing service Richmond Times Dispatch Archived from the original on February 5 2013 Retrieved September 26 2010 Anita Kumar and Rosalind Helderman April 15 2010 McDonnell favors development funding The Washington Post p B1 Rosalind Helderman and Anita Kumar April 22 2010 House bucks governor on some issues The Washington Post p B1 Lewis Bob July 14 2010 Va ended last budget with 220 million surplus BusinessWeek Archived from the original on October 24 2012 Retrieved April 10 2012 The so called Virginia budget surplus Washington Examiner July 19 2010 Retrieved July 22 2010 dead link Whitley Tyler July 15 2010 State budget surplus assures bonus for workers Richmond Times Dispatch Retrieved July 22 2010 dead link Kumar Anita August 20 2010 In Va bipartisan calls to reverse budget methods The Washington Post p B1 Kumar Antia August 20 2010 In Va bipartisan calls to reverse budget methods The Washington Post p B1 a b Rosalind Helderman and Anita Kumar October 23 2010 No Va special session on liquor The Washington Post p B1 Helderman Rosalind August 5 2010 Va liquor profits set a high bar for McDonnell privatization plan The Washington Post Retrieved December 26 2013 Proposed ABC Privatization Model Retrieved September 12 2010 a b c Shapiro Jeff September 11 2010 Virginia retailers split on ABC privatization Richmond Times Dispatch Archived from the original on September 13 2010 Retrieved September 12 2010 Kumar Anita September 4 2010 Virginia may add to fees on alcohol The Washington Post p A1 Retrieved September 4 2010 a b Anita Kumar and Rosalind Helderman August 9 2010 McDonnell unveils plan to privatize liquor sales The Washington Post p B1 Kumar Anita September 4 2010 Legislator says ABC special session will be in November The Washington Post Retrieved September 4 2010 Kumar Anita September 16 2010 Updated Beer and wine wholesalers oppose McDonnell s ABC privatization plan The Washington Post Retrieved September 28 2010 Kumar Anita November 27 2010 Rural Va communities long liquor runs could come to a halt The Washington Post p B1 Fraternal Order of Police endorses McDonnell liquor privatization The Washington Post Retrieved July 19 2013 Helderman Rosalind September 30 2010 To woo more support McDonnell alters liquor privatization plan The Washington Post Retrieved October 1 2010 Helderman Rosalind October 1 2010 McDonnell alters liquor sale proposal Plan could be more palatable to restaurant owners conservatives The Washington Post p B1 a b Kumar Anita October 5 2010 McDonnell vows trims to make liquor plan work The Washington Post p B1 Anita Kumar and Rosalind S Helderman October 14 2010 Liquor Proposal Causing Discord in Virginia GOP The Washington Post p B1 Retrieved September 8 2014 Walker Julian October 22 2010 McDonnell Won t Call Special Session on Privatizing Liquor Sales The Virginian Pilot Retrieved October 24 2010 Kumar Anita November 24 2010 McDonnell Plan on Liquor Stores Off by Millions The Washington Post p B1 Anita Kumar and Rosalind S Helderman February 9 2011 McDonnell s Bid to Privatize Liquor Stores is Rejected The Washington Post p B1 Olympia Meola and Jeff E Schapiro January 8 2010 McDonnell Northrop Grumman Move IT Dispute Not Linked Richmond Times Dispatch Retrieved September 28 2010 Maclauchlan Shawn September 28 2010 McDonnell meets with Defense Department NBC12 Archived from the original on January 20 2012 Retrieved September 28 2010 Helderman Rosalind September 27 2010 Look Who s Not Coming to Breakfast Defense Secretary Gates The Washington Post Retrieved September 28 2010 Pershing Ben November 24 2010 Va Confronts Gates on Future of Jobs The Washington Post p B6 a b c d Kumar Anita April 24 2011 VA House GOP Vents Over Veto The Washington Post p C1 Letter to the House of Delegates on H R 5001 PDF State of Virginia Archived from the original PDF on April 29 2011 Retrieved April 24 2011 Helderman Rosalind S April 25 2011 Senate Opens Bipartisan Negotiations on Redistricting The Washington Post Retrieved April 26 2011 Lawmakers Return Monday to Consider Governor s Veto of Virginia Redistricting Legislation The Washington Post Associated Press April 24 2011 Archived from the original on July 13 2019 Retrieved April 26 2011 Statement of Governor Bob McDonnell on Passage of Redistricting Legislation State of Virginia Archived from the original on September 27 2011 Retrieved May 3 2011 Vozzella Laura June 16 2013 Mansion Spending Records Indicate Improper Billing by Virginia Governor and His Family The Washington Post Retrieved June 17 2013 Laura Vozzella July 8 2013 McDonnell lawyer says children took minimal food from mansion Washingtonpost com Retrieved February 20 2015 O Dell Larry January 21 2014 Former Va Gov Bob McDonnell Wife Indicted Helderman Rosalind January 21 2014 Former Va Gov McDonnell and wife charged in gifts case The Washington Post Camia Catalina January 21 2014 Ex Va governor McDonnell wife charged in gift scandal USAToday Burns Alexander Titus Elizabeth January 21 2014 Bob McDonnell and wife indicted in gift scandal Politico Julian Walker Bill Sizemore January 22 2014 Ex Gov McDonnell and wife charged in gifts scandal The Virginian Pilot Retrieved January 22 2014 Helderman Rosalind Zapotosky Matt Vozzella Laura Back on stand Williams says he didn t tell McDonnell about his wife s actions The Washington Post Retrieved August 2 2014 Sister and Wife of Ex Governor Become Focus in Virginia Trial The New York Times Unflattering Portrait of Virginia s Former First Lady Is Offered by Her Lawyers The New York Times a b Greem Frank Meola Olympia Nolan Jim September 4 2014 Jury finds former Gov Bob McDonnell guilty on multiple counts Richmond Times Dispatch Retrieved September 4 2014 a b Verdicts in the McDonnell trial Richmond Times Dispatch September 4 2014 Retrieved September 4 2014 Matt Zapotosky December 12 2014 Early federal sentencing recommendation for McDonnell At least 10 years in prison The Washington Post Retrieved December 13 2014 Former Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell loses Liberty University teaching job New York Daily News Retrieved September 9 2014 44 former attorneys general back McDonnell appeal Former Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell given 2 years in prison CNN January 6 2015 Retrieved January 6 2015 Former Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell Free Pending Appeal USA Today January 26 2015 United States v McDonnell F 3d 2015 McDonnell can remain free while Supreme Court decides on review The Washington Post August 31 2015 Solicitor general to Supreme Court Don t take Bob McDonnell s case The Washington Post December 8 2015 Supreme Court will review corruption conviction of former Va governor Robert McDonnell The Washington Post January 15 2016 Supreme Court sympathetic to former Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell CNN Ariane de Vogue April 27 2016 Retrieved April 28 2016 Peralta Eyder June 27 2016 Supreme Court Throws Out Former Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell s Conviction National Public Radio NPR Retrieved June 27 2016 Barnes Robert Supreme Court overturns corruption conviction of former Va governor McDonnell The Washington Post Retrieved June 27 2016 Supreme court justices earn quarter million in cash on the side Center for Public Integrity June 20 2014 Lipton Eric February 26 2016 Scalia Took Dozens of Trips Funded by Private Sponsors The New York Times Berman Mark Markon Jerry February 17 2016 Why Justice Scalia was staying for free at a Texas resort The Washington Post I feel vindicated Former Va Gov McDonnell speaks to 60 Minutes WTOP McDonnell says he feels vindicated by DOJ dropping corruption case Politico McDonnell appoints daughter to an advisory council Tmcnet com Retrieved April 13 2012 Bob McDonnell files for divorce from wife Maureen Gardner McDonnell The Washington Times Retrieved March 28 2022 Further reading Edit Past members Robert F McDonnell Virginia House of Delegates Retrieved July 19 2013 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Bob McDonnell Media related to Bob McDonnell at Wikimedia Commons Appearances on C SPAN Government website Archived Bob McDonnell for Governor Official campaign website Interview with Governor Elect Bob McDonnell Cal Thomas Townhall com December 4 2009 New Face for the GOP Cal Thomas Townhall com December 4 2009Virginia House of DelegatesPreceded byGlenn McClanan Member of the Virginia House of Delegatesfrom the 84th district1992 2006 Succeeded bySal IaquintoLegal officesPreceded byJudith Jagdmann Attorney General of Virginia2006 2009 Succeeded byBill MimsParty political officesPreceded byJerry Kilgore Republican nominee for Governor of Virginia2009 Succeeded byKen CuccinelliPreceded byBobby Jindal Response to the State of the Union address2010 Succeeded byPaul RyanPreceded byRick Perry Chair of the Republican Governors Association2011 2012 Succeeded byBobby JindalPolitical officesPreceded byTim Kaine Governor of Virginia2010 2014 Succeeded byTerry McAuliffeU S order of precedence ceremonial Preceded byJim Gilmoreas Former Governor Order of precedence of the United States Succeeded byTerry McAuliffeas Former Governor Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bob McDonnell amp oldid 1150361116, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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