John Taylor Doolittle, is an attorney and an American politician. Elected to Congress in 1990, he served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009, representing California's 4th congressional district. In the 109th Congress, he held a leadership role as the Deputy Whip for the Republican party in the House. He was succeeded in the House of Representatives by Tom McClintock. Before being elected to Congress, he had served in the California State Senate from 1984 to 1991.
Richard William Pombo, GOIH is an American lobbyist for mining and water-management companies and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, having represented California's 11th congressional district from 1993 to 2007. Pombo lost a reelection bid to Democratic challenger Jerry McNerney on November 7, 2006.
Charles Jeremy Lewis was an American politician who was a U.S. representative, last serving California's 41st congressional district. He was first elected to Congress in 1978, and previously represented the 40th, 35th, and 37th districts. A Republican, he was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, serving in that role during the 109th Congress. In January 2012 he announced that he was not running for re-election and would end his congressional career in January 2013.
Duncan Lee Hunter is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009.
Ronald C. Packard is an American retired Republican politician from California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001.
Randall Harold "Duke" Cunningham is an American former politician, Vietnam War veteran and fighter ace. Cunningham served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 50th district from 1991 to 2005, and later served prison time for accepting bribes from defense contractors.
The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal was a United States political scandal exposed in 2005; it related to fraud perpetrated by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Native American tribes who were seeking to develop casino gambling on their reservations. The lobbyists charged the tribes an estimated $85 million in fees. Abramoff and Scanlon grossly overbilled their clients, secretly splitting the multi-million dollar profits. In one case, they secretly orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services.
The 2006 Republican Party scandals resulted in four resignations and three election losses for Republican politicians during the first two years of George W. Bush's second term as President and leading up to the 2006 midterm elections.
California's 50th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California, and encompasses parts of the Mid-Coast and northeastern parts of San Diego County. Scott Peters is currently the U.S. representative for California's 50th congressional district.
Brian Phillip Bilbray is an American politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Brent Roger Wilkes, is an American entrepreneur, defense contractor, civic leader. Wilkes became well known for his involvement with the Duke Cunningham defense contracting scandal and was indicted for his involvement in this scandal on February 13, 2007. He was indicted on new charges which superseded the previous ones on May 10, 2007. Wilkes was convicted on all 13 counts on November 5, 2007. On March 27, 2008, the Court of Appeals ordered him released on bail pending appeal, finding in part "that the appeal raises a 'substantial question' of law or fact likely to result in reversal, a new trial or a sentence not including a term of prison". On January 6, 2009, after serving eleven months in federal custody, the last six months at Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island, Wilkes was released, pending appeal. Wilkes lost his appeals and was released in September 2022.
Francine Pocino Busby is a former member of the school board in Cardiff, California and was the chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party. She has four times been the Democratic candidate for Congress in California's 50th congressional district, in North San Diego County. In 2004, she ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Before his term was up, Cunningham resigned due to his conviction on bribery charges, and Busby ran in the June 2006 special election to replace him; she lost to Republican Brian Bilbray, who again defeated her in the 2006 general election that November. She also ran unsuccessfully against Bilbray in 2010.
Mitchell J. Wade is an American defense contractor implicated in the events that led to the 2005 resignation of U.S. Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham.
The Cunningham scandal was a U.S. political scandal in which defense contractors paid bribes to members of Congress and officials in the U.S. Defense Department, in return for political favors in the form of federal contracts. Most notable amongst the recipients of the bribes was California Congressman Duke Cunningham who pleaded guilty to receiving over $2.3 million in bribes. The primary defense contractors were Mitchell Wade and Brent R. Wilkes.
The Jerry Lewis – Lowery lobbying firm controversy stems from the relationship between Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and a lobbying firm, known as Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White, where good friend and former U.S. Congressman Bill Lowery was a partner from 1993 to 2006.
Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White is a California lobbying firm founded by James Copeland in 1992, which was the subject of a federal investigation into earmarks granted to its clients by Rep. Jerry Lewis. In June 2006, the firm changed its name to Innovative Federal Strategies following the resignation of the Democratic partners.
Lobbying in the United States is paid activity in which special interest groups hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress. It is often perceived negatively by journalists and the American public; critics consider it to be a form of bribery, influence peddling, and/or extortion. Lobbying is subject to complex rules which, if not followed, can lead to penalties including jail. Lobbying has been interpreted by court rulings as free speech protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Since the 1970s, the numbers of lobbyists and the size of lobbying budgets has grown and become the focus of criticism of American governance.
The 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent California various congressional districts in the United States House of Representatives. In the 111th Congress, California has 53 seats in the House, apportioned accordingly after the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected to two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009, to January 3, 2011. The election coincides with the United States presidential election as well as other elections in California.
Charles Wesley Lyon was an American attorney from California who served as a Republican in the California State Assembly and the California State Senate. Lyon was Assembly Speaker from 1943 to 1946. Lyon was admitted to the bar in 1910 and was first elected to the Assembly in 1914. Lyon served numerous terms in the Senate and Assembly and authored the legislation creating the UCLA campus.
The 2005 San Diego mayoral special election was a special election held on Tuesday, November 8, 2005, to elect the mayor for San Diego. The special election was necessary due to the resignation of former Mayor Dick Murphy.
