Tom Strickland | |
---|---|
Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks | |
In office May 2009 –February 2011 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Lyle Laverty [1] |
Succeeded by | Rachel Jacobson (acting) [2] |
United States Attorney for the District of Colorado | |
In office April 21,1999 –January 20,2001 | |
President | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Henry Solano |
Succeeded by | John Suthers |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas Lee Strickland May 16,1952 Texas,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Louisiana State University,Baton Rouge (BA) University of Texas,Austin (JD) |
Thomas Lee Strickland (born May 16,1952) is an American lawyer who was formerly chief of staff to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in the Interior Department. Strickland served as United States Attorney for Colorado and was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate for Colorado in 1996 and 2002. He joined WilmerHale as a partner in September,2011. [3] [4]
Tom Strickland was born in Texas but attended Louisiana State University where he took a degree in English literature,with honors,and played football. He has three daughters,Lauren,Annie,and Caroline. [5]
In 1977 he graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law [6] then clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Carl Olaf Bue Jr. in the Southern District of Texas. [4] Prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney Strickland was associated for 15 years with what was then Brownstein,Hyatt,Farber &Strickland rising to named partner. [5] The firm was a prominent Colorado law firm noted for its political connections. [7]
From 1982 to 1984 Strickland served as director of policy for Colorado Governor Richard Lamm,advising the governor on all policy and intergovernmental issues. He went on to serve and chair the Colorado Transportation Commission from 1985 to 1989. Strickland was,with Ken Salazar,one of the founders and a board member of Great Outdoors Colorado,a lottery-funded endowment for Colorado's public parks created in 1992. [8]
Assuming the office United States Attorney for Colorado the day after the Columbine High School massacre,Strickland's legacy as U.S. Attorney is his tough stance on gun crime. Shortly after taking office,Strickland led efforts to enact Colorado's Project Exile,under which Federal and local prosecutors would cooperate to bring gun charges under state or federal laws,whichever would offer the toughest sentence. During its first year,Colorado Project Exile doubled the number of people who were charged with violating state and federal gun laws in Colorado. Under Strickland's leadership,the project launched with support from gun rights groups including the National Rifle Association and gun control groups such as Handgun Control,Inc. [9]
Strickland's most notable cases include the prosecution of 25 people associated with a major cocaine distribution ring outside of Colorado Springs,Colo., [10] the indictment of 42 people associated with a motorcycle gang, [11] and the indictment of representatives from three drug running organizations in one of the largest drug roundups in the state's history. [12] In 2000,he prosecuted of the largest drug bust in Longmont's history,an investigation that grew to include California and Nebraska and involved the Internal Revenue Service,the U.S. Attorney's office,the Federal Housing Authority and the Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco,Firearms and Explosives. [13]
Strickland also levied 37 felony counts of selling large quantities of guns to criminals against Gregory Golyansky,his brother Leonid and their employee and cousin,Dmitry Baravik,in a politically charged trial that ended in a plea bargain with a sentence of just one day of probation and a lifetime ban on selling firearms. While critics charged that Strickland targeted the Golyanskys because of their Republican leanings,John Suthers,Strickland's replacement and a Republican,reviewed the case and decided to continue prosecuting despite alleged problems with the case. [14] As Suthers explained,"You've got to rely on hard-core criminals as witnesses. The girlfriends of hard-core criminals are not exactly spectacular witnesses either." In addition,Strickland went after human traffickers as demonstrated by his commitment to prosecuting three people in charges of transporting illegal immigrants after a van crash in northeast Colorado that killed six men. The victims were packed into a van with 14 other passengers who also sustained injuries when a tractor trailer ran into the back of the van. [15]
After almost two years on the job,Strickland left office after acquiring "a reputation as a tough,effective law-and-order prosecutor," according to an editorial appearing in The Denver Post just prior to the end of Strickland's tenure as U.S. Attorney. [16]
Following his second unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate Strickland joined the international law firm Hogan &Hartson and rose rapidly to the position of managing partner for the firm's Denver office hiring Scott McInnis,a Republican and former Colorado congressman,and Bill Ritter,a Democrat and former Denver district attorney who would become Colorado's governor. [7] He was also a member of Hogan &Hartson's executive committee. [17]
On April 24,2007,he was appointed executive vice president and chief legal officer of UnitedHealth Group,a diversified health and well-being company headquartered in Minneapolis,Minnesota and serving more than 70 million individuals nationwide. [18] He was brought in as part of a new management team following a "stock options backdating scandal" and was credited for having "cleaned up the backdating mess." [19] At UnitedHealth,he managed an in-house team of 200 attorneys and a nationwide team of outside counsel. He was responsible for all legal,regulatory and compliance matters and implemented a number of corporate governance initiatives.
On January 21,2009,it was announced that Strickland had accepted an appointment to serve in President Barack Obama's administration as the chief of staff and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in the Department of the Interior. [20] On his retirement from the Department of the Interior he was praised by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and by the editorial board of The Denver Post for his role in America's Great Outdoors Program which is modeled after the popular and successful Great Outdoors Colorado program. America's Great Outdoors,which led to the passage of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009,was heralded as one of the most important conservation measures in decades. His work on restoration of the Everglades,protecting the bluefin tuna,and the environmental impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was cited. [21]
Strickland joined Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in 2011 and is a partner in the firm's Regulatory and Government Affairs,Litigation/Controversy and Securities Departments. His practice focuses on a range of matters at the intersection of law,business,and government policy,including government enforcement cases,Congressional and internal investigations,corporate governance,and high-stakes crisis management matters. Additionally,he has particular expertise in natural resources and environmental law,health care regulation and securities law.
In March,2013,Strickland was appointed by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to serve on the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Board (NFWF),which was recently designated by the United States Department of Justice to distribute the $2.5 billion in criminal penalties from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to the five Gulf Coast States.
The United States Senate election in Colorado in 1996 was for the open seat which resulted from the retirement of Hank Brown. Strickland had represented the Sierra Club and had served on the regional board of the Environmental Defense Fund;he was endorsed by nearly every environmental group in Colorado;however,his Republican opponent,Wayne Allard,borrowed a tactic from Strickland's law partner,Steve Farber,and painted him as "the polluters' lawyer" in commercials based on research of his record of legal work for numerous clients over a ten-year legal career. He could only reply by referencing his duty to represent his clients' interests zealously. He fell behind in the polls and eventually lost. [5]
The 2002 election for the U.S. Senate,with the same candidates running,resulted in a narrow victory for Allard. A record-breaking total of $9 million was raised by the candidates. The campaign was characterized by mutual accusations that the other candidate was linked with a powerful communications company,Allard with Qwest and Strickland with Global Crossing. Allard's winning strategy was to characterize Strickland as a "millionaire-lawyer-lobbyist." Strickland ran on moderate positions. Both candidates had help from prominent party leaders,Allard being helped by President George W. Bush and Strickland campaigned just like in 1996 alongside former President Bill Clinton. [22] [23] [24] [25]
Gale Ann Norton is an American politician and attorney who served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006. A member of the Republican Party,she previously served as the 35th Attorney General of Colorado from 1991 to 1999. Norton was the first woman to hold each of those posts.
Alan Wayne Allard is an American veterinarian and politician who served as a United States Representative (1991–1997) and United States Senator (1997–2009) from Colorado,as well as previously a Colorado State Senator (1983–1991). A member of the Republican Party,he did not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2008. In February 2009,he began work as a lobbyist at The Livingston Group,a Washington,D.C.–based government relations consulting firm.
Mark Emery Udall is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party,he previously served in the United States House of Representatives,representing Colorado's 2nd congressional district. Before being elected to Congress,he represented parts of Boulder,Colorado,in the Colorado House of Representatives.
Kenneth Lee Salazar is an American lawyer,politician,and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party,he previously was a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martínez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. senators since 1977;they were joined by Bob Menendez in 2006. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate,he served as Attorney General of Colorado from 1999 to 2005.
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP,also known as Hale &Dorr and WilmerHale,is an American multinational law firm with offices in the United States,Europe,and Asia. Co-headquartered in Washington,D.C.,and Boston,it was formed in 2004 through the merger of the Boston-based firm Hale and Dorr and the D.C.-based firm Wilmer Cutler &Pickering. It employs more than 1,000 attorneys worldwide.
The 2002 United States Senate election in Colorado was held on November 5,2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Wayne Allard won re-election to a second term. This is also the last time the sitting US Senator of this seat won reelection and the last election that either party held this seat for two consecutive terms.
The 2004 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 2,2004 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell retired instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Ken Salazar won the open seat,defeating Republican nominee Pete Coors despite Republican President George W. Bush carrying the state over John Kerry in the concurrent presidential race.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 2,2010,alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. In December 2008,President-elect Barack Obama nominated incumbent U.S. Senator Ken Salazar as Secretary of the Interior. After Salazar resigned from his seat,Democratic governor Bill Ritter appointed Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to fill the seat.
Michael Farrand Bennet is an American attorney,businessman,and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Colorado,a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party,he was appointed to the seat when Senator Ken Salazar became Secretary of the Interior. Bennet previously worked as a managing director for the Anschutz Investment Company,chief of staff to Denver mayor John Hickenlooper,and superintendent of Denver Public Schools.
The 2010 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday,November 2,2010,to elect the Governor of Colorado,who would serve a four-year term that began in January 2011. One-term incumbent Democrat Bill Ritter announced that he would not run for re-election in 2010. Dan Maes,backed by the Tea Party movement,won the Republican nomination in the primary with 50.6% of the vote and a 1.3% margin over rival Scott McInnis. In claiming victory,Maes called on former representative Tom Tancredo,running as the Constitution Party's nominee to "stop your campaign tonight." Denver mayor John Hickenlooper was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Hickenlooper won the race with over 50% of the vote.
The 1996 United States Senate election in Colorado was held on November 5,1996. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Hank Brown decided to retire instead of seeking a second term. Republican Wayne Allard won the open seat.
Hogan Lovells is an American-British law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington,DC. The firm was formed in 2010 by the merger of the American law firm Hogan &Hartson and the British law firm Lovells. As of 2024,the firm employed about 2,800 lawyers,making it the sixth largest law firm in the world.
The 2014 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 4,2014,to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Colorado,concurrently with the election to Colorado's Class II U.S. Senate seat,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Philip Cole Finegan II is an American lawyer who served as the United States attorney for the District of Colorado from 2021 to 2024. He served as Denver's city attorney and chief of staff to then Denver mayor John Hickenlooper from 2003 through 2006. He was also the regional managing partner of the Americas for Hogan Lovells and managing partner of the law firm's Denver office.
Michael Lee Connor is an American politician,lawyer and engineer. He has served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works since November 2021,and served as the United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 2014 to 2017,among other positions in United States Department of the Interior.
Regina Marie Rodriguez is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
The 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election took place on November 6,2018,to elect the next governor of Colorado. Incumbent Democratic governor John Hickenlooper was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. The primary election was held on June 26.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Colorado on November 6,2018. All of Colorado's executive offices and all seven of its seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election. Democrats swept the statewide offices up for election,leaving the at-large seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents and the Class 2 U.S. Senate seat as the last statewide offices held by Republicans.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Colorado was held on November 8,2022. Incumbent Democratic Senator Michael Bennet won reelection to a third term,defeating the Republican candidate,businessman Joe O'Dea. Originally appointed to the seat in 2009,Bennet won full terms in 2010 and 2016.
John F. Walsh is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado from 2010 to 2016. Walsh was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 14,2010,and sworn in on August 16,2010. When he stepped down in 2016,Walsh was the longest-serving U.S. attorney in Colorado history.
The citizens of Colorado will not send a lawyer-lobbyist for corporate polluters to the United States Senate, John Heubusch, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in one of a torrent of attacks faxed to Colorado media outlets. Tom Strickland is a hypocrite; he is running as a 'passionate environmentalist' when court records show he represented the biggest polluter in the history of Colorado.
Together with Secretary Salazar, Strickland was a founder and board member of Great Outdoors Colorado, the lottery-funded endowment for Colorado's public parks system that was created in 1992. From 1982 to 1984 Strickland served as director of policy for Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm, advising the governor on all policy and intergovernmental issues. He went on to serve and chair the Colorado Transportation Commission from 1985 to 1989. Strickland also served as legal counsel to the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and was a founder and board member of Great Outdoors Colorado, the lottery-funded endowment for Colorado's public parks system. Strickland received his bachelor's in English literature, with honors, from Louisiana State University, where he was an All-SEC Academic Football Selection. He received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law. He is a member of the Colorado, Minnesota, and Texas Bars.
Salazar credits Strickland with bringing a "stellar" team to Interior. "For two years he probably gave us 80 hours a week," Salazar told us. That's hardly the type of bureaucrat that cynics like to think about when talking about Washington. We thank Strickland for his good work defending wildlife and the national park system.
{{cite news}}
: |author=
has generic name (help)true to the tenor of recent television advertisements, each man is just as eager to blast the other as unsuitable for the Senate because of ties to big telecommunications companies under criminal investigation -- Mr. Allard to Qwest, Mr. Strickland to Global Crossing.