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Mike Berlon is the former Chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. [1] He served from early 2011 until June 9, 2013, when he resigned following accusations of professional misconduct. On February 25, 2015 Berlon pleaded guilty to one charge of wire fraud in Federal court.
In January 2011, Berlon was elected as the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. [2] During his tenure he emphasized a grassroots strategy to make the Democratic Party more competitive outside of the Atlanta metro area [3] and a progressive platform including job creation, increased pay for teachers and educators, and increased funding of public schools. [4]
On May 29, 2013, the Democratic Party of Georgia released a statement saying Berlon would resign his chairmanship, after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed called for him to step down. [5] In a subsequent statement released to the media, Berlon announced his resignation from the state party would be effective midnight on June 9, 2013.
Berlon has also been a strong critic of elected Democrats that switch to the Republican Party. [6] During his tenure, several Democrats switched parties to take advantage of the state's Republican-lean, most notably State House Caucus Chair Doug McKillip, [7] and State Representative Rick Crawford (who stated his intention to switch immediately after his re-election campaign). [6] The Democratic Party of Georgia unsuccessfully attempted to remove Crawford from the ballot. [8]
All three party-switchers lost in their next election. [9] [10] [11]
After an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Berlon pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced on February 25, 2015, to 5 years and 3 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release for stealing over $2 million from his clients. He also agreed to pay over $2 million in restitution. [12] [13]
Robert Cannon "Robin" Hayes is an American politician and businessman from North Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, he represented North Carolina's 8th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, and was the Republican nominee for Governor of North Carolina in 1996. Hayes served as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party from 2011 to 2013, and from 2016 to 2019. Accused in a bribery scheme in 2019, Hayes pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. On January 20, 2021, Hayes was pardoned by President Donald Trump.
James Boyce Black is a member of the North Carolina Democratic Party, and a former member of the North Carolina General Assembly, who represented the state's 100th House district, including constituents in Mecklenburg County. An optometrist from Matthews, North Carolina, Black was elected to 11 (non-consecutive) terms in the House of Representatives, and served as Speaker of the House from January 1999 through the end of 2006, when scandal forced him to give up the leadership post. For the 2003-2004 legislative session Black was elected to serve as "Co-Speaker" with Republican Richard T. Morgan serving as the other Co-Speaker. He is tied with Liston B. Ramsey as longest-serving Speaker in state history.
Edward Robert Vrdolyak, also known as "Fast Eddie", is a former American politician and lawyer. He was a longtime Chicago alderman and the head of the Cook County Democratic Party until 1987 when he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Chicago on the Illinois Solidarity Party ticket. He subsequently ran again in 1989 on the Republican Party ticket. He was a prominent opponent of Harold Washington and the de facto leader of the so-called "Vrdolyak 29" that opposed and blocked many of Washington's measures.
Jimmy Kuang Zui Meng is a Chinese-Taiwanese American former politician, who served as a member of the New York State Assembly. A Democrat, Meng represented the 22nd Assembly District in Flushing, Queens from 2005 to 2006. He is the first Asian American to have served in the New York State Legislature. Meng pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2013.
Thomas Bailey Murphy was an attorney and American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. Murphy was the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1973 until his defeat in the general election of 2002, making him the third longest serving House Speaker of any U.S. state legislature, behind only Michael Madigan of Illinois and Solomon Blatt of South Carolina. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
The Cook County Democratic Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics since the 1930s. It relies on a tight organizational structure of ward and township committeeperson to elect candidates. At the height of its influence under Richard J. Daley in the 1960s, it was one of the most powerful political machines in American history. Party members have been convicted of public corruption. By the beginning of the 21st century the party had largely ceased to function as a machine due to the decline of political patronage following the issuing of the Shakman Decrees. The current Chair is Toni Preckwinkle.
The Democratic Party of Georgia is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the two major political parties in the state and is chaired by Nikema Williams.
Thomas Milton Street, Sr. is an American entrepreneur, a former Pennsylvania state senator from Philadelphia, and the brother of former Philadelphia mayor John Street. Originally a street hot dog vendor, he rose to prominence as an activist challenging the city's vending and housing ordinances.
The federal investigations into Jack Abramoff and his political and business dealings are among the broadest and most extensive in American political history, involving well over a dozen offices of the FBI and over 100 FBI agents tasked exclusively to the investigation. Given the extent and complexity of the suspected corruption, an entire inter-governmental task force, involving many federal government departments and agencies, has been established to aid the federal investigation. The U.S. Justice Department has announced that it will not reveal the details of the investigation, or who specifically has been targeted for investigation until indictments are issued. Under his plea agreements, Abramoff is required to answer all questions by federal investigators and prosecutors.
Luis Arroyo is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 3rd District from his appointment in 2006 until his resignation in 2019.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Georgia:
Joseph A. Ferriero is an American Democratic Party political leader from New Jersey and former chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization. Ferriero, an attorney by profession, resides in Hackensack. In September 2008, Ferriero and an associate, Dennis Oury, were indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. On October 22, 2009, he was found guilty on three of the eight counts against him. On July 29, 2010 Ferriero's conviction was vacated by U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler, citing a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court narrowing the scope of " honest services fraud". Judge Chesler added "what Mr. Ferriero had been charged with is not considered a crime". However, in 2013, a federal grand jury once again indicted Joe Ferriero again on charges of bribery, kickback and shakedown schemes, including a plot to extort $1.7 million from a prior developer of the New Jersey Meadowlands retail and entertainment project now known as American Dream Meadowlands.
William F. "Bill" Keller is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Michael David "Mike" Sanders was a Democratic Party politician in Independence, Missouri who served as Jackson County, Missouri Prosecuting Attorney from 2002 to 2006, Jackson County executive from 2007 to 2015, and Chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party from 2011 to 2013.
David M. Nangle was an American state legislator that served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1999 to 2020. He is a Lowell resident and a member of the Democratic Party. While a member of the House, he served as the chair of the House Ethics committee. In February 2021, Nangle pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements to a bank, and filing false tax returns. He is currently serving a 15 month prison sentence at FMC Devens until November 2022.
Jake C. Files is a Republican politician from Fort Smith, Arkansas. Files represented portions of the Arkansas River Valley in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003, and in the Arkansas Senate from 2011 to 2018.
Pamela Harris is a Democratic politician who was a member of the New York State Assembly representing the 46th Assembly District from 2015 to 2018, covering the neighborhoods of Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Dyker Heights, and Seagate, in Brooklyn, until she resigned under a fraud indictment.
Nikema Natassha Williams is an American politician and political executive serving as the representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district. The district includes almost three-fourths of Atlanta. She was a member of the Georgia State Senate for the 39th district before her house campaign. She is also the chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. Williams served as one of 16 electors for Georgia in the Electoral College following the 2020 United States presidential election.