Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Sheldon Whitehouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sheldon Whitehouse | |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2007– Serving with Jack Reed |
|
| Preceded by | Lincoln Chafee |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
|
|
|
| Born | October 20, 1955 (age 51) New York City, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Sandra Whitehouse |
| Profession | attorney |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is the Junior Senator from the state of Rhode Island. A Democrat, he previously served as United States Attorney (1994-1998) and state Attorney General for Rhode Island.
Whitehouse was born in New York City, New York, the son of Mary Celine Rand and career diplomat Charles Whitehouse, and grandson of diplomat Sheldon Whitehouse. He graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, Yale in 1978 and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1982.
Whitehouse is married; he lives in Providence with his wife Dr. Sandra Thornton Whitehouse, a marine biologist, and their two children, Molly and Alexander.
Whitehouse defeated Republican incumbent Lincoln Chafee in the November 7, 2006 election to become the junior Senator from Rhode Island.
Contents |
Whitehouse worked as a clerk for Judge Richard F. Neely in the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from 1982 to 1983. He also worked in the Rhode Island Attorney General's office as a special assistant attorney general from 1985 to 1990, chief of the Regulatory Unit (which oversaw utilities) from 1988 to 1990, and also an assistant attorney general from 1989 to 1990.[1]
Whitehouse worked as Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun's Executive Counsel beginning in 1991, and was later tapped to serve as Director of Policy. He oversaw the state's response to the RISDIC banking crisis,[8] which took place right after Sundlun took office. Whitehouse was appointed by Sundlun to be the state's Director of Business Regulation in 1992, where he oversaw a drastic reform in the state's workers' compensation insurance system.[1]
President Bill Clinton appointed Whitehouse to serve as United States attorney for Rhode Island in 1994. Whitehouse held the position for four years, and was the first prosecutor to convict a member of organized crime under Clinton's "three strikes law" for organized crime.[1] Whitehouse also initiated the investigation into municipal corruption in Rhode Island that led to Operation Plunder Dome, in which Providence Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci was eventually convicted on conspiracy charges.[2]
In 1998, Whitehouse was elected as attorney general. He initiated a lawsuit against the lead paint industry that ended in a mistrial; the state later won a second lawsuit against former lead paint manufacturers Sherwin Williams Co., Millennium Holdings and NL Industries that found them responsible for creating a public nuisance.[3] Whitehouse also founded the Rhode Island Quality Institute,[9] "an organization dedicated to improving health care quality in the State of Rhode Island,"[4] and authorized the first Rhode Island State Police wire tap to investigate public corruption.
Whitehouse's tenure as attorney general also saw some controversy. When black Providence police officer Cornel Young Jr. was shot by two fellow officers while he was off-duty in January 2000,[5] Whitehouse was criticized for not appointing an independent prosecutor to investigate the shooting.[6] Later that year, Whitehouse was criticized when 15-year-old Jennifer Rivera, a witness in a murder case, was shot by a relative of the man she was to testify against later that year.[7] After Rivera's shooting, Whitehouse strengthened the state's witness protection program.
Whitehouse was a candidate for governor in 2002. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by former State Senator and two time failed gubernatorial candidate Myrth York who went on to lose for a third time in the general election, against Republican Donald Carcieri.
Whitehouse ran for the seat occupied by Senator Lincoln Chafee, a Republican seeking a second full term. After winning the Democratic primary by a large margin, Whitehouse went on to defeat Chafee with 53 percent of the vote.
- ^ a b c Sheldon Whitehouse for Governor, "About Sheldon" (cached 9/1/2002).[1]
- ^ Rhode Island Cancer Council, "Sheldon Whitehouse".[2]
- ^ Peter B. Lord, "3 companies found liable in lead-paint nuisance suit," The Providence Journal, February 23, 2006.[3]
- ^ Rhode Island Quality Institute, "Who We Are".[4]
- ^ Ken Mingis, "Off-duty Providence police officer shot, killed by 2 other officers," The Providence Journal, January 28, 2000.[5]
- ^ Jonathan D. Rockoff, "Minority leaders seek independent inquiry," The Providence Journal, February 6, 2000.[6]
- ^ Mark Arsenault, "Grounded in law, Whitehouse builds his case on leadership," The Providence Journal, August 25, 2002.[7]
- United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse official Senate site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission - Sheldon Whitehouse II campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues - Sheldon Whitehouse issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org - Sheldon Whitehouse campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia - Sheldon Whitehouse profile
- Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Sheldon Whitehouse voting record
- About.com - Sheldon Whitehouse profile
- Whitehouse for Senate official campaign site
| Preceded by Lincoln Chafee |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Rhode Island January 4, 2007– Served alongside: Jack Reed |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Jeffrey B. Pine |
Attorney General of Rhode Island 1999 – 2003 |
Succeeded by Patrick C. Lynch |
| Preceded by Lincoln Almond |
U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island 1994 – 1998 |
Succeeded by Margaret E. Curran |
| Rhode Island's current delegation to the United States Congress |
|---|
| Senators: Jack Reed (D), Sheldon Whitehouse (D)
Representative(s): Patrick J. Kennedy (D), James Langevin (D) All delegations: Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands |