Alan Mollohan

Template:Short description Template:Infobox officeholder Alan Bowlby Mollohan (born May 14, 1943) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Template:Ushr from 1983 to 2011. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dog Coalition.

The district encompasses the northern part of the state; it is based in Wheeling and includes Parkersburg, Morgantown, Fairmont and Clarksburg. He served on the House Appropriations Committee and was ranking Democrat on the Ethics Committee until being asked to step down in 2006. He was defeated in the Democratic primary election held on May 11, 2010, by Mike Oliverio.<ref name=WaPo>Washington Post (2010). Alan Mollohan loses primary fight. Retrieved May 11, 2010.</ref>

Early life and education

Born in Fairmont, West Virginia, Mollohan is the son of former U.S. Representative Robert Mollohan. He attended Greenbrier Military School and graduated from the College of William & Mary. Thereafter, Mollohan completed a Juris Doctor at West Virginia University College of Law.

Early career

He served as "Of Counsel" for the Huntington, West Virginia branch of the law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.<ref name="nelsonmullins1">Template:Cite news</ref>

Military service

He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1970 to 1983, reaching the rank of captain.<ref>1985-1986 Official Congressional Directory: 99th Congress</ref>

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Political campaigns

When Mollohan's father retired in 1982 after 18 years in Congress spread out over two stints, his son won a very competitive contest to succeed him. He faced another close race in 1984, but was unopposed for a third term in 1986. He did not face serious opposition in a general election again. Indeed, the Republicans only put up a candidate against him four other times, in 1988, 1990, 1994 and 2006. He ran unopposed in 1992, 1996, 2002 and 2008 and only faced Libertarian Richard Kerr in 1998 and 2000.

He faced stiff electoral competition when, in 1992, West Virginia lost a House seat due to the 1990 Census. The redistricting placed Mollohan against 2nd District Congressman Buckey Staggers. No other party put up a candidate, meaning that the Democratic primary was tantamount to election. It was predicted to be a tough primary even though the new district was more Mollohan's district than Staggers', but Mollohan succeeded in winning his party's nomination with 60% of the vote.<ref>Barone. Almanac of American Politics. 2006 edition. Pages 1793–1795.</ref>

2010

Template:See also Mollohan faced a Democratic primary challenge on May 11, 2010, and lost to State senator Mike Oliverio, 56% to 44%.<ref name="WaPo" /> It was Mollohan's first contested primary since he faced Harley Staggers Jr. in 1992 after their Congressional districts were merged.<ref name="Surber">Template:Cite news</ref>

Since his first election in 1982 he only faced a total of six Republican challengers, the most recent being former state delegate Chris Wakim in 2006. In that race, Mollohan won 64% of the vote.<ref name="2006 Election">Template:Cite web</ref>

Controversies

Template:Undue weight section On February 28, 2006, the National Legal and Policy Center filed a 500-page ethics complaint against Mollohan, alleging that the congressman misrepresented his assets on financial disclosure forms. Mollohan's real estate holdings and other assets have increased from $562,000 in 2000 to at least $6.3 million in 2004. For the period 1996 through 2004, NLPC alleged that his Financial Disclosure Reports failed to disclose real estate, corporate and financial assets that public records showed were owned by Mollohan and his wife.<ref>Press Release: NLPC Complaint Alleges Ranking House Ethics Committee Member Hid Assets and Funded Business Partner’s Groups with Millions in Earmarks; 7 April 2006, nlpc.org, via Archive.org</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On April 7, 2006, The New York Times reported that Mollohan "has fueled five non-profit groups in his West Virginia district with $250 million in earmark funding."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="UPI">Template:Cite news</ref> Mollohan created these nonprofit groups, which include the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation, Institute for Scientific Research, Canaan Valley Institute, Vandalia Heritage Foundation, and MountainMade Foundation.<ref name="Earmarks Graphic">Template:Cite news</ref> Leaders of these groups were sometimes investors with him, possibly leading to his own personal gain.<ref name="washingtonpost1">Template:Cite news</ref>

On April 21, 2006, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced that Mollohan would temporarily step down as the Ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee. Howard Berman of California took Mollohan's place.

On April 25, 2006, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mollohan and CEO Dale R. McBride of FMW Composite Systems Inc. of Bridgeport, West Virginia made a joint purchase of a Template:Convert farm along West Virginia's Cheat River. Mollohan had directed a $2.1 million government contract earmarked to FWM Composite Systems to develop lightweight payload pallets for space-shuttle missions. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have asked questions in Washington and West Virginia about Mollohan’s investments and whether they were properly disclosed, according to the Journal. Mollohan had previously acknowledged he may have made inadvertent mistakes on financial disclosure forms, and in June he filed corrections to his disclosure statements.

In January 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice stated that no charges would be filed against Mollohan and that it had closed its investigation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ben Friedman of the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington told CREW that the Justice Department has "closed the investigation into the case."<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref name="Yachnin">Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

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