Pete Domenici

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox officeholder Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; May 7, 1932 – September 13, 2017) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in the Senate, making him the longest-tenured U.S. Senator in the state's history. To date, Domenici is the last Republican to be elected to the Senate from New Mexico. He was succeeded by Democratic U.S. Representative Tom Udall.

During Domenici's tenure in the Senate, he advocated waterway usage fees, nuclear power and related causes. He received criticism for his environmental record and extramarital affair. Domenici chaired several key committees including the Senate Budget Committee and Senate Energy Committee.

Early years

Domenici was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Alda (née Vichi)<ref>Kiely, Kathy (June 4, 2007) "Personal histories shape immigration views", USAToday.com; accessed April 17, 2018.</ref> and Cherubino Domenici,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> both of whom were born in Modena, Italy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Growing up, Domenici worked in his father's grocery business after school.<ref>New Mexico State University-Biographical Sketch of Pete V. Domenici, domenici.nmsu.edu; accessed April 17, 2018.</ref> In 1950, he graduated from St. Mary's High School in Albuquerque. He spent two years at the College of St. Joseph on the Rio Grande (now the University of Albuquerque) before earning a degree in education at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque in 1954, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.<ref>Pete Domenici Template:Webarchive, golobos.com; accessed April 17, 2018.</ref><ref>Sen. Pete Domenici Special Section, scribd.com; accessed April 17, 2018.</ref>

After graduating, Domenici pitched one season for the Albuquerque Dukes, then a Class C Minor league baseball team.<ref name="AP 2017">Template:Cite web</ref> He also taught mathematics at Garfield Junior High in Albuquerque. Domenici earned his law degree at the University of Denver law school in 1958 and returned to practice law in Albuquerque.<ref>Pete Domenici, ourcampaigns.com; accessed April 17, 2018.</ref>

Political career

In 1966, Domenici successfully ran for a position on the Albuquerque City Commission and in 1968 was elected Commission Chairman (a post equivalent to that of mayor).<ref name="NPR">Template:Cite web</ref>

Domenici was the Republican nominee for governor in the 1970 New Mexico gubernatorial race, which he lost to Democrat and former state House Speaker Bruce King. King won the election with 148,835 votes (51 percent) to Domenici's 134,640 (46 percent).<ref name="NPR" />

Senate career

In 1972, Domenici successfully ran for a position in the U.S. Senate and became the first New Mexico Republican to be elected to the position in 38 years.<ref name="NPR" /> He was aided by Richard Nixon's landslide win over Democratic U.S. Senator George McGovern at the top of the ticket.<ref name="LAT">Template:Cite web</ref> Domenici polled 204,253 votes (54 percent) to 173,815 (46 percent) for Democratic state Representative Jack Daniels, a Hobbs realtor.<ref name="NYTobit" />

Domenici was subsequently re-elected in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002 and is to date the longest-serving senator in his state's history, having served in the legislative body for 36 years.<ref name="LAT" /> At the time of his retirement, he was the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.<ref name="Congbio" /> He was also a member of the U.S. Senate Committees on Appropriations and Indian Affairs, and served as Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Budget Committee.<ref name="Congbio">Template:Cite web</ref> He advocated for the mentally ill, having pushed the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996.<ref name=NAMI-TMHPAof1996>Template:Cite web</ref>

Domenici voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well as to override President Reagan's veto).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Domenici voted in favor of the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.Template:Citation needed

In 1998, Domenici voted to convict President Bill Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice during his impeachment trial.<ref name="LAT" /> He explained his vote: Template:Blockquote

This was despite Domenici’s own adulterous affair at age 55 with 24-year-old Michelle Laxalt, daughter of his Senate colleague, Paul Laxalt. The affair, resulting in the birth of a son, would remain secret for decades.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Water fees

One of the first issues that Domenici concerned himself with was waterway usage fees, in spite of his state lacking any waterway capable of commercial traffic - although it did have a prominent railway industry.<ref name="LAT" /> The idea behind a waterway usage fee was that the Army Corps of Engineers built dams and other expensive waterway projects, which the barge industry was able to use for free.<ref name="UPI">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1977, Domenici set himself to the task of enacting a waterway usage fee.<ref name="MSN" /> After a long two-year battle with stiff lobbying on both sides,<ref>Reid, T. R., & Writer, W. P. S. (June 23, 1977). – "U.S. waterway tolls approved by senate". – The Washington Post.</ref> the waterway fee was finally passed along with a new lock and dam project (the rebuilding of Lock and Dam 26 at Alton, Illinois). Reporters attributed the passage of this fee in no small part to Domenici's legislative skill.<ref name="MSN">"Pete Domenici: Nuclear Renaissance Man – Power Play". – NBC News.</ref> The legislation was signed into law in 1978.<ref name="MSN" />

The issue greatly assisted Domenici in his home state, where the railroad industry was a significant player (railroads competed with barges, and they had long wanted to end the "free ride" issue).<ref name="reid_book" /> The railroads donated $40,000 to Domenici's campaign, and the barge industry gave a small sum to his opponent.<ref name = "reid_book">T.R.Reid, (1980). Congressional Odyssey: The Saga of a Senate Bill. W.H. Freeman & Company.</ref> He was reelected in 1978 with 53.4% of the vote over Democratic nominee Toney Anaya, a former New Mexico Attorney General who later became Governor.<ref name="NPR" /> The 6.8% victory margin would be Domenici's closest election in his Senate career.<ref name="LAT" />

Environmental record

The organization Republicans for Environmental Protection singled out Domenici as "Worst in the Senate in 2006" on environmental issues.<ref name="autogenerated2">Republicans for Environmental Protection 2006 Scorecard Template:Webarchive</ref> In addition to assigning Domenici a score of zero for his environmental voting record, the group issued him "environmental harm demerits" for what they saw as two particularly irresponsible acts: first, for spearheading efforts to include in federal budget legislation provisions for "speculative revenues from oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; second, "for sponsoring and securing passage of S. 3711, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which would perpetuate America's dangerous oil dependence, set a precedent for drilling in sensitive marine waters, and direct a disproportionate share of federal royalty revenues from a public resource to four states."<ref name="autogenerated2" />

Domenici also received an exceptionally low environmental rating from the League of Conservation Voters, who claimed in 2003 that "[d]uring the last decade his voting record has become even more strikingly anti-environmental."<ref name="autogenerated1">League of Conservation Voters Template:Webarchive</ref> The LCV went on to criticize Domenici for voting in 1995 "to allow mining companies to 'patent' (purchase) public lands in order to extract minerals from them, without environmental standards, for the ridiculously low 'price' of $5 an acre or less."<ref name="autogenerated1" />

Nuclear power

Domenici and President George W. Bush visit with breakfast guests at Bear Canyon Senior Center in Albuquerque, March 2005
Domenici speaking at an Albuquerque Memorial Day event, May 2008

Domenici was an avid proponent of nuclear power and published two books on the subject: A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004), which he wrote; and Advanced Nuclear Technologies — Hearing Before the Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate (Collingdale, Pennsylvania: Diane Publishing Company, 1999), which he edited.<ref name="UPI" />

Committee Assignments
  • Committee on Appropriations<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Defense<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Ranking Member)<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Homeland Security<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies<ref name="Congbio" />
  • Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Ranking Member)<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Energy (Ex Officio)<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on National Parks (Ex Officio)<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests (Ex Officio)<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Water and Power (Ex Officio)<ref name="Congbio" />
  • Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations<ref name="Congbio" />
    • Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security<ref name="Congbio" />
  • Committee on the Budget<ref name="Congbio" />
  • Committee on Indian Affairs<ref name="Congbio" />

Department of Justice controversy

Template:Main Template:2006 dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy small Prior to the 2006 midterm election Domenici called and allegedly pressured then-United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico David Iglesias to speed up indictments in a federal corruption investigation that involved at least one former Democratic state senator.<ref name="NYTobit">Template:Cite web</ref> When Iglesias said an indictment would not be handed down until at least December, Domenici said "I'm very sorry to hear that" — and the line went dead. Domenici's telephone manners were the subject of a later article in The Albuquerque Journal, which quoted numerous other sources whom Domenici had treated rudely by hanging up after making a point or receiving an unsatisfactory answer.<ref name="NYTobit" /> Iglesias was fired a little over one month later by the Bush Administration.<ref name=EggenD-WP-2007-03-05 /> In a March 2007 statement, Domenici admitted making such a call.<ref name=EggenD-WP-2007-03-05>Template:Cite news</ref> House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., issued subpoenas to require Iglesias and three other ousted U.S. attorneys to testify before Congress.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Domenici later admitted calling Iglesias, though Domenici claimed he never used the word "November" when he called Iglesias about an ongoing Albuquerque courthouse corruption case.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Domenici denied trying to influence Iglesias, and hired lawyer K. Lee Blalack II to represent him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

According to the Justice Department, Domenici called the Department and demanded Iglesias be replaced on four occasions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

According to The Washington Post, on the day of the firing (December 7, 2006) William Kelley, a deputy to then White House Counsel Harriet Miers, said in an email that Domenici's chief of staff was "happy as a clam" about the Iglesias firing.<ref name="NYTobit" /> A week later, a Justice Department email to the White House counsel stated: "Domenici is going to send over names tomorrow (not even waiting for Iglesias's body to cool)."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Domenici's last official Senate portrait

On April 24, 2008, Domenici was admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for "inappropriately" contacting in 2006 one of the nine U.S. attorneys later fired by President Bush.<ref name=NAMI-TMHPAof1996 />

The committee found "no substantial evidence" that Domenici tried to influence attorney David Iglesias when he contacted him to inquire about the status of a 2006 investigation into corruption charges on a state Democratic official.<ref name=EggenD-WP-2007-03-05 /> A possible indictment could have buoyed the re-election hopes of Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), who was seeking to replace Domenici when the senator retired. Iglesias charged that Domenici and Wilson were pressuring him to wrap up the investigation before that November's elections, a violation of ethics rules.<ref name=EggenD-WP-2007-03-05 /> The Ethics Committee said that Domenici's phone call to Iglesias, in advance of an upcoming election, "created an appearance of impropriety that reflected unfavorably on the Senate".<ref name=EggenD-WP-2007-03-05 />

In July 2010, Department of Justice prosecutors closed the two-year investigation without filing charges after determining that the firing was not criminal, saying "Evidence did not demonstrate that any prosecutable criminal offense was committed with regard to the removal of David Iglesias.<ref name=EggenD-WP-2007-03-05 /> The investigative team also determined that the evidence did not warrant expanding the scope of the investigation beyond the removal of Iglesias."<ref name="news.yahoo.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Domenici said of the closed investigation, "The Justice Department has now confirmed what I have always said and believed: I never attempted to interfere with any government investigation. I am glad that this matter has concluded."<ref name="news.yahoo.com" />

Electoral history

Template:Election box open primary begin no change Template:Election box winning candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box total no change Template:Election box open primary general election no change Template:Election box winning candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box total no change Template:Election box gain with party link no change Template:Election box end Template:Election box begin no change Template:Election box winning candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box total no change Template:Election box hold with party link no change Template:Election box end Template:Election box begin no change Template:Election box winning candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box write-in with party link no change Template:Election box total no change Template:Election box hold with party link no change Template:Election box end Template:Election box begin no change Template:Election box winning candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box total no change Template:Election box hold with party link no change Template:Election box end Template:Election box open primary begin no change Template:Election box winning candidate with party link no change Template:Election box total no change Template:Election box open primary general election no change Template:Election box winning candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box total no change Template:Election box hold with party link no change Template:Election box end Template:Election box open primary begin no change Template:Election box winning candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box total no change Template:Election box open primary general election no change Template:Election box winning candidate with party link no change Template:Election box candidate with party link no change Template:Election box total no change Template:Election box hold with party link no change Template:Election box end

Life after politics

On October 4, 2007, Domenici announced his decision not to seek re-election to the Senate in 2008 for health reasons (specifically, frontotemporal lobar degeneration).<ref>Cillizza, Chris. "Sen. Pete Domenici Expected to Retire". – "The Fix". – The Washington Post. – October 3, 2007.</ref><ref>"N.M. Senator Quitting for Health Reasons"Template:Dead link. – Associated Press. – (c/o Google). – October 4, 2007.Template:Dead link</ref> His seat was won by Democrat Tom Udall.<ref name="NPR" />

After leaving the Senate, Domenici served as a senior fellow for the Bipartisan Policy Center.<ref name="taskforce" /> Domenici and former OMB director and CBO director Dr. Alice Rivlin chaired a Debt Reduction Task Force sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center.<ref name="Debt Reduction">Template:Cite web</ref> The task force was announced at a joint press conference on January 26, 2010, in Washington. The task force began its work in February 2010<ref name="taskforce">Template:Cite web</ref> and, led by Domenici, released a report on November 17, 2010 on ways to address and reduce the national debt and deficit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Domenici Institute, which aims to continue "Domenici's legacy of service to the state of New Mexico", bears his name.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

After graduating from law school in 1958, Domenici married Nancy Burk.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Together, the Domenicis had two sons and six daughters (Lisa, Peter, Nella, Clare, David, Nanette, and twins Paula and Helen). One of his daughters has schizophrenia; this reportedly influenced his decision to become a strong supporter of legislation providing for parity in insurance coverage for mental illness.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Helen ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in 2018 as a Republican nominee in District 19, but did not win the general election. Nella, a hedge fund manager, was the Republican Party nominee in the 2024 United States Senate election in New Mexico.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 1970s, Domenici fathered a child, Adam Laxalt, with Michelle Laxalt (1954–2023), a young Republican staffer and lobbyist and the daughter of Domenici's then-Senate colleague, Nevada Republican Paul Laxalt; this fact was kept secret until 2013.<ref name=autogenerated3>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2013, Domenici, then 80, acknowledged the affair and his son, saying he was "very sorry" for his behavior.<ref name="Laxalt">Template:Cite news</ref> Adam Laxalt ran for Attorney General of Nevada in the 2014 election and defeated Democrat Ross Miller.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Laxalt was the Republican nominee for Governor of Nevada in the 2018 election, losing to Steve Sisolak, and the Republican nominee for Senator in the 2022 midterms, losing to Catherine Cortez Masto.

Death

Domenici died on September 13, 2017, at the age of 85, at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from complications that resulted from abdominal surgery.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NYTobit" /> His funeral was held on the morning of September 16 in Albuquerque.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bibliography

  • "A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy" (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004. Template:ISBN)
  • "Advanced Nuclear Technologies — Hearing Before the Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate" (Collingdale, Pennsylvania: D I A N E Publishing Company, 1999. Template:ISBN), which he edited.

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

  • Fenno, Richard. The emergence of a Senate leader: Pete Domenici and the Reagan budget (1991) online free to borrow

Template:Sister project links

Template:S-start Template:S-off Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-ppo Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-par Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl |- Template:S-ttl |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-end

Template:SenEnergyCommitteeChairmen Template:SenBudgetCommitteeChairs Template:United States senators from New Mexico Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Pete_Domenici&oldid=206019"