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Alan Mollohan

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Alan Mollohan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from West Virginia's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byBob Mollohan
Succeeded byDavid McKinley
Personal details
Born
Alan Bowlby Mollohan

(1943-05-14) May 14, 1943 (age 81)
Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseBarbara Whiting
Children5
RelativesBob Mollohan (father)
EducationCollege of William and Mary (BA)
West Virginia University (JD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1970–1983
RankCaptain
UnitUnited States Army Reserve
Alan Mollohan's voice
Mollohan discusses FY2008 appropriations for commerce, justice, science, and related agencies
Recorded July 25, 2007

Alan Bowlby Mollohan (born May 14, 1943) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for West Virginia's 1st congressional district 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.[1]

Early life and education

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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

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He served as "Of Counsel" for the Huntington, West Virginia branch of the law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.[2]

Military service

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He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1970 to 1983, reaching the rank of captain.[3]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Committee assignments

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Political campaigns

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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.[4]

2010

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See also: 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia § District 1

Mollohan faced a Democratic primary challenge on May 11, 2010, and lost to State senator Mike Oliverio, 56% to 44%.[1] It was Mollohan's first contested primary since he faced Harley Staggers Jr. in 1992 after their Congressional districts were merged.[5]

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.[6]

Controversies

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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.[7][8]

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."[9][10] 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.[11] Leaders of these groups were sometimes investors with him, possibly leading to his own personal gain.[12]

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 300-acre (1.2 km2) 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.[13] Ben Friedman of the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington told CREW that the Justice Department has "closed the investigation into the case."[14][15]

Electoral history

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2010 Democratic Primary Results, West Virginia 1st Congressional District[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Oliverio 36,135 55.91%
Democratic Alan Mollohan (incumbent) 28,500 44.09%
Total votes 64,635 100.0%
2008 United States House of Representatives elections[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alan Mollohan 187,734 99.9
Write-In Ted Osgood 69 0.0
Write-In R.J. Smith 61 0.0
2006 United States House of Representatives elections[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alan Mollohan 100,939 64.3
Republican Chris Wakim 55,963 35.6
Write-In Bennie Kyle 29 0.0
Write-In David Moran 69 0.0
2004 United States House of Representatives elections[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alan Mollohan 166,583 67.8
Republican Alan Parks 79,196 32.2
2002 United States House of Representatives elections[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alan Mollohan 110,941 99.7
Write-In Louis Davis 320 0.3
2000 United States House of Representatives elections[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alan Mollohan 170,974 87.8
Libertarian Richard Kerr 23,797 12.2

References

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  1. ^ a b Washington Post (2010). Alan Mollohan loses primary fight. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  2. ^ "Alan B. Mollohan Of Counsel". nelsonmullins.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-08. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  3. ^ 1985-1986 Official Congressional Directory: 99th Congress
  4. ^ Barone. Almanac of American Politics. 2006 edition. Pages 1793–1795.
  5. ^ Surber, Don (February 19, 2010). "Cook Report: Mollohan and Rahall are in trouble". Charleston Daily Mail. Charleston, West Virginia. Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  6. ^ a b "2006 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. December 20, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Wilke, John R. (7 April 2006). "Appropriations, Local Ties And Now a Probe of a Legislator". The Wall Street Journal. FAIRMONT, W.Va. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  9. ^ Rudoren, Jodi (2006-04-08). "Congressman's Special Projects Bring Complaints - New York Times". The New York Times. West Virginia. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  10. ^ "W. Va. congressman earmarks well". UPI. April 7, 2006. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  11. ^ "Local Projects, Federal Funds". The New York Times. April 7, 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  12. ^ Leonnig, Carol D. (November 24, 2009). "Mollohan, under Justice Department probe, chairs appropriations subcommittee". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  13. ^ "Mollohan says he's been cleared by Justice Department - Politics - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports". Wvgazette.com. 2010-01-26. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  14. ^ "Justice probe clears Mollohan | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington". Citizensforethics.org. Retrieved 2010-07-12.[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ Yachnin, Jennifer (January 27, 2010). "DOJ Ends Mollohan Probe; Is Ethics Next?". Roll Call. Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  16. ^ "Statewide Results". West Virginia Secretary of State. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  17. ^ "2008 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  18. ^ "2004 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  19. ^ "2002 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  20. ^ "2000 General Election Results" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from West Virginia's 1st congressional district
1983–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Ranking Member of the House Ethics Committee
2003–2006 		Succeeded by
Howard Berman
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative 		Succeeded byas Former US Representative
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