Ken Calvert

Ken Calvert, a Republican, has represented the 44th Congressional District of California in the United States House of Representatives since 1993.

Iraq War
Calvert voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Earmarks
On June 8, 2006 Roll Call reported that the FBI had sent an agent from its Riverside, Calif. offices "to the Cannon House Office Building to retrieve the records of the lawmakers and advisers." The FBI has also searched through Calvert's financial records from 1999 to 2004. The search of Calvert's records came eight days after the Los Angeles Times reported that Calvert made a 79% profit on a land deal after earmarking funds that helped drive up the price of his property.

Land Deal
In 2005 Calvert and a partner, Woodrow Harpole, Jr., purchased a "dusty four-acre parce just south of March Air Reserve Base" for $550,000. After the purchase Calvert wrote a number of earmarks that improved infrastructure around his property that significantly increased it's value. Calvert secured $8 million to improve a major freeway interchange and a $1.5 million earmark to "support commercial development of the area around the airfield."

The earmarks were included in the 2005 highway bill that President Bush signed on August 10, 2005. A few months after the bill was signed Calvert and his partner sold the property for $985,000 -- a 79% profit.

Bill Lowery
Calvert's top political campaign contributor in the 2004 election cycle, at $10,600, was the law firm of Copeland Lowery Jacquez & White. Since 1999, the firm has given Calvert nearly $30,000 in contributions. The law firm is known for its involvement in a federal investigation into the earmarking practices of Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis. Calvert has been noted to have "secured funds for a number of projects pushed by campaign contributors, including employees of the Washington lobbying firm of Copeland Lowery & Jacquez".

Principally as a result of these earmarking scandals, Calvert was named in 2006 by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington as one of the twenty most corrupt US legislators. 

Connections to Randy "Duke" Cunningham
In December of 2004 Calvert accompanied Duke Cunningham and one of Cunningham's alleged bribers Thomas Kontagiannis to Saudi Arabia, ostensibly to "promote better relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia." Calvert has insisted that he did not know they would be picking up Kontagiannis, who has previously been convicted twice on bribery charges. The congressman said, "If I had known his background, I wouldn't have felt very comfortable, but I didn't know."

Calvert has also received $10,500 from another alleged Cunningham briber, Brent Wilkes and his associates.

Caught by police with prostitute; not charged
On November 28, 1993, Calvert was caught by a police officer with a prostitute in his car. Calvert was parked on the side of the road, seemingly asleep, when a police officer pulled up behind and spotlit the interior of the vehicle. As the officer approached the vehicle he saw a woman sit upright in the passenger seat. "It appeared as if her head were originally laying in the driver's lap," the officer would write in the police report. The officer observed a woman with wearing unbuttoned and unzipped cut-off jean-shorts and the driver, Calvert, attempt to cover himself up before he put the car in drive and attempted to drive away. After three warnings by the officer Calvert stopped the car. Calvert stated that he was just talking with the woman. The police asked to speak to the woman, Lore Lorena Lindberg, and discovered that she was a convicted prostitute with a heroin problem. Calvert was not charged with any crime. 

Biography
Calvert was born June 8, 1953 in Corona, California. He was educated at San Diego State University, and was a restaurant manager and business owner before entering the House.

Ken Calvert was first elected in 1992 to his position representing the Inland Empire area of Southern California. He was re-elected in 1994 with 55% of the vote, again in 1996 with 55% of the vote, in 1998 with 55% of the vote. He was uncontested in 2000.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated Louis Vandenberg to face Calvert in his November 2006 bid for reelection. Calvert retained his seat. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006)

Money in Politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
 * Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities
 * House Committee on Natural Resources
 * Subcommitee on Water & Power
 * House Committee on Science and Technology
 * Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics - Ranking Member

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Projection Forces
 * Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
 * House Committee on Resources
 * Subcommittee on Water and Power
 * House Committee on Science
 * Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics - Chair

Resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * Ken Calvert's arrest report
 * Technorati Search: Ken Calvert
 * Google News Search: Ken Calvert
 * Yahoo! News Search: Ken Calvert
 * Power Trips: How much did Ken Calvert travel?
 * GovTrack Statistics: Ken Calvert
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Tiger Beat: Music, Culture, and Politics

Articles

 * Alex Bryant-Zawadzki, "Of Pork and Ken," OC Weekly, February 16, 2006.
 * Joe Cantlupe, "Ex-congressman's friend emerges as mystery man," San Diego Union-Tribune, April 15, 2006.
 * Tom Hamburger, Lance Pugmire and Richard Simon, "Rep. Calvert's Land of Plenty," Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2006.
 * Editorial, "Power plays go foul on Capitol Hill," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 18, 2006.
 * Paul Kane, "Lewis, Calvert Records Eyed," Roll Call, June 8, 2006.
 * Edward Barrera, "Calvert likely to get post," San Bernadino Sun, June 18, 2006.
 * Jonathan Weisman, "Lawmakers' Profits Are Scrutinized. Hastert and Others Defend Land Gains," Washington Post, June 22, 2006. Also see Reps. Dennis Hastert and Gary Miller.
 * "Think GOP Corruption Stops With Bush and DeLay? Here are 14 More Hacks You Should Know About, and that's Just for Starters!" BuzzFlash Analysis, August 28, 2006: "Earmarked $9.5 million in federal funding to improve land near property he had owned for less than a year, and then quickly sold the property for nearly double what he paid for it. Arrested for solicitation of prostitution in 1993 but still voted to impeach Clinton."
 * "CREW releases second annual most corrupt members of Congress report," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, September 20, 2006.
 * Satyam Khanna, "Conservatives Replace Scandal-Plagued Doolittle With Scandal-Plagued Calvert," Think Progress, May 10, 2007.
 * "CREW releases 'Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)'," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, September 18, 2007.