Dennis DeConcini
Encyclopedia
Dennis Webster DeConcini (born May 8, 1937 in Tucson, Arizona
) is a former Democratic U.S. Senator
from Arizona
. Son of former Arizona Supreme Court Judge Evo Anton DeConcini
, he represented Arizona
in the United States Senate
from 1977 until 1995.
His father was the Arizona Attorney General for one two-year term from 1948 to 1949. DeConcini received his Bachelors Degree from the University of Arizona
in 1959 and his LLD from the University of Arizona in 1963. He then worked as a lawyer for the Arizona Governor's staff from 1965 to 1967. He founded the law firm of DeConcini, McDonald, Yetwin & Lacy (where he is still a partner) with offices in Tucson, Phoenix
and Washington, D.C.
He is a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
.
Attorney (1973–1976), the chief prosecutor and civil attorney for the county and school districts within the county.
He was elected to the Senate in 1976 as a Democrat
, having defeated Republican Party
(GOP) U.S. Representative Sam Steiger
for the open seat left by retiring GOP Senator Paul Fannin
. Steiger had first won a bruising primary in 1976 against the more conservative
U.S. Representative John B. Conlan
.
in a banking and political contribution scandal during the 1980s which grew out of the U.S. Savings and Loan Crisis
. The scandal involved Charles Keating
and Lincoln Savings
, contributing to DeConcini's retirement in 1994.
to the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), where he served until May 1999.
In 2006 the former senator was selected by then Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano
(later Secretary of Homeland Security) to serve as a member of the Arizona Board of Regents
.
Schuff Steel Company, and Greater Arizona Savings Bank.
He has been the center of some controversy in 2010 as a result of his membership the board of the Corrections Corporation of America. Although he claims he has not lobbied for harsher immigration laws and sentencing practices, he admits meetings with the Arizona Department of Corrections Director Chuck Ryan and "publicly speaking in favor of" for-profit prisons.
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
) is a former Democratic U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. Son of former Arizona Supreme Court Judge Evo Anton DeConcini
Evo Anton DeConcini
Evo Anton DeConcini was Attorney General of Arizona, and a Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court from 1949 to 1953.Born in Iron Mountain, Michigan, DeConcini and his family soon moved to Wisconsin. He began studies at the University of Wisconsin in 1920, but his father's death in an automobile...
, he represented Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from 1977 until 1995.
His father was the Arizona Attorney General for one two-year term from 1948 to 1949. DeConcini received his Bachelors Degree from the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in 1959 and his LLD from the University of Arizona in 1963. He then worked as a lawyer for the Arizona Governor's staff from 1965 to 1967. He founded the law firm of DeConcini, McDonald, Yetwin & Lacy (where he is still a partner) with offices in Tucson, Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He is a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a non-profit educational organization in the United States, established as a result of an Act of Congress in 1993 with the purpose to commemorate "the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims in an unprecedented imperial communist holocaust"...
.
Political career
DeConcini served one elected term as Pima County, ArizonaPima County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
Attorney (1973–1976), the chief prosecutor and civil attorney for the county and school districts within the county.
He was elected to the Senate in 1976 as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, having defeated Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
(GOP) U.S. Representative Sam Steiger
Sam Steiger
Sam Steiger is an American politician, journalist, political pundit, and rancher. He has served five terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, two terms in the Arizona State Senate, and one term as mayor of Prescott, Arizona. Steiger has also made an unsuccessful run for the U.S...
for the open seat left by retiring GOP Senator Paul Fannin
Paul Fannin
Paul Jones Fannin was the 11th Governor of the U.S. state of Arizona from 1959 to 1965 and subsequently a U.S. Senator from Arizona. He was a Republican.- Biography :...
. Steiger had first won a bruising primary in 1976 against the more conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
U.S. Representative John B. Conlan
John Bertrand Conlan
John Bertrand Conlan is a retired U.S. lawyer and Republican politician. He served as a State Senator from 1965 to 1972 and as a United States Representative from Arizona from 1973 to 1977. In Congress, he was known as a strong and outspoken conservative...
.
Panama Canal
DeConcini sponsored an amendment (the DeConcini Reservation) to the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 which allows the United States "to take such steps as each [the U.S. or Panama] deems necessary, in accordance with its constitutional processes, including the use of military force in the Republic of Panama, to reopen the Canal or restore the operations of the Canal, as the case may be."Keating Five
DeConcini was widely noted as a member of the Keating FiveKeating Five
The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators – Alan Cranston , Dennis DeConcini, John Glenn , John McCain , and Donald W. Riegle,...
in a banking and political contribution scandal during the 1980s which grew out of the U.S. Savings and Loan Crisis
Savings and Loan crisis
The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
. The scandal involved Charles Keating
Charles Keating
Charles Humphrey Keating Jr. is an American athlete, lawyer, real estate developer, banker, and financier, most known for his role in the savings and loan scandal of the late 1980s....
and Lincoln Savings
Lincoln Savings and Loan Association
The Lincoln Savings and Loan Association of Irvine, California was the financial institution at the heart of the Keating Five scandal during the 1980s Savings and Loan crisis....
, contributing to DeConcini's retirement in 1994.
Senate committees
DeConcini served on the Senate Appropriations Committee where he chaired the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government. He also served on the Subcommittees on Defense, Energy and Water Development and Foreign Operations. DeConcini also served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and chaired the Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks, along with the Subcommittees on Antitrust, Monopolies and Business Rights, the Constitution and the Courts. DeConcini also served on the Select Intelligence Committee and was Chairman of the Committee in 1993 and 1994 and also chaired the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission).Appointments
In February 1995 DeConcini was appointed by President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), where he served until May 1999.
In 2006 the former senator was selected by then Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
(later Secretary of Homeland Security) to serve as a member of the Arizona Board of Regents
Arizona Board of Regents
The Arizona Board of Regents is the governing body of Arizona's public university system, providing policy guidance to Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona and their branch campuses.-Organization:...
.
Business career
DeConcini managed Shopping Centers, Inc. in Tucson, AZ from 1963–1964 and 1967-1973. He also managed family corporation and partnerships involved in Arizona and California real estate development projects. He has served on the boards of Global Health Science, Inc.,Schuff Steel Company, and Greater Arizona Savings Bank.
He has been the center of some controversy in 2010 as a result of his membership the board of the Corrections Corporation of America. Although he claims he has not lobbied for harsher immigration laws and sentencing practices, he admits meetings with the Arizona Department of Corrections Director Chuck Ryan and "publicly speaking in favor of" for-profit prisons.
Book
- Senator Dennis DeConcini: From the Center of the Aisle by Dennis DeConcini & Jack L. August Jr., (University of Arizona Press February 1, 2006) ISBN 9780816525690