Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici ( ; 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)Kiely, Kathy (June 4, 2007) "Personal histories shape immigration views", USAToday.com; accessed April 17, 2018. and Cherubino Domenici, both of whom were born in Modena, Italy.
Growing up, Domenici worked in his father's grocery business after school.New Mexico State University-Biographical Sketch of Pete V. Domenici, domenici.nmsu.edu; accessed April 17, 2018. 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.Pete Domenici , golobos.com; accessed April 17, 2018.Sen. Pete Domenici Special Section, scribd.com; accessed April 17, 2018.
After graduating, Domenici pitched one season for the Albuquerque Dukes, then a Class C Minor league baseball team. 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.Pete Domenici, ourcampaigns.com; accessed April 17, 2018.
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).
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).
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. He was aided by Richard Nixon's landslide win over Democratic U.S. Senator George McGovern at the top of the ticket. Domenici polled 204,253 votes (54 percent) to 173,815 (46 percent) for Democratic state Representative Jack Daniels, a Hobbs realtor.
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. 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. 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. He advocated for the mentally ill, having pushed the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996.
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). Domenici also voted in favor of the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1998, Domenici voted to convict President Bill Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice during his impeachment trial. He explained his vote:
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.
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. 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. In 1977, Domenici set himself to the task of enacting a waterway usage fee. After a long two-year battle with stiff lobbying on both sides,Reid, T. R., & Writer, W. P. S. (June 23, 1977). – "U.S. waterway tolls approved by senate". – The Washington Post. 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."Pete Domenici: Nuclear Renaissance Man – Power Play". – NBC News. The legislation was signed into law in 1978.
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). The railroads donated $40,000 to Domenici's campaign, and the barge industry gave a small sum to his opponent.T.R.Reid, (1980). Congressional Odyssey: The Saga of a Senate Bill. W.H. Freeman & Company. 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. The 6.8% victory margin would be Domenici's closest election in his Senate career.
Environmental record
The organization Republicans for Environmental Protection singled out Domenici as "Worst in the Senate in 2006" on environmental issues.Republicans for Environmental Protection 2006 Scorecard 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."
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."League of Conservation Voters 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."
Nuclear power
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.
Committee Assignments Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Ranking Member) Subcommittee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Ranking Member) Subcommittee on Energy (Ex Officio) Subcommittee on National Parks (Ex Officio) Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests (Ex Officio) Subcommittee on Water and Power (Ex Officio) Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security Committee on the Budget Committee on Indian Affairs
Department of Justice controversy
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. 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. Iglesias was fired a little over one month later by the Bush Administration. In a March 2007 statement, Domenici admitted making such a call. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., issued subpoenas to require Iglesias and three other ousted U.S. attorneys to testify before Congress.
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. Domenici denied trying to influence Iglesias, and hired lawyer K. Lee Blalack II to represent him.
According to the Justice Department, Domenici called the Department and demanded Iglesias be replaced on four occasions.
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. 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)." 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.
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. 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. 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".