John Taylor Doolittle (born October 30, 1950), is an attorney and an American politician. Elected to Congress in 1990, he served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009, representing (numbered as during his first term). In the 109th Congress, he held a leadership role as the Deputy Whip for the Republican party in the House. He was succeeded in the House of Representatives by Tom McClintock. Before being elected to Congress, he had served in the California State Senate from 1984 to 1991.
In the approach to the 2008 election, Doolittle lost support from previous allies and had difficulty in fundraising. He announced that he would not run again. He had been criticized by opponents for improprieties, including using his wife's one-person firm for his political fundraising, as she based her compensation on a percentage of all funds raised, including from his PAC. She made nearly $180,000 in such commissions from 2001 to 2006. His office did not stop using her firm for fundraising until January 2007.
He was under investigation from 2006 to 2010 related to alleged financial improprieties. These included his and his wife's business relations with Jack Abramoff, a prominent Washington, D.C. lobbyist who was found to have defrauded numerous clients, including Indian tribes. During this period, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) listed Doolittle as among the 20 most corrupt congressmen in reports from 2006 to 2009. The US Attorney closed its investigation of Doolittle in 2010 without bringing any charges against him.
Early life and education
Doolittle was born in Glendale, California. He grew up in Cupertino, California, attending local public schools. He graduated from Cupertino High School in 1968. He graduated with honors with a B.A. in history from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, in Sacramento, in 1978.
Before going to law school, Doolittle spent two years as a missionary in Argentina for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to which he and his family belonged. Doolittle is married to the former Julia (Julie) Harlow. They have a son and daughter.
Career prior to the U.S. House
Doolittle entered politics early. Soon after passing the bar, in 1979 Doolittle started work as an aide to California state senator H. L. Richardson, the conservative founder of Gun Owners of America and the Law and Order Campaign Committee.
The next year Doolittle decided to run for the state senate, with encouragement from Richardson and other Republicans. Riding on the coattails of Governor Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential race, in 1980 the 29-year-old Doolittle narrowly defeated incumbent Democrat Albert S. Rodda, dean of the state Senate and chair of the Senate Finance Committee. Doolittle won his seat in the California State Senate.
In 1981, the Democratic-dominated state legislature issued a redistricting plan following the 1980 census and congressional reapportionment. It tried to squeeze out Republican lawmakers. The newly drawn district put Doolittle into a predominately Democratic district, where he lost to then-Assemblyman Leroy Greene in 1982 for the state senate. But by a quirk of redistricting rules, Doolittle was able to keep his original seat until 1984. He won another term in the state senate by beating Ray E. Johnson, a Republican turned Independent from Chico. An administrative law judge later found Doolittle guilty of violating campaign finance laws because his campaign had contributed to his Democratic opponent in order to pull votes away from Johnson.
Doolittle easily won re-election in 1988. From 1987 to 1990, he was chairman of the state Senate Republican Caucus.
Initial election and re-elections
In 1990, Republican Norman D. Shumway, also a Mormon, retired from Congress. In the November general election, Doolittle defeated Patty Malberg, a Democrat from Lincoln, getting 51% of the vote, in what was then California's 14th congressional district. The district covered much of the northeastern corner of the state, from the northern suburbs of Sacramento to the Oregon border.
Doolittle's district was renumbered as California's 4th congressional district in 1992, following redistricting. He was reelected with 50 percent of the vote, again defeating Malberg. In 1994 he received 60% of the vote and did not face another close race until 2006.
Political positions and actions
In his first years in Congress, Doolittle was a member of the group known as the Gang of Seven, which had a role in exposing the House banking scandal.