Don Sherwood
From dKosopedia
Category: Pennsylvania Republicans
Donald L. Sherwood is the Republican who once "represented" 10th District of Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives from 1998-2007.
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Personal life
Sherwood was born on March 5, 1941 in Nicholson, Pennsylvania and Sherwood graduated from Dartmouth College in 1963. He spent two years in the U.S. Army, opened a car dealership in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania that is still owned by his family, and served on the borough's school board from 1975 to 1998. He is married and has three daughters.
On Agust 18, 2006 Sherwood underwent coronary artery bypass surgery.
Product of a Broken District
In 1998, Sherwood was nominated by the GOP to replace Representative Joseph McDade, who was retiring after serving 36 years in Congress. He barely won the general election that year, edging out Democrat Patrick Casey, son of former Pennsylvania governor Robert Casey, by 515 votes. Sherwood narrowly defeated Casey again in 2000. After redistricting cut heavily-Democratic Scranton from the 10th District that year, Sherwood successfully ran for re-election in 2002 and 2004, without any major opposition. He ran running again in 2006. On May 16, he defeated political newcomer and former guidance counselor Kathy Scott in the district's Republican Party primary election, taking 57% of the primary vote.
Sex Scandal
Accrodong to a police report, on September 15, 2004 a woman locked herself inside the bathroom of Sherwood's Washington, D.C. apartment, and called 9-1-1 to report that she had been assaulted. When the police arrived, the woman, Cynthia Ore, accused Sherwood of choking her, though he maintained he was only giving her a backrub. No charges were filed because both Sherwood and Ore refused to provide any details.
The details of that incident went unnoticed until 2005, when Veronica Hannevig, who ran against Sherwood on the Constitution Party ticket in 2004, leaked a copy of the police report to several newspapers and television stations. The Republican politician eventually came clean and admitted that he had had a five-year affair with the unfortunate Ms. Ore.
Israel Ruiz, a DC Metropolitan police officer who took photos of Ore during that the investigation, said that he believed Sherwood should have been arrested. He said the congressman was given preferential treatment because of his political position.
Ms. Ore later filed a $5.5 million lawsuit against Sherwood, accusing him of abusing her during their relationship. An out-of-court settlement between the two was reached on November 8, 2005, the terms of which were not released. Both Sherwood and Ore refuse to comment on the settlement. According to a later report, Sherwood paid Ore about $500,000 in a settlement last year that contained a powerful incentive for her to keep quiet until after Election Day. (Source:Rep. Paying Ex-Mistress About $500K, AP, Nov. 2, 2006)
Shadow of Randy Cunningham
Unlike several of his fellow Republican House members who are runnign away from the taint of disgraced California Republican Represenative Randy Cunningham, Sherwood chose not to return a $901 campaign contribution from Cunningham's PAC. According to the 10th District Pennsylvania Republican because, "it was reimbursement for a flight Cunningham took to Pennsylvania for a veterans event." Presumably American miltiary patriotism is so effective as a political profylactic that any association with miltiary veterans automatically launders dirty denero.
Chris Carney
In the 2006 general election Sherwood lost to Democrat Lt. Commander Chris Carney, a professor at Penn State University, former Department of Defense consultant and U.S. Navy reservist.
References
- Kimberly Hefling. "House Members Give Away Contributions From Cunningham." Associated Press. December 1, 2005.
- n.a. "U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood Has Heart Surgery." ABC News August 19, 2006. News Article
External links
- Don Sherwood's Web site at the U.S. House of Representatives
- Information about the settlement from the Times-Leader of Wilkes-Barre
- Documents related to the Cynthia Ore scandal and lawsuit from The Times-Tribune of Scranton]
- Adulterous GOPer Asks for Forgiveness, Denies Allegation of Abuse in New Ad Political Radar, October 3, 2006.
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