William David "Bill" Lowery (born May 2, 1947) was a Republican politician from California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Lowery was born in southeastern San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, USA, where he grew up. He attended San Diego State University

San Diego State University

San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...

.

Lowery was married and divorced twice, first to Kathleen E. Brown on September 9, 1968 and second to Melinda Morrin.

Lowery started his political career as a San Diego city councilman from 1977 to 1980.

Congress

In 1980, Lowery was elected to Congress from , which included most of San Diego, after 28-year incumbent Bob Wilson

Bob Wilson (US politician)

Robert Carlton "Bob" Wilson was an American politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the Republican Party.-Biography:...

 retired. Lowery was reelected five times with little difficulty.

In the redistricting

Redistricting

Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...

 after the 1990 Census, Lowery was moved into the district of a fellow Republican, Duke Cunningham

Duke Cunningham

Randall Harold Cunningham , usually known as Randy or Duke, is United States Navy veteran, convicted felon, and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 50th Congressional District from 1991 to 2005.Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28,...

. At that time, the House banking scandal

House banking scandal

The House banking scandal broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the United States House of Representatives allowed members to overdraw their House checking accounts without risk of being penalized by the House bank ....

 ("Rubbergate") had just broken: several members of Congress had written bad checks on the House bank. Lowery was one of the worst offenders, with over 300 bad checks. Lowery also had accepted yacht parties and trips from Don Dixon, who as part of the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s, plundered his Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 savings and loan and forced the U.S. government to bail it out for $1.3 billion. Lowery was also criticized for taking overseas junkets. These issues virtually wiped out any advantage Lowery might have had due to seniority.

Cunningham repeated his 1990 campaign theme of "A Congressman We Can Be Proud Of," and built up a huge lead in the polls. Believing that he had no chance of staying in Congress, Lowery dropped out a few weeks before the Republican primary. Ironically, Cunningham would become the center of a multi-million dollar bribery

Bribery

Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...

 scandal a decade later and be forced to resign after pleading guilty to bribery in 2005.

Lobbyist

Since leaving Congress, Lowery has worked as a lobbyist in 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 specializes in adding "earmarks" into appropriation bills for his clients. Lowery has been particularly effective in lobbying his friend Representative Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis (politician)

Charles Jeremy Lewis is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 40th, 35th and 37th, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, serving in the role during the 109th Congress.-Early life, education, and...

. Lowery, his firm, and clients have donated 37% of Lewis' $1.3 million PAC income in the past six years.

Lowery owns two homes, a townhouse on Capitol Hill and a 14-acre (0.06 km²) waterfront property in King William County, Virginia.