Richard Cordray
Encyclopedia
Richard Cordray is an American politician of the Democratic Party
who last served as the Attorney General of Ohio. He has been chosen to run the enforcement division of the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
, which officially began operating in July 2011. On July 17, 2011, President Barack Obama
announced he would nominate Cordray to lead the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
.
Cordray was elected Attorney General of Ohio in November 2008 to fill the remainder of the unexpired term ending January 2011. On November 2, 2010, Cordray lost his bid for re-election to former Lt. Governor and U.S. Senator Mike DeWine
. Prior to his Attorney General position, Cordray served as the Ohio State Treasurer
and as treasurer
of Franklin County, Ohio
. He has also previously served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives
(1991–1993) and as the first Ohio state solicitor
(1993–1994).
Cordray was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University
, 1981–83. Later, he was editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review
and subsequently served as a law clerk
for Justice Anthony Kennedy
of the Supreme Court of the United States
. In 1987 he became an undefeated five-time Jeopardy!
champion.
After his seat in the Ohio House of Representatives was redistricted
in 1992, Cordray ran unsuccessfully that year for a United States House of Representatives
seat. The following year he was appointed by the office of the Ohio attorney general as the first Ohio state solicitor. His experience as Solicitor has led to his arguing six cases before the United States Supreme Court, where he had previously clerked. Following Republican victories in Ohio statewide elections in 1994, Cordray left his appointed position to pursue private practice of law before becoming Franklin County treasurer in 2002. While in private practice he made unsuccessful runs for Ohio attorney general in 1998 and United States senator
in 2000. Cordray won re-election as Franklin County treasurer before being elected state treasurer in 2006.
, where he attended public schools. While attending Grove City High School, Cordray became a champion on the high school quiz show In The Know and worked for minimum wage
at McDonald's
. He graduated from high school in 1977 as co-valedictorian
of his class. His first job in politics was as an intern for United States Senator John Glenn
as a junior at Michigan State University
's James Madison College
. Cordray earned Phi Beta Kappa honors and graduated summa cum laude with a BA
in Legal & Political Theory in 1981. As a Marshall Scholar
, he earned an MA
with first class honours in Economics
from the University of Oxford
and earned a Varsity Blue in basketball in 1983. At the University of Chicago Law School
, where he earned his Juris Doctor
with honors in 1986, he served as editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review. After starting work as a law clerk
at the U.S. Supreme Court, he came back to his high school to deliver the commencement speech
for the graduating class in 1988.
Byron White
and Anthony Kennedy
. After clerking for White in 1987–1988, he was hired by the international law firm Jones Day
to work in their Cleveland office.
In 1990 Cordray ran for an Ohio State House of Representatives seat, in the 33rd District (southern and western Franklin County
), against six-term incumbent Republican Don Gilmore. Unopposed for the Democratic nomination, he defeated Gilmore by a 18,573–11,944 (61–39%) margin. As a state representative from 1991 to 1992, Cordray legislated against crime, on behalf of the environment, and for the protection of children and families. He also taught various courses at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
and at Georgetown University
.
In 1991 the state Apportionment Board, controlled by a 3–2 Republican majority despite the party's 61–38 minority in the state House of Representatives, redrew state legislative districts following the results of the 1990 Census, in the hope of retaking control of the state House. The new boundaries created nine districts each with two resident incumbent Democrats, pairing Cordray with the twenty-two-year incumbent Mike Stinziano
. Unable to be elected in another district due to a one-year residency requirement, Cordray opted not to run for re-election. Instead, he decided to run for Ohio's 15th congressional district
in the 1992 U.S. House of Representatives elections, a seat being vacated by retiring thirteen-term Republican Chalmers Wylie
, and being challenged by Republican Deborah D. Pryce.
Cordray won the Democratic nomination over Bill Buckel by a 18,731–5,329 (78–22%) margin, following the withdrawal of another candidate, Dave Sommer. Cordray's platform included federal spending cuts, term limits for Congress and a line-item veto
for the president. When Pryce announced that she would vote to support abortion
rights, Linda S. Reidelbach entered the race as an independent. Thus, the general election was a three-way affair, with Pryce taking a plurality of 110,390 votes (44.1%), Cordray taking 94,907 votes (37.9%) and Linda Reidelbach taking 44,906 votes (17.9%).
, in a campaign supported by Ohio's attorney general, for the reinstatement of Ohio's hate crime
laws. This was considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, but not ruled on because of its similarity to a previous Wisconsin ruling.
In 1993 the government of Ohio
created the office of state solicitor general to handle the state's appellate work. The state solicitor, appointed by the Ohio attorney general, is responsible for cases that are to be argued before the Ohio Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Until 1998, the Solicitor worked without any support staff. Cordray, who had earlier worked for a summer in the office of the United States solicitor general
, was the first Solicitor to be appointed, in September 1993. He held the position until he resigned after Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher
was defeated by Betty Montgomery
in 1994. His cases before the Supreme Court included Wilson v. Layne and Hanlon v. Berger . Though he lost his first case, he won his second case, which garnered a substantial amount of media attention for its consideration of the constitutionality of media ride-alongs with police. Other cases included Household Credit Services v. Pfennig , Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington , Demore v. Kim , and Groh v. Ramirez .
Cordray contested the Ku Klux Klan
's right to erect a cross at the Ohio Statehouse
after the state's Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board denied the Klan's request during the 1993 Christmas holiday. He argued that the symbolic meaning of the cross was different from the Christmas tree
and menorah, which the state permits. The Klan prevailed in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on December 21, 1993, and erected a 10-foot (3 m) cross the following day. The same board denied the Klan a permit to rally on Martin Luther King Day
(January 15, 1994) due to the group's failure to pay a $15,116 bill from its Oct. 23 rally and its refusal to post a bond to cover expenses for the proposed rally. When the same 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision to deny the 1994 permit, the state chose not to appeal. The following year the Klan again applied to erect a cross for the Christmas holiday season, and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the prior ruling. The United States Supreme Court did not agree to hear arguments on the topic until a few weeks after Cordray resigned from his solicitor general position. After his resignation in 1994 he several times represented the federal government in the U.S. Supreme Court: two of Cordray's appearances before were by appointment of the Democratic Bill Clinton
Justice Department
and two were by the Republican George W. Bush
Justice Department.
Cordray was granted a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court that lower courts could not grant a stay of execution
for a death row
inmate. At the same time, Fisher, Cordray's boss, sought a referendum
to mandate that appeals in death penalty cases be made directly to the Supreme Court. In 1994 the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Steffen v. Tate (39 F.3d 622 1994) limited death row inmates to a single federal appeal and said that federal courts cannot stay an execution if the case is still in a state court.
Central Committee from the 15th district by a 5,472–1,718 margin over John J. Kulewicz. In late 1996 Cordray, who was in private practice at the time, was a leading contender and finalist for a United States Attorney
position during the second term of the Clinton Administration, along with Kent Markus
and Sharon Zealey. Zealey was eventually selected.
During the 1998 election for Ohio attorney general, Cordray ran unopposed in the Democratic primary but was defeated, 62%–38%, by one-term Republican incumbent Betty Montgomery. In 2000 Cordray entered the U.S. Senate elections
in a race that began as a three-way contest for the Democratic nomination to oppose first-term Republican incumbent Mike DeWine
. The three-way race was unusual since the three candidates (Cordray, Rev. Marvin McMickle, and Ted Celeste
) were encouraged to campaign together in order to promote name recognition, conserve resources and lessen infighting. Ohio Democratic party leaders believed Cordray was better suited for an Ohio Supreme Court seat and urged him to drop out of the Senate race. Despite the Ohio Democrats not endorsing any candidate in the primary election, the entry of Dan Radakovich as a fourth competitor, and the anticipated entry of former Mayor of Cincinnati and television personality Jerry Springer
, Cordray persisted in his campaign. Celeste, the younger brother of former Ohio governor Dick Celeste
, won with 369,772 votes. He was trailed by McMickle (the only black Senate candidate in the country in 2000) with 204,811 votes, Cordray with 200,157, and Radakovich with 69,002.
In the 2004 race for re-election, the Franklin County Republican party made no endorsement, but Republican Jim Timko challenged Cordray. Cordray defeated him and was elected to a four-year term by a 272,593–153,625 (64%–36%) margin. As Franklin County treasurer, Cordray focused on four major initiatives: collection of delinquent tax revenue through a tax lien certificate sale, creation of a land bank, personal finance education, and the development of a community outreach program. He managed a portfolio that averages $650 million and consistently beat its benchmarks, and he set new records for delinquent tax collection in Franklin County, which was the only Ohio county with a AAA credit rating
. He also served as president of the Board of Revision and chair of the Budget Commission. In 2005, Cordray was named the national "County Leader of the Year" by American City & County magazine.
In the 2006 Democratic party primary election for state treasurer he was set to face Montgomery County
Treasurer Hugh Quill who filed an entry, but in the end, he was unopposed. He defeated Republican nominee Sandra O'Brien for state treasurer in the 2006 election. Cordray succeeded Jennette Bradley
in a near-statewide sweep by the Democratic Party. Cordray noted that when he assumed statewide office, Ohio was challenged with restoring public trust after the misdeeds of former Ohio Governor Bob Taft
. Referring to what in a similar way would be required to follow Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann and his interim successor Nancy Rogers he said: "... we have been patiently rebuilding the public trust there [in the state government] and I think it would be a very similar task there in the Attorney General’s office."
Cordray announced his 2008 candidacy for Ohio state attorney general on June 11, 2008. He was endorsed by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland
. The vacancy in the office of the attorney general was created by the May 14, 2008, resignation of Marc Dann
who was embroiled in a sex scandal. Several leading Republican party contenders such as Montgomery, Jim Petro
, DeWine, Maureen O'Connor
, and Rob Portman
declined to enter the race. Cordray's opponents in the race were Michael Crites (Republican
), and Robert M. Owens
(Independent). Cordray had a large financial advantage over his opponents with approximately 30 times as much campaign financing as Crites. Crites' campaign strategies included attempts to link Cordray with Dann—an association the The Columbus Dispatch
called into question—and promoting himself as having more years of prosecutorial experience. Cordray asserted that he managed the state's money safely despite the turbulence of the financial crisis of 2007–2008.
Ohio statewide offices are regularly contested every four years in the midterm election years. 2008 is Class 2
senatorial election year, and Ohio is a state with class 1 and class 3 senators. Thus, the Attorney General race was the only non-presidential statewide race in the 2008 election aside from contests for two seats on the Ohio Supreme Court. Cordray garnered 56.74% of the vote, while his challengers, Republican Mike Crites and Independent Robert Owens, received 38.43% and 4.83%, respectively.
On November 2, 2010, Cordray lost his reelection bid to former U.S. senator Mike DeWine
by two percent.
, a judge
on the United States district court
for the Southern District of New York
, granted lead plaintiff
status to a group of five public pension funds for investor class-action lawsuits against the Bank of America Corporation over its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Company. The claim is that Bank of America misled investors about Merrill's financial well being prior to the January 1, 2009 acquisition despite awareness that Merrill was headed toward a significant loss that amounted to $15.84 billion in its fourth quarter. The suit also alleges that significant bonus payments were concealed. The curious dealings led to congressional hearings about why the merger commenced without any disclosures. In September 2009, Cordray, on behalf of Ohio's largest public employee pension funds (State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System), the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and pension funds from Sweden and the Netherlands, filed suit alleging that Bank of America, its directors and four executives (Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis
, Bank of America Chief Financial Officer
Joe Price, accounting chief Neil Cotty and former Merrill chairman and CEO John Thain
) acted to concealed Merrill's growing losses from shareholder
s voted to approve the deal the prior December. Prior to the filing the five funds had filed individual complaints, but the September filing of an amended complaint joined the actions with Cordray representing the lead plaintiff. The amended complaint includes details about conversations and communications between Bank of America and Merrill Lynch executives that were revealed in media reports, congressional testimony and investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing is an attempt to recover losses endured when Bank of America's share price fell after the transaction. The damages are sought from Bank of America, individual executives, the bank's board of directors
, including any insurers that cover directors' legal liabilities. Among the specifics of the claim are that (1) Bank of America agreed to allow Merrill Lynch to pay as much as $5.8 billion in undisclosed year-end discretionary bonuses to executives and employees; and (2) Bank of America and Merrill Lynch executives were aware of billions of dollars in losses suffered by Merrill Lynch in the two months before the merger vote but failed to disclose them.
(AIG), one of four remaining named defendants (along with Marsh & McLennan
, Hartford Financial Services
and Chubb Corp.
), in a 2007 antitrust
case regarding business practices between 2001 and 2004. The settlement is to be divided among 26 Ohio universities, cities and schools. Zurich Financial Services
settled in 2006. Cordray believes that Marsh was the organizing company for the illegal practices and notes that a trial could commence in 2011. AIG admitted no wrongdoing and that the settlement was to avoid risks and prolonged expenses.
, Elizabeth Warren
announced that she has tapped Richard Cordray to lead the enforcement arm of the newly-created United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
(CFPB). She added that "Richard Cordray has the vision and experience to help us build a team that every lender in the marketplace is playing by the rules." In announcing his appointment to this position Cordray also stated that he intends to once again, run for statewide office in Ohio in 2014. Cordray described the opportunity to The Wall Street Journal
as a chance to resume "...in many ways doing on a 50-state basis the things I cared most about as a state attorney general, with a more robust and a more comprehensive authority."
On July 17, Cordray was selected over Warren as the head of the entire CFPB. However, his nomination was immediately in jeaopardy because 44 Senate Republicans had previously vowed to derail any nominee in order to encourage a decentralized structure to the organization. In addition, Senate Republicans had also shown a pattern of refusing to consider regulatory agency nominees as a method of budget cutting. Furthermore, Obama had amassed a record low level of nomination successes and a long list of notable failed nominations as President. On July 21, Senator Richard Shelby
wrote an op-ed
article for The Wall Street Journal
affirming continued opposition (that went back to a May 5 letter to the President) to a centralized structure, noting that both the Securities Exchange Commission and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
had executive boards and that the CFPB should be no different. Politico
interpreted Shelby's statements as saying that Cordray's nomination was "Dead on Arrival". In October, as the nomination continued to be on hold, the National Association of Attorneys General endorsed Cordray.
Cordray was born in Columbus, Ohio
, the middle child between brothers Frank, Jr. and Jim. He was married in 1992 to Margaret "Peggy" Cordray, a law professor at Capital University Law School
. The Cordrays have twins, a daughter and son, and currently reside near Grove City, Ohio
. Cordray's father, Frank Cordray, Sr., was living in Grove City at the time Cordray moved back to Columbus to work for the law firm of Jones Day. His father retired as an Orient Developmental Center program director for mentally retarded
residents after 43 years of service. His mother, from Dayton, Ohio
, died in 1980. She had been a social worker, teacher and founder of Ohio's first foster grandparent program for individuals with developmental disabilities. Cordray carried the Olympic Flame
through Findlay, Ohio
, as part of the nationwide torch relay to the 1996 Summer Olympics
in Atlanta, Georgia
. He has served as a member of the Advisory Board for the Friends of the Homeless and part of Al Gore
's select group known as Leadership '98.
semifinalist on Jeopardy!
In 1987, he won $45,303 from the show, which he used to pay law school debt, to pay taxes and to buy a used car. The total winnings came from $40,303 in prize money during his five-contest streak and $5,000 for a first round win on the Tournament of Champions. His campaign for public office in 1990 precluded him from participating in the Super Jeopardy! elimination tournament of champions. ABC
, the network that carried the show, had a policy against political contestants appearing on the show (excluding Celebrity Jeopardy!).
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...
who last served as the Attorney General of Ohio. He has been chosen to run the enforcement division of the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the federal agency that holds primary responsibility for regulating consumer protection in the United States. On July 17, 2011, President Barack Obama, who supported the establishment of the new agency, chose Richard Cordray, a former...
, which officially began operating in July 2011. On July 17, 2011, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
announced he would nominate Cordray to lead the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the federal agency that holds primary responsibility for regulating consumer protection in the United States. On July 17, 2011, President Barack Obama, who supported the establishment of the new agency, chose Richard Cordray, a former...
.
Cordray was elected Attorney General of Ohio in November 2008 to fill the remainder of the unexpired term ending January 2011. On November 2, 2010, Cordray lost his bid for re-election to former Lt. Governor and U.S. Senator Mike DeWine
Mike DeWine
Richard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
. Prior to his Attorney General position, Cordray served as the Ohio State Treasurer
Ohio State Treasurer
-List of Ohio State Treasurers:...
and as treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
of Franklin County, Ohio
Franklin County, Ohio
Franklin County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. In 2010 the population was 1,163,414, making it the second largest county in Ohio and the 34th largest county in population in the United States. Franklin County is also the largest in the eight-county Columbus, Ohio...
. He has also previously served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
(1991–1993) and as the first Ohio state solicitor
Solicitor General of Ohio
The Solicitor General of Ohio, Ohio Solicitor General, State Solicitor of Ohio, or Ohio State Solicitor is the top appellate solicitor or lawyer for the U.S. State of Ohio. It is an appointed position in the Office of the Ohio Attorney General that focuses on the office's major appellate cases...
(1993–1994).
Cordray was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, 1981–83. Later, he was editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review
University of Chicago Law Review
The University of Chicago Law Review is a law journal published by the University of Chicago Law School, and was established in 1933. From 1942 through 1945 the review was published by the faculty, due to World War II. Prominent former student members have included Judge Abner J...
and subsequently served as a law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
for Justice Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
of the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. In 1987 he became an undefeated five-time Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
champion.
After his seat in the Ohio House of Representatives was redistricted
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...
in 1992, Cordray ran unsuccessfully that year for a United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
seat. The following year he was appointed by the office of the Ohio attorney general as the first Ohio state solicitor. His experience as Solicitor has led to his arguing six cases before the United States Supreme Court, where he had previously clerked. Following Republican victories in Ohio statewide elections in 1994, Cordray left his appointed position to pursue private practice of law before becoming Franklin County treasurer in 2002. While in private practice he made unsuccessful runs for Ohio attorney general in 1998 and United States 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...
in 2000. Cordray won re-election as Franklin County treasurer before being elected state treasurer in 2006.
Early life and education
Cordray was raised in Grove City, OhioGrove City, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,075 people, 10,265 households, and 7,544 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,941.2 people per square mile . There were 10,712 housing units at an average density of 768.0 per square mile...
, where he attended public schools. While attending Grove City High School, Cordray became a champion on the high school quiz show In The Know and worked for minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
at McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
. He graduated from high school in 1977 as co-valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of his class. His first job in politics was as an intern for United States Senator John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
as a junior at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
's James Madison College
James Madison College
This article is about the public-policy college at Michigan State University. For the similarly named institution in Virginia, see James Madison University....
. Cordray earned Phi Beta Kappa honors and graduated summa cum laude with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Legal & Political Theory in 1981. As a Marshall Scholar
Marshall Scholarship
The Marshall Scholarship, a postgraduate scholarships available to Americans, was created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom when the Marshall Aid Commemoration Act was passed in 1953. The scholarships serve as a living gift to the United States of America in recognition of the post-World War...
, he earned an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
with first class honours in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and earned a Varsity Blue in basketball in 1983. At the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
, where he earned his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
with honors in 1986, he served as editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review. After starting work as a law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
at the U.S. Supreme Court, he came back to his high school to deliver the commencement speech
Commencement speech
A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions. The "commencement" is a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred upon graduating students...
for the graduating class in 1988.
Early legislative career
Cordray began his career clerking for Supreme Court associate justicesAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
Byron White
Byron White
Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White won fame both as a football halfback and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed to the court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, he served until his retirement in 1993...
and Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
. After clerking for White in 1987–1988, he was hired by the international law firm Jones Day
Jones Day
Jones Day is an international law firm founded in Cleveland, Ohio on March 1, 1893, by Judge Edwin J. Blandin and William Lowe Rice. Jones Day is the eighth largest law firm in the world by revenue, and the fourth highest grossing firm in the US with annual revenues of US$1.4 billion...
to work in their Cleveland office.
In 1990 Cordray ran for an Ohio State House of Representatives seat, in the 33rd District (southern and western Franklin County
Franklin County, Ohio
Franklin County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. In 2010 the population was 1,163,414, making it the second largest county in Ohio and the 34th largest county in population in the United States. Franklin County is also the largest in the eight-county Columbus, Ohio...
), against six-term incumbent Republican Don Gilmore. Unopposed for the Democratic nomination, he defeated Gilmore by a 18,573–11,944 (61–39%) margin. As a state representative from 1991 to 1992, Cordray legislated against crime, on behalf of the environment, and for the protection of children and families. He also taught various courses at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Moritz College of Law
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law is a public law school and charter member of the Association of American Law Schools. According to the 2010 U.S. News & World Report rankings, the Moritz College of Law is 35th in the nation overall and is in the top ten among public law schools. The...
and at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
.
In 1991 the state Apportionment Board, controlled by a 3–2 Republican majority despite the party's 61–38 minority in the state House of Representatives, redrew state legislative districts following the results of the 1990 Census, in the hope of retaking control of the state House. The new boundaries created nine districts each with two resident incumbent Democrats, pairing Cordray with the twenty-two-year incumbent Mike Stinziano
Mike Stinziano
-References:...
. Unable to be elected in another district due to a one-year residency requirement, Cordray opted not to run for re-election. Instead, he decided to run for Ohio's 15th congressional district
Ohio's 15th congressional district
The 15th congressional district of Ohio is currently represented by Republican Steve Stivers.Union County and Madison County are entirely within the district's boundaries as is approximately half of Franklin County...
in the 1992 U.S. House of Representatives elections, a seat being vacated by retiring thirteen-term Republican Chalmers Wylie
Chalmers Wylie
Chalmers Pangburn Wylie was an American politician and lawyer from Ohio, who served in various public offices in that state before serving thirteen terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives....
, and being challenged by Republican Deborah D. Pryce.
Cordray won the Democratic nomination over Bill Buckel by a 18,731–5,329 (78–22%) margin, following the withdrawal of another candidate, Dave Sommer. Cordray's platform included federal spending cuts, term limits for Congress and a line-item veto
Line-item veto
In United States government, the line-item veto, or partial veto, is the power of an executive authority to nullify or cancel specific provisions of a bill, usually a budget appropriations bill, without vetoing the entire legislative package...
for the president. When Pryce announced that she would vote to support abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
rights, Linda S. Reidelbach entered the race as an independent. Thus, the general election was a three-way affair, with Pryce taking a plurality of 110,390 votes (44.1%), Cordray taking 94,907 votes (37.9%) and Linda Reidelbach taking 44,906 votes (17.9%).
Law career
While in private practice in 1993, Cordray co-wrote a legal brief for the Anti-Defamation LeagueAnti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
, in a campaign supported by Ohio's attorney general, for the reinstatement of Ohio's hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
laws. This was considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, but not ruled on because of its similarity to a previous Wisconsin ruling.
In 1993 the government of Ohio
Government of Ohio
The government of the state of Ohio comprises three branches executive, legislative, and judicial. Its basic structure is set forth in the Ohio Constitution.-Executive Branch:...
created the office of state solicitor general to handle the state's appellate work. The state solicitor, appointed by the Ohio attorney general, is responsible for cases that are to be argued before the Ohio Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Until 1998, the Solicitor worked without any support staff. Cordray, who had earlier worked for a summer in the office of the United States solicitor general
United States Solicitor General
The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
, was the first Solicitor to be appointed, in September 1993. He held the position until he resigned after Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher
Lee Fisher
Lee Fisher was the 64th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, who served with Governor Ted Strickland from 2007 until 2011.He is a member of the Democratic Party.In addition to serving as Lt...
was defeated by Betty Montgomery
Betty Montgomery
Betty Montgomery is an American politician from the state of Ohio. A Republican, she formerly served as Ohio State Auditor.-Prosecutor:...
in 1994. His cases before the Supreme Court included Wilson v. Layne and Hanlon v. Berger . Though he lost his first case, he won his second case, which garnered a substantial amount of media attention for its consideration of the constitutionality of media ride-alongs with police. Other cases included Household Credit Services v. Pfennig , Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington , Demore v. Kim , and Groh v. Ramirez .
Cordray contested the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
's right to erect a cross at the Ohio Statehouse
Ohio Statehouse
The Ohio Statehouse, located in Columbus, Ohio, is the house of government for the state of Ohio. The Greek Revival building houses the Ohio General Assembly and the ceremonial offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, and Auditor....
after the state's Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board denied the Klan's request during the 1993 Christmas holiday. He argued that the symbolic meaning of the cross was different from the Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
and menorah, which the state permits. The Klan prevailed in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on December 21, 1993, and erected a 10-foot (3 m) cross the following day. The same board denied the Klan a permit to rally on Martin Luther King Day
Martin Luther King Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. The floating holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform...
(January 15, 1994) due to the group's failure to pay a $15,116 bill from its Oct. 23 rally and its refusal to post a bond to cover expenses for the proposed rally. When the same 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision to deny the 1994 permit, the state chose not to appeal. The following year the Klan again applied to erect a cross for the Christmas holiday season, and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the prior ruling. The United States Supreme Court did not agree to hear arguments on the topic until a few weeks after Cordray resigned from his solicitor general position. After his resignation in 1994 he several times represented the federal government in the U.S. Supreme Court: two of Cordray's appearances before were by appointment of the Democratic Bill Clinton
Bill 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...
Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
and two were by the Republican George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Justice Department.
Cordray was granted a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court that lower courts could not grant a stay of execution
Stay of execution
A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not necessarily mean the death penalty; it refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed....
for a death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmate. At the same time, Fisher, Cordray's boss, sought a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to mandate that appeals in death penalty cases be made directly to the Supreme Court. In 1994 the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Steffen v. Tate (39 F.3d 622 1994) limited death row inmates to a single federal appeal and said that federal courts cannot stay an execution if the case is still in a state court.
Late 20th century campaigns
In early 1996, Cordray was elected to the Ohio Democratic PartyOhio Democratic Party
The Ohio Democratic Party is the Ohio affiliate to the United States Democratic Party. Former Ohio House Minority Leader Chris Redfern is the Ohio Democratic Party chairman. Redfern was elected to office in December 2005...
Central Committee from the 15th district by a 5,472–1,718 margin over John J. Kulewicz. In late 1996 Cordray, who was in private practice at the time, was a leading contender and finalist for a United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
position during the second term of the Clinton Administration, along with Kent Markus
Kent Markus
Kent Richard Markus is an American lawyer, a law professor at Capital University Law School, a former official in the U.S. Department of Justice and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S...
and Sharon Zealey. Zealey was eventually selected.
During the 1998 election for Ohio attorney general, Cordray ran unopposed in the Democratic primary but was defeated, 62%–38%, by one-term Republican incumbent Betty Montgomery. In 2000 Cordray entered the U.S. Senate elections
United States Senate elections, 2000
In 2000, elections for one-third of the seats in the United States Senate occurred In 2000, elections for one-third of the seats in the United States Senate occurred In 2000, elections for one-third of the seats in the United States Senate occurred (they coincided with the election of George W....
in a race that began as a three-way contest for the Democratic nomination to oppose first-term Republican incumbent Mike DeWine
Mike DeWine
Richard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
. The three-way race was unusual since the three candidates (Cordray, Rev. Marvin McMickle, and Ted Celeste
Ted Celeste
Theodore S. "Ted" Celeste is an American politician and a member of the Democratic party in Ohio. Celeste, the brother of former Ohio governor and U.S. ambassador Richard F. Celeste, ran for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and lost to the Republican incumbent, U.S. Sen. R. Michael DeWine...
) were encouraged to campaign together in order to promote name recognition, conserve resources and lessen infighting. Ohio Democratic party leaders believed Cordray was better suited for an Ohio Supreme Court seat and urged him to drop out of the Senate race. Despite the Ohio Democrats not endorsing any candidate in the primary election, the entry of Dan Radakovich as a fourth competitor, and the anticipated entry of former Mayor of Cincinnati and television personality Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
, Cordray persisted in his campaign. Celeste, the younger brother of former Ohio governor Dick Celeste
Dick Celeste
Richard Frank "Dick" Celeste is an American politician from Ohio, and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as the 64th Governor of Ohio from 1983-1991.-Early life and career:...
, won with 369,772 votes. He was trailed by McMickle (the only black Senate candidate in the country in 2000) with 204,811 votes, Cordray with 200,157, and Radakovich with 69,002.
Treasurer career
Cordray was unopposed in the May 7, 2002, primary election for the Democratic nomination as Franklin County treasurer. He defeated Republican incumbent Wade Steen, who had been appointed in May 2001 to replace Bobbie M. Hall. The election was close, unofficially 131,199–128,677 (50.5%–49.5%), official margin of victory 3,232. Cordray was the first Democrat to hold the position since 1977, and he assumed office on December 9, 2002, instead of after January 1 because he was filling Hall's unexpired term.In the 2004 race for re-election, the Franklin County Republican party made no endorsement, but Republican Jim Timko challenged Cordray. Cordray defeated him and was elected to a four-year term by a 272,593–153,625 (64%–36%) margin. As Franklin County treasurer, Cordray focused on four major initiatives: collection of delinquent tax revenue through a tax lien certificate sale, creation of a land bank, personal finance education, and the development of a community outreach program. He managed a portfolio that averages $650 million and consistently beat its benchmarks, and he set new records for delinquent tax collection in Franklin County, which was the only Ohio county with a AAA credit rating
Credit rating
A credit rating evaluates the credit worthiness of an issuer of specific types of debt, specifically, debt issued by a business enterprise such as a corporation or a government. It is an evaluation made by a credit rating agency of the debt issuers likelihood of default. Credit ratings are...
. He also served as president of the Board of Revision and chair of the Budget Commission. In 2005, Cordray was named the national "County Leader of the Year" by American City & County magazine.
In the 2006 Democratic party primary election for state treasurer he was set to face Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Ohio
Montgomery County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 535,153 in the 2010 Census. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada. The county seat is Dayton...
Treasurer Hugh Quill who filed an entry, but in the end, he was unopposed. He defeated Republican nominee Sandra O'Brien for state treasurer in the 2006 election. Cordray succeeded Jennette Bradley
Jennette Bradley
-Personal life:Jennette Bradley , her family would settle in a neighborhood on Columbus' east side, after her father retired from the United States Army. Bradley graduated from East High School in 1970...
in a near-statewide sweep by the Democratic Party. Cordray noted that when he assumed statewide office, Ohio was challenged with restoring public trust after the misdeeds of former Ohio Governor Bob Taft
Bob Taft
Robert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
. Referring to what in a similar way would be required to follow Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann and his interim successor Nancy Rogers he said: "... we have been patiently rebuilding the public trust there [in the state government] and I think it would be a very similar task there in the Attorney General’s office."
Attorney General races
Ted Strickland
Theodore "Ted" Strickland was the 68th Governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ....
. The vacancy in the office of the attorney general was created by the May 14, 2008, resignation of Marc Dann
Marc Dann
Marc Dann Marc Dann Marc Dann (born March 12, 1962, in Evanston, Illinois, is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1984 from the University of Michigan and a law degree in 1987 from Case Western Reserve University, and practiced law in Youngstown,...
who was embroiled in a sex scandal. Several leading Republican party contenders such as Montgomery, Jim Petro
Jim Petro
James M. “Jim” Petro is an American politician from the Republican Party, and a former Ohio Attorney General. Previously, Petro also served as Ohio State Auditor. Petro was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Ohio during the 2006 Ohio Primaries, but lost to Ken Blackwell...
, DeWine, Maureen O'Connor
Maureen O'Connor
Maureen O'Connor is an American jurist and the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. Prior to this, O'Connor served as an Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio under Gov. Bob Taft...
, and Rob Portman
Rob Portman
Robert Jones "Rob" Portman is the junior United States Senator from Ohio. He is a member of the Republican Party. He succeeded retiring Senator George Voinovich....
declined to enter the race. Cordray's opponents in the race were Michael Crites (Republican
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...
), and Robert M. Owens
Robert M. Owens
Robert M. Owens , is a Delaware, Ohio lawyer who ran as an independent candidate for Ohio Attorney General in the November 4, 2008 election. Owens currently serves on the national council of The John Birch Society.- Education :Owens graduated with honors from Ohio Wesleyan University, with a major...
(Independent). Cordray had a large financial advantage over his opponents with approximately 30 times as much campaign financing as Crites. Crites' campaign strategies included attempts to link Cordray with Dann—an association the The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since The Columbus Citizen-Journal stopped printing in 1985....
called into question—and promoting himself as having more years of prosecutorial experience. Cordray asserted that he managed the state's money safely despite the turbulence of the financial crisis of 2007–2008.
Ohio statewide offices are regularly contested every four years in the midterm election years. 2008 is Class 2
Classes of United States Senators
The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats. The purpose of the classes is to determine which Senate seats will be up for election in a given year. The three groups are staggered so that one of them is up for election every two years.A senator's...
senatorial election year, and Ohio is a state with class 1 and class 3 senators. Thus, the Attorney General race was the only non-presidential statewide race in the 2008 election aside from contests for two seats on the Ohio Supreme Court. Cordray garnered 56.74% of the vote, while his challengers, Republican Mike Crites and Independent Robert Owens, received 38.43% and 4.83%, respectively.
On November 2, 2010, Cordray lost his reelection bid to former U.S. senator Mike DeWine
Mike DeWine
Richard Michael "Mike" DeWine is the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has held numerous offices on the state and federal level, including Ohio State Senator, four terms as a U.S. Congressman, Ohio Lt. Governor, and was a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1995 to 2007.- Biography :Born...
by two percent.
Bank of America
In July 2009, Denny ChinDenny Chin
Denny Chin is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was a judge on the United States district court for the Southern District of New York before joining the federal appeals bench. President Clinton nominated Chin to the district court on March 24, 1994, and...
, a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
on the United States district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
, granted lead plaintiff
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
status to a group of five public pension funds for investor class-action lawsuits against the Bank of America Corporation over its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Company. The claim is that Bank of America misled investors about Merrill's financial well being prior to the January 1, 2009 acquisition despite awareness that Merrill was headed toward a significant loss that amounted to $15.84 billion in its fourth quarter. The suit also alleges that significant bonus payments were concealed. The curious dealings led to congressional hearings about why the merger commenced without any disclosures. In September 2009, Cordray, on behalf of Ohio's largest public employee pension funds (State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System), the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and pension funds from Sweden and the Netherlands, filed suit alleging that Bank of America, its directors and four executives (Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis
Ken Lewis (executive)
Kenneth D. "Ken" Lewis is the former CEO, President, and Chairman of Bank of America, the largest bank in the United States and second largest in the world. On September 30th, 2009 Bank of America confirmed that Ken Lewis would be retiring by the end of the year...
, Bank of America Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
Joe Price, accounting chief Neil Cotty and former Merrill chairman and CEO John Thain
John Thain
John Alexander Thain is an American businessman, investment banker, and currently chairman and CEO of the CIT Group.Thain was the last chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch before its merger with Bank of America...
) acted to concealed Merrill's growing losses from shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
s voted to approve the deal the prior December. Prior to the filing the five funds had filed individual complaints, but the September filing of an amended complaint joined the actions with Cordray representing the lead plaintiff. The amended complaint includes details about conversations and communications between Bank of America and Merrill Lynch executives that were revealed in media reports, congressional testimony and investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing is an attempt to recover losses endured when Bank of America's share price fell after the transaction. The damages are sought from Bank of America, individual executives, the bank's board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, including any insurers that cover directors' legal liabilities. Among the specifics of the claim are that (1) Bank of America agreed to allow Merrill Lynch to pay as much as $5.8 billion in undisclosed year-end discretionary bonuses to executives and employees; and (2) Bank of America and Merrill Lynch executives were aware of billions of dollars in losses suffered by Merrill Lynch in the two months before the merger vote but failed to disclose them.
Bid Rigging case
In April 2010, he reached a $9 million settlement with American International GroupAmerican International Group
American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...
(AIG), one of four remaining named defendants (along with Marsh & McLennan
Marsh & McLennan Companies
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. is a US-based global professional services and insurance brokerage firm. In 2007, it had over 57,000 employees and annual revenues of $10.49 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies was ranked the 221st largest corporation in the United States by the 2009 Fortune 500...
, Hartford Financial Services
The Hartford
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. , usually known as The Hartford, is a Fortune 500 company and one of America’s largest investment and insurance companies...
and Chubb Corp.
Chubb Corp.
Chubb Corporation is the eleventh largest property and casualty insurer in the United States, with over 120 offices located in 29 countries, and offers commercial, specialty, surety, and personal insurance services...
), in a 2007 antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
case regarding business practices between 2001 and 2004. The settlement is to be divided among 26 Ohio universities, cities and schools. Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services AG is a major financial services group based in Zurich, Switzerland.-History:The Company was founded in 1872 as subsidiary of the Schweiz Marine Insurance Company under the name Versicherung Verein...
settled in 2006. Cordray believes that Marsh was the organizing company for the illegal practices and notes that a trial could commence in 2011. AIG admitted no wrongdoing and that the settlement was to avoid risks and prolonged expenses.
Post-Attorney General career
On Wednesday, December 15, 2010, Special Advisor to President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She...
announced that she has tapped Richard Cordray to lead the enforcement arm of the newly-created United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the federal agency that holds primary responsibility for regulating consumer protection in the United States. On July 17, 2011, President Barack Obama, who supported the establishment of the new agency, chose Richard Cordray, a former...
(CFPB). She added that "Richard Cordray has the vision and experience to help us build a team that every lender in the marketplace is playing by the rules." In announcing his appointment to this position Cordray also stated that he intends to once again, run for statewide office in Ohio in 2014. Cordray described the opportunity to The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
as a chance to resume "...in many ways doing on a 50-state basis the things I cared most about as a state attorney general, with a more robust and a more comprehensive authority."
On July 17, Cordray was selected over Warren as the head of the entire CFPB. However, his nomination was immediately in jeaopardy because 44 Senate Republicans had previously vowed to derail any nominee in order to encourage a decentralized structure to the organization. In addition, Senate Republicans had also shown a pattern of refusing to consider regulatory agency nominees as a method of budget cutting. Furthermore, Obama had amassed a record low level of nomination successes and a long list of notable failed nominations as President. On July 21, Senator Richard Shelby
Richard Shelby
Richard Craig Shelby is the senior U.S. Senator from Alabama. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007....
wrote an op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
article for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
affirming continued opposition (that went back to a May 5 letter to the President) to a centralized structure, noting that both the Securities Exchange Commission and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
had executive boards and that the CFPB should be no different. Politico
Politico (newspaper)
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
interpreted Shelby's statements as saying that Cordray's nomination was "Dead on Arrival". In October, as the nomination continued to be on hold, the National Association of Attorneys General endorsed Cordray.
Personal
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, the middle child between brothers Frank, Jr. and Jim. He was married in 1992 to Margaret "Peggy" Cordray, a law professor at Capital University Law School
Capital University Law School
Capital University Law School is an ABA-accredited private law school located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The law school is affiliated with Capital University, the oldest and largest independent college in Central Ohio...
. The Cordrays have twins, a daughter and son, and currently reside near Grove City, Ohio
Grove City, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,075 people, 10,265 households, and 7,544 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,941.2 people per square mile . There were 10,712 housing units at an average density of 768.0 per square mile...
. Cordray's father, Frank Cordray, Sr., was living in Grove City at the time Cordray moved back to Columbus to work for the law firm of Jones Day. His father retired as an Orient Developmental Center program director for mentally retarded
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
residents after 43 years of service. His mother, from Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, died in 1980. She had been a social worker, teacher and founder of Ohio's first foster grandparent program for individuals with developmental disabilities. Cordray carried the Olympic Flame
Olympic Flame
The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...
through Findlay, Ohio
Findlay, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,967 people, 15,905 households, and 10,004 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,266.3 people per square mile . There were 17,152 housing units at an average density of 997.6 per square mile...
, as part of the nationwide torch relay to the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. He has served as a member of the Advisory Board for the Friends of the Homeless and part of Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
's select group known as Leadership '98.
Appearance on Jeopardy!
Cordray has the distinction of being an undefeated five-time champion and Tournament of ChampionsJeopardy! Tournament of Champions
The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is an annual tournament featuring the longest-running champions from the past season or seasons of the TV quiz show Jeopardy! The tournament began in the show's first season in 1964 during Art Fleming's tenure as host, and continued into the Alex Trebek era of...
semifinalist on Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
In 1987, he won $45,303 from the show, which he used to pay law school debt, to pay taxes and to buy a used car. The total winnings came from $40,303 in prize money during his five-contest streak and $5,000 for a first round win on the Tournament of Champions. His campaign for public office in 1990 precluded him from participating in the Super Jeopardy! elimination tournament of champions. ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, the network that carried the show, had a policy against political contestants appearing on the show (excluding Celebrity Jeopardy!).
External links
- Richard Cordray for AG Official campaign website
- Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray official state site
- Your Money NOW official state site dealing with Financial Education
- League of Women Voters – Richard Cordray 2006 profile
- Richard Cordray at Jeopardy! Archives