Sonny Callahan
Encyclopedia
Herbert Leon "Sonny" Callahan (born September 11, 1932) is a politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 from Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

.

Callahan was born in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

 he had eight brothers and sisters and he attended classes at a branch of the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

 that was located in Mobile. He did not graduate. Callahan served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 from 1952 to 1954. Callahan was involved in trucking and warehousing businesses. He was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1970 and he was elected to the Alabama Senate in 1978. Callahan lost his bid to become Lieutenant Governor in 1982.

When retiring representative Jack Edwards requested that Callahan run for his seat as a Republican, Callahan switched and was elected to the 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...

 in 1984 from the Mobile-based district. When the Republicans won control of Congress in 1994, Callahan became the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs
United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
The House Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs is a standing subcommittee within the House Appropriations Committee. Prior to 2008, it was known as the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs....

. Callahan had voted against numerous foreign aid bills before taking his chairman post and he remained skeptical of foreign aid. In 1998, Callahan became somewhat famous after it became known that he was speaking with President 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...

 on the phone during one of the President's first sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...

.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/icreport/6narritii.htm In 2001, Callahan became the chairman of the Energy and Water Development subcommittee
United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
The House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies is a standing subcommittee within the House Appropriations Committee.-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:* Official page...

.

Callahan retired from the House in 2003. His closest congressional aide, Jo Bonner
Jo Bonner
Josiah Robins Bonner, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and early political career:...

, won the election to replace Callahan, receiving huge support from both Callahan and Edwards.

After leaving Congress, Callahan founded Sonny Callahan and Associates, a lobbying firm that he currently heads. He is also served as campaign chairman for businessman Tim James
Tim James (politician)
Tim James is an Alabama businessman from Greenville, Alabama. The son of former Alabama Governor Fob James, he sought and lost the Republican Party nomination for Governor of Alabama twice, finishing third in the Republican primaries in 2002 and 2010.-Personal life:Tim James was born in Opelika,...

' unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for Governor of Alabama.

Steve Russo scandal

In the Summer of 2004, Callahan wrote a letter to State Lands Director James Hillman Griggs complaining that Federal Coastal Zone Management pass through grant money that had been entrusted to the City of Orange Beach for beach development was not going to the intended recipients. Griggs cancelled the grant and additional funding that had been requested by Orange Beach Mayor Steve Russo and City Attorney Larry Sutley. The United States Department of Justice
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...

 initiated an investigation and in 2006, Mayor Russo and Attorney Sutley were convicted in what is viewed as a political payback prosecution.

External links

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