Joe Dunn (California politician)
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Joe Dunn
| image = Joe Dunn, 2000.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|9|5}}
| birth_place = St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| state_senate = California
| district = 34th
| term = December 7, 1998 – November 4, 2006
| preceded = Rob Hurtt
| succeeded = Lou Correa
| party = Democratic
| spouse = Diane
| children = 2
| education = College of St. Thomas
University of Minnesota Law School
}}
Joseph Lawrence Dunn (born September 5, 1958) is an American former California State Senator who represented California's 34th Senate District in central Orange County from 1998 to 2006.
Early life and career
Dunn was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and graduated from the College of St. Thomas and University of Minnesota Law School.{{cite web|last=Jones|first=David|title=Political Fortune: State Senator Joe Dunn|url=http://capitolweekly.net/article.php?_c=z2gcksughp5nkz&xid=wnom4eka8u8t6b&done=.zja1w1i1pyjgde|work=Capitol Weekly|accessdate=April 10, 2013|date=March 30, 2006|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703052928/http://capitolweekly.net/article.php?_c=z2gcksughp5nkz&xid=wnom4eka8u8t6b&done=.zja1w1i1pyjgde|archive-date=July 3, 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Joe Dunn|url=http://www.smartvoter.org/2006/06/06/ca/state/vote/dunn_j/|publisher=Smart Voter|accessdate=April 10, 2013}}
California State Senate
As senator, Dunn led the state's investigation into Enron's involvement in the 2000–2001 energy crisis.{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7Qw_AAAAIBAJ&dq=senator%20joe%20dunn%20enron&pg=6901%2C5198426 | title=Witness tells Senate Enron manipulated state's power market | accessdate=December 4, 2010 | date=April 12, 2002 | publisher=Lodi News-Sentinel | page=4}} He was first elected to the state Senate in 1998, when he unseated incumbent Republican Rob Hurtt by a 51% to 49% margin. Dunn was reelected in 2002. He ran for the Democratic nomination for Controller in 2006 but lost by 53% to 47% to John Chiang, who would then go on to win the general.
In October 2006, Dunn was appointed as CEO of the California Medical Association.{{cite news | url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/10/30/daily13.html | accessdate=December 4, 2010 | author=Rauber, Chris | date=October 30, 2006 | title=CMA names state Sen. Joe Dunn as new CEO | publisher=San Francisco Business Times}}
State Bar of California
In 2010, Dunn was selected as the Executive Director of the State Bar of California.[http://calbar.ca.gov/AboutUs/News/201024.aspx California State Bar News Release, September 20, 2010] On November 13, 2014, the State Bar issued a statement saying that Dunn's employment as Executive Director had been terminated by the Board of Trustees.{{cite web|title=State Bar Trustees issue statement on Executive Director |url=http://calbar.ca.gov/AboutUs/News/ThisYearsNewsReleases/201423.aspx|publisher=State Bar of California|accessdate=30 November 2014|date=November 13, 2014}} According to the Courthouse New Service, Dunn then filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the State Bar challenging the termination because he had exposed malfeasance and "egregious improprieties."{{cite web|last1=Dinzeo|first1=Maria|title=Sen. Dunn Files Whistleblower Action Against California State Bar|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/ex-bar-director-files-whistle-blower-action/|publisher=Courthouse New Service|accessdate=30 November 2014|date=November 13, 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Skinner|first1=Curtis|title=Fired California Bar official files whistle-blower suit against group|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-california-lawsuit-idUSKCN0IY12L20141114|publisher=Reuters|accessdate=30 November 2014|date=November 14, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Dolan|first1=Maura|title=Fired California bar official said he tried to expose wrongdoing|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-cal-bar-20141113-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=30 November 2014|date=November 13, 2014}} The State Bar denied Dunn's allegations, saying the "Board received a complaint from a high-level employee raising serious, wide-ranging allegations about ... Dunn and certain State Bar employees."{{cite web|title=State Board Issues Statement on Executive Director|url=http://calbar.ca.gov/AboutUs/News/ThisYearsNewsReleases/201424.aspx|publisher=State Bar of California|accessdate=30 November 2014|date=November 15, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Moxley|first1=R. Scott|title=California State Bar Fires Back At Joe Dunn's Version Of His Sensational Termination |url=http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2014/11/joe_dunn_state_bar.php|publisher=OC Weekly|accessdate=30 November 2014|date=November 15, 2014}} In January 2016, The Recorder released a report indicating that State Bar, while under Dunn's leadership, incurred excessive international travel expenses for trips to El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru and Mongolia.{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Cheryl|title=Joe Dunn, Bar Officials Spent Freely on Foreign Travel|url=http://www.therecorder.com/id=1202747800688/Joe-Dunn-Bar-Officials-Spent-Freely-on-Foreign-Travel?slreturn=20160213234037|accessdate=14 March 2016|publisher=The Recorder|date=26 January 2016}} Dunn's allegations against the State Bar were diverted to an arbitration proceeding under terms of his contract. In March 2017, Arbitrator Edward Infante issued a ruling that exonerated the State Bar, which had said it fired Dunn in 2014 for misleading the agency's board about critical policy matters.{{cite news|last1=Walters|first1=Dan|title=Joe Dunn loses arbitration over his firing by State Bar|url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article139695908.html|accessdate=18 February 2018|publisher=The Sacramento Bee|date=20 March 2017}}
In July 2022, the State Bar filed disciplinary charges against Dunn, alleging three counts of moral turpitude during his time heading the organization and seeking his disbarment.{{cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Harriet |last2=Hamilton |first2=Matt |title=State Bar files disciplinary charges against former director Joe Dunn |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-08/in-wake-of-failed-handling-of-tom-girardi-state-bar-moves-against-license-of-former-executive-director |access-date=July 9, 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 8, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Dinzeo |first1=Maria |title=Ex-California State Bar director Joe Dunn facing disciplinary action |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/ex-california-state-bar-director-joe-dunn-facing-disciplinary-action/ |access-date=July 9, 2022 |work=Courthouse News |date=July 8, 2022}}[https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SBC-22-O-30655-Notice-of-Disciplinary-Charges.pdf In the matter of Joseph Laurens Dunn], no. SBC-22-O-30655 (Cal. State Bar Ct., July 5, 2022).
Dunn is a founding partner of The Senators (Ret.) Firm, LLP, "a law and political consulting firm where [the founders]...exert a powerful influence on national and statewide issues."{{cite web|title=Our History|url=http://www.thesenatorsfirm.com/Our-History.aspx|website=The Senators Firm|accessdate=14 March 2016}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100708022752/http://www.thesenatorsfirm.com/meet-the-attorneys/senator-joseph-dunn Profile]
- {{C-SPAN|1000018}}
- [http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/6086 Join California Joe Dunn]
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{{s-par|us-ca-sen}}
{{succession box
| title=California State Senate, 34th District
| before=Rob Hurtt
| after=Lou Correa
| years=December 7, 1998 - November 4, 2006}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Joe}}
Category:Democratic Party California state senators
Category:People from Santa Ana, California
Category:Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota
Category:University of Minnesota Law School alumni
Category:University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni
Category:21st-century members of the California State Legislature
Category:20th-century members of the California State Legislature