Tom Ridge

Ridge was born in Munhall, Pennsylvania, in Pittsburgh's Steel Valley, the eldest of three children. His parents were Laura (née Sudimack) and Thomas Regis Ridge, who was a traveling salesman and Navy veteran. Ridge's maternal grandparents were Rusyn immigrants{{cite web|url=http://www.simkovich.org/famouscarpathorussians.htm/|title=A Few Famous Carpatho–Russians|access-date=July 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623212052/http://www.simkovich.org/famouscarpathorussians.htm|archive-date=2015-06-23|url-status=dead}} from the former Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), and his paternal great-grandparents emigrated from Great Britain.{{cite news |last=Palattella |first=Ed |author2=Scott Wescott |title=Growing Up: Ridge's journey begins |date=January 21, 2003 |work=Erie Times-News |url=http://www.goerie.com/risingson/growing_up.html |access-date=August 20, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827223906/http://www.goerie.com/risingson/growing_up.html |archive-date=August 27, 2008 }} He was raised in veterans' public housing in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was educated at St. Andrews Elementary School and Cathedral Preparatory School and did well both academically and in sports. He attended Harvard College, where he paid his way through with construction work, played intramural baseball and football, and graduated with honors in 1967. In 1968, after his first year at the Dickinson School of Law, he was drafted into the United States Army.

Ridge waived an opportunity for officer training school because it would have required a longer service commitment.{{cite web |url=https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/Ridge__Thomas |title=Tom Ridge |date=Spring 2008 |website=The Pennsylvania Center for the Book |publisher=Penn State University |first=Stephen |last=Strella |access-date=November 30, 2020 }} In November 1969, Ridge arrived as a sergeant in South Vietnam where he would serve for six months as a staff sergeant with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal Division)[http://www.militaryvetshop.com/History/americal.html History of the 23rd Infantry Division], Militaryvetshop.com; retrieved July 12, 2013. during the Vietnam War.

In May 1970, a ruptured appendix cut short his tour of duty in Vietnam and he was sent home; his service also aggravated a childhood ear infection which caused him afterwards to have a hearing aid in his left ear.{{cite web |last1=Orin |first1=Deborah |title=Tom's Tremendous Task |url=https://nypost.com/2001/09/22/toms-tremendous-task/ |website=nypost.com |date=September 22, 2001 |publisher=NYP Holdings |access-date=29 February 2020}}

For his service in Vietnam, Ridge received the Bronze Star with "V" Device,{{cite news |url=https://www.pennlive.com/politics/2018/05/former_gov_tom_ridge_doing_gre.html |title=Former Gov. Tom Ridge 'doing great' as he continues his recovery from a heart attack |date=Jan 30, 2019 |newspaper=The Patriot-News |first=Jan |last=Murphy |access-date=November 26, 2020 }}{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tom-Ridge |title=Tom Ridge |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=November 26, 2020 }} National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.{{cite web |url=https://immigration.procon.org/source-biographies/tom-ridge/ |title=Tom Ridge Biography |website=ProCon.org |access-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117065009/https://immigration.procon.org/source-biographies/tom-ridge/ |url-status=dead }}

After returning to Pennsylvania, he completed his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree at the Dickinson School of Law, graduating in 1972, and entered private practice.{{cite web |title=First Homeland Security secretary to deliver Dickinson Law Commencement address |url=https://news.psu.edu/story/564732/2019/03/21/first-homeland-security-secretary-deliver-dickinson-law-commencement-address |website=psu.edu |publisher=The Pennsylvania State University |access-date=29 February 2020}}

Ridge became assistant district attorney in Erie County, Pennsylvania, in 1980 and prosecuted 86 cases in two years.{{cite book |last1=Barone |first1=Michael |author-link1=Michael Barone (pundit) |last2=Ujifusa |first2=Grant |title=The Almanac of American Politics 1988|work=National Journal |year=1987 |page=1054}}

File:Congressman Tom Ridge.jpg]]

File:Reagan Contact Sheet C45187 (cropped).jpg Ronald Reagan in 1988]]

File:Bush Contact Sheet P16288 (cropped).jpg George H. W. Bush and United States Senator John McCain in 1990]]

In 1982, Ridge won a seat in Congress from northwestern Pennsylvania by the margin of only 729 votes. He was then re-elected five times.

In 1994, despite being little-known outside of northwest Pennsylvania, Ridge ran for governor. He won the election as a pro-choice Republican. He was reelected in 1998 with 57 percent of the vote in a four-way race. His share of the vote in that election was the highest for a Republican governor in Pennsylvania (where Democrats outnumber Republicans by almost 500,000) in more than half a century.

During his time as governor, Ridge promoted "law and order" policies, supporting a three-strikes law and a faster death penalty process. A death penalty supporter,{{cite web|title=Tom Ridge on the Issues |publisher=On the Issues|year=2000|access-date=February 28, 2008|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Tom_Ridge.htm}} Ridge signed more than 224 execution warrants{{cite web|title=Execution Warrants Issued by Governor (1985 to Present)|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Corrections|date=August 19, 2008|access-date=February 28, 2008|url=http://www.cor.state.pa.us/portal/lib/portal/Warrants_by_Governor.pdf}} – five times the number signed over a 25-year period by the two previous governors – but only three voluntary executions were carried out. On social issues, he opposed same-sex marriage while supporting abortion rights.{{cite web |title=Tom Ridge on the Issues |url=https://www.ontheissues.org/Tom_Ridge.htm |website=ontheissues.org |access-date=29 February 2020}}

Over Ridge's tenure, the Commonwealth's budget grew by two to three percent per fiscal year and combined tax reductions totaled over $2 billion. Ridge created and grew a "Rainy Day" Fund balance to over $1 billion to be utilized during an economic downturn or recession.{{cite web |title=Ridge |url=https://www.ausa.org/sites/default/files/Ridge.pdf |website=ausa.org |access-date=29 February 2020}}

Ridge pushed for legislation permitting competition among electric utilities and enhanced federal and state support for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). He separated the Commonwealth's environmental regulatory and conservation programs into two new agencies; the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.{{cite web |title=Conservation and Natural Resources Act, House Bill 1400, Regular Session 1995–1996 |url=https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=1995&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1400 |website=Pennsylvania General Assembly |access-date=December 1, 2019 }}

Ridge proposed the creation of public charter schools in Pennsylvania and in establishing alternate schools for disruptive students. He launched new academic standards that established academic expectations for what students were expected to know in different grades. He proposed a school choice demonstration program.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

Ridge oversaw a number of e-government projects including renewing drivers' licenses and vehicle registrations to viewing historical documents and library catalogs. The Commonwealth's portal won several national awards. One of the nation's first electronic grant systems was put into place at the Pennsylvania Department of Education. He created the [http://www.l2l.org/ Link-to-Learn] initiative to increase the effective use of technology in public schools and universities.{{cite web |title=Ridge |url=https://www.ausa.org/sites/default/files/Ridge.pdf |website=ausa.org |access-date=29 February 2020}}

Ridge signed two death warrants for African-American civil rights activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing a police officer at a traffic stop.{{cite web | last=Yohn | first=William H. Jr. | title=Memorandum and Order | work=Mumia Abu-Jamal, Petitioner, vs. Martin Horn, Commissioner, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al., Respondents | publisher=US District Court for the Eastern District of Philadelphia |date=December 2001 | url=http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/01D0951P.pdf | access-date=2008-01-22}}

He served as governor until his resignation in 2001, at which time he became the Director of Homeland Security following the September 11 attacks.{{cite news |last1=Marquis |first1=Christopher |title=A Nation Challenged: Homeland Security; Bush Chooses Old Ally For Cabinet-Level Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/21/us/nation-challenged-homeland-security-bush-chooses-old-ally-for-cabinet-level-post.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=7 March 2020 |date=September 21, 2001 }}

File:President George W. Bush shakes hands with Governor Tom Ridge.jpg George W. Bush in 2001]]

Ridge was a potential running mate for Bob Dole in 1996, and served as a close advisor to Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush, a close friend from their simultaneous tenures as governors, during the 2000 presidential campaign. In return, Bush named Ridge to his short list for possible running mates, along with New York Governor George Pataki, Michigan Governor John Engler, Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, former Missouri Senator John Danforth, and former American Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole.{{cite journal|last=Starr|first=Alexandra|title=Running Mates: Who will be on the ticket in 2000?|date=July–August 1999|journal=Washington Monthly|volume=31|issue=7|access-date=September 22, 2005|url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/1999/9907.starr.campaign.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000305010318/http://washingtonmonthly.com/features/1999/9907.starr.campaign.html|archive-date=March 5, 2000}}

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush created the Office of Homeland Security within the White House, and named Ridge to head it. The charge to the nation's new director of homeland security was to develop and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to strengthen the United States against terrorist threats or attacks. Ridge formally resigned as Pennsylvania's governor on October 5, 2001.

In January 2003 and after the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Office of Homeland Security split into a Cabinet-level Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the White House Homeland Security Advisory Council. Ridge left the White House and became the first Secretary of Homeland Security. The department's mission "is to (A) prevent terrorist attacks within the United States; (B) reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism; and (C) minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery, from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States" (From H.R. 5005-8 the Homeland Security Act of 2002). The newly created department was the most comprehensive reorganization of the Federal government since the National Security Act of 1947.

The Department of Homeland Security consolidates 22 agencies and 180,000 employees, unifying once-fragmented Federal functions in a single agency dedicated to protecting America from terrorism. Ridge worked with the employees from combined agencies to strengthen borders, provide for intelligence analysis and infrastructure protection, improve the use of science and technology to counter weapons of mass destruction, and to create a comprehensive response and recovery division.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1556612.stm Profile of Tom Ridge], bbc.co.uk, November 9, 2004.[https://www.npr.org/news/specials/response/home_front/features/2001/oct/ridge.html Security Chief Ridge: 'The Task is Enormous'], NPR.org, October 8, 2001.[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/fedagencies/jan-june02/ridge_5-9.html Newsmaker: Tom Ridge], Online NewsHour, May 9, 2002.[https://web.archive.org/web/20021124045336/http://www.time.com/time/pow/article/0,8599,393066,00.html Person of the Week: Tom Ridge. Now for the hard part: After a week in which the Senate gave him a cabinet-level position, the Homeland Security chief is preparing to take on the toughest job in Washington], Time.com, November 22, 2002.[http://www.goerie.com/risingson Ridge's journey to the national stage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040101142617/http://www.goerie.com/risingson/ |date=2004-01-01 }}, goerie.com; updated January 21, 2003.

In January 2004, Ridge was named among others in a lawsuit filed by a Syrian-born Canadian Maher Arar who said he was tortured in Syria after being deported by American authorities.{{cite news|title=Canadian sues US over deportation|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3421743.stm|date=January 23, 2004|work=news.bbc.co.uk|publisher=BBC News|access-date=September 13, 2009}}

{{Wikinews|US Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge resigns}}

On November 30, 2004, Ridge submitted his resignation to the President, saying, "After more than 22 consecutive years of public service, it is time to give personal and family matters a higher priority."[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,3-1382726,00.html Anti-terror supremo is latest to quit Bush team]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, timesonline.co.uk, December 1, 2004.

In his book The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege...and How We Can Be Safe Again, Ridge says his resignation was due to an effort by senior Bush administration officials to raise the nation's terror alert level in the days before the 2004 presidential vote.{{cite news|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/20/ridge-i-fought-raising-security-level-before-04-vote|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826233235/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/20/ridge-i-fought-raising-security-level-before-04-vote/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 26, 2009|title=Ridge: I fought raising security level before '04 vote|date=August 20, 2009|work=Political Ticker|publisher=CNN|access-date=August 21, 2009}}Bedard, Paul. "[https://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2009/08/19/tom-ridge-on-national-security-after-911.html Tom Ridge on National Security After 9/11]", U.S. News & World Report, August 19, 2009.

Ridge is the founder and chairman of Ridge Global, an advisory firm in Washington, D.C.{{cite news|first=Katherine|last=Walsh|title=Five Things Tom Ridge Has Learned About Risk|url=http://www.cio.com/article/149601/Five_Things_Tom_Ridge_Has_Learned_About_Risk|work=CIO magazine|publisher=CXO Media|date=October 29, 2007|access-date=November 10, 2007}}

Ridge served on a state-appointed incident review panel that investigated the Virginia Tech shooting.{{cite news|title=Va. Tech gunman was 'well-prepared' to continue shooting spree|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-21-va-tech-probe_N.htm|newspaper=USA Today|date=May 21, 2007|access-date=November 10, 2007}}

Ridge also sits on the board of directors of the Atlantic Council.{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/about/board-of-directors/|title=Board of Directors|website=Atlantic Council|language=en-US|access-date=February 12, 2020}}

In 2010, Ridge's two former Chiefs of Staff, Mark Campbell and Mark Holman, opened a lobbying firm after Ridge lent the firm his name. The full-service government affairs firm has offices in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.{{cite news |url=http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-wolf-dc-lobbying-firm-20150603-story.html |title= PA Gov. Tom Wolf administration hires new D.C. lobbying firm |date=June 3, 2015 |first=Laura |last=Olson |newspaper=The Morning Call }}{{cite web|title=Former Gov. Ridge lending name, clout to new Harrisburg-D.C. lobbying firm|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Former_Gov_Ridge_lending_name_clout_to_new_Harrisburg-DC_lobbying_firm.html|publisher=philly.com|access-date=January 10, 2013}}

In July 2010, companies seeking to use hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation engaged Ridge and Ridge Policy Group at $75,000 a month to help them gain support.{{cite web|agency=Associated Press|title=Ex-Homeland Security boss joins gas drilling group|date=July 30, 2010|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iYhHpjTFHgYX9J7VAxVs2oAyQc3wD9H9IGA80|access-date=August 2, 2010}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Ridge has served on a variety of corporate boards of directors and in other roles. In 2005, he was named to the board of Home Depot,{{cite news |title=Company News; Home Depot Names Tom Ridge a Director|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E1D6173DF936A15751C0A9639C8B63&n=Top/News/Business/Companies/Home%20Depot%20Inc. |newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 25, 2005|access-date=November 10, 2007}} with an expected annual compensation of about $100,000.{{cite news|title=Board work can be rewarding|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2003/10/13/story7.html?page=2|publisher=Atlanta Business Chronicle|date=October 10, 2003|access-date=November 10, 2007|first=Meredith|last=Jordan}} and in the same year was appointed to the board of the RFID company Savi Technology.{{cite news|title=Tom Ridge Joins Savi Technology Board of Directors|url=http://www.rfidupdate.com/articles/index.php?id=844 |publisher=RFID Update|date=April 8, 2005|access-date=November 10, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003163736/http://www.rfidupdate.com/articles/index.php?id=844|archive-date=October 3, 2007}} He was appointed to the board of directors of the Exelon Corporation electric utility in 2006, with starting director compensation of $35,000 annual retainer plus a $1,500 meeting fee or per diem fee and (at the time) $60,000 in annual deferred stock units.{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=16295 |title=Ex-Homeland Sec. joins Exelon board |first=Gregory |last=Meyer |newspaper=Crain's Chicago Business |date=April 27, 2005 |access-date=February 19, 2010 }} In 2006, Ridge was announced as a senior advisor for Deloitte & Touche USA LLP.{{cite web |url=http://fcw.com/articles/2006/11/02/ridge-joins-deloitte.aspx |title=Ridge joins Deloitte |access-date=March 13, 2014 |date=November 2, 2006 |work=Federal Computer Week |publisher=Media, Inc. }} He was named to serve on the executive board of The Hershey Company in 2007,{{cite web|url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/patriotnews/article294464.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910042853/http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/patriotnews/article294464.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 10, 2012|title=Big changes at Hershey|access-date=July 1, 2017}} and was named senior advisor to Texas-based security technology company TechRadium, Inc. in 2008.{{cite news|title=Tom Ridge to Advise TechRadium On 'IRIS' Technology |url=http://www.securityinfowatch.com/article/10545958/tom-ridge-to-advise-techradium-on-iris-technology |publisher=Security InfoWatch |date=January 9, 2008 |access-date=April 25, 2016 |agency=PRNewswire }} In 2009, antimicrobial company PURE Bioscience named Ridge, along with former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, to its advisory board.{{cite news |title=PURE Bioscience Forms Advisory Panel Tom Ridge, Tommy G. Thompson Among Inaugural Members |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/PURE-Bioscience-Forms-bw-3403647171.html?x=0&.v=1 |website=Finance.yahoo.com |date=September 1, 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }} He currently sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center.{{Cite web |title=TOM RIDGE |url=https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/people/tom-ridge/ |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=States United Democracy Center |language=en}}

Ridge served as a senior aide to Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain of Arizona,{{cite web |url=http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=19241247&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=618959&rfi=6 |title=Ridge A Leading Candidate For McCain VP Role? |publisher=The Bulletin |access-date=January 31, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207233444/http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=19241247&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=618959&rfi=6 |archive-date=February 7, 2016 }} and was considered by some as a possible running mate for McCain.{{cite news |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/11/mccain_campaigns_with_ridge_as.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080812040320/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/11/mccain_campaigns_with_ridge_as.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 12, 2008 |title=McCain Campaigns with Ridge as VP Speculation Intensifies |access-date=August 12, 2008 |work=The Trail |publisher=The Washington Post |date=August 11, 2008 }} File:TomRidgePodium-McCainRallyWashingtonPA2008.jpg

According to Fox News, many Republicans hoped Ridge would run for the United States Senate against the newly turned Democrat Arlen Specter, who stated he would seek re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary. Already seeking the Republican nomination was former Representative Pat Toomey, who narrowly lost to Specter in the Republican primary in 2004. Some Republicans thought Ridge would have a better chance against Specter than would Toomey.{{cite web|url=http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/jessica-coomes/index.ssf/2009/05/poll_arlen_specter_would_top_p.html|title=Poll: Arlen Specter would top Pat Toomey, Tom Ridge in general election|date=May 4, 2009 |access-date=July 1, 2017}} A Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll conducted between April 30, 2009, and May 3, 2009, placed Ridge within three points of Specter in a hypothetical matchup between the two men.{{cite news |title=Poll says Specter holds 20-point edge over Toomey: A run by former Gov. Ridge would boost GOP's chances|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09124/967593-100.stm|work=post-gazette.com |publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=May 4, 2009|access-date=June 19, 2009}}

Some Toomey supporters criticized the idea of a Ridge candidacy because, although Ridge was still registered to vote in Pennsylvania, he was actually living in Chevy Chase, Maryland.{{cite news|last=Micek| first=John L.|title=Whither Tom Ridge?| newspaper=The Morning Call|date=May 7, 2009|url=http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2009/05/whither-tom-ridge.html|access-date=May 7, 2009}} On May 7, 2009, Ridge announced that he would not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010.{{cite web|title=Ridge Says He Won't Seek Specter's Senate Seat|publisher=WFMZ-TV|date=May 7, 2009|url=http://wfmz.com/view/?id=893773|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110809102716/http://wfmz.com/view/?id=893773|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 9, 2011|access-date=May 7, 2009}}

In September 2011, Ridge endorsed the campaign of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman in the 2012 election.{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tom-ridge-jon-huntsman-new-hampshire-mitt-romney-2012-election_n_1185985 |title=Jon Huntsman Backer Tom Ridge Sets High Bar For Mitt Romney In New Hampshire |newspaper=HuffPost |first=Sam |last=Stein |date=January 5, 2012 |access-date=August 27, 2019 }} Mitt Romney announced an endorsement from Ridge on March 14, 2012.{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/14/tom-ridge-endorses-mitt-romney_n_1344252.html|title=Tom Ridge Endorses Mitt Romney|newspaper=The Huffington Post|first=Elise|last=Foley|date=March 14, 2012|access-date=March 17, 2012}}

In 2013, Ridge was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/28/the-pro-freedom-republicans-are-coming-131-sign-gay-marriage-brief.html The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay Marriage Brief]. The Daily Beast (February 28, 2013). Retrieved on July 12, 2013.

Ridge spoke at a conference in support of the removal of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK, also PMOI, MKO) from the United States State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/23/iran-usa |title=Five lessons from the de-listing of MEK as a terrorist group |date=September 23, 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Glenn |last=Greenwald |access-date=July 26, 2023 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.mojahedin.org/linksen/1541 |website=mojahedi.org |title=Governor Tom Ridge call on Obama to protect Iranian dissidents in Iraq |access-date=July 1, 2017 |date=November 21, 2013 }} The group was listed on the State Department list from 1997 until September 2012.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/28/politics/mek-terror-delisting/index.html|title=Iranian exile group removed from U.S. terror list|author= |publisher=CNN|access-date=July 1, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929031444/http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/28/politics/mek-terror-delisting/index.html|archive-date=September 29, 2012}}{{cite press release |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/09/198443.htm |title=Delisting of the Mujahedin-e Khalq |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=September 28, 2012 }} The Los Angeles Times reported a senior Clinton administration official as saying inclusion of the People's Mojahedin was intended as a goodwill gesture to Tehran and its newly elected president, Mohammad Khatami.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/middleeast/iranian-opposition-group-mek-wins-removal-from-us-terrorist-list.html|title=Iranian Group M.E.K. Wins Removal From U.S. Terrorist List|first=Scott|last=Shane|date=21 September 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=18 February 2017|archive-date=1 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101193726/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/middleeast/iranian-opposition-group-mek-wins-removal-from-us-terrorist-list.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-09-mn-40874-story.html |title=U.S. Designates 30 Groups as Terrorists |date=October 9, 1997 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |first=Norman |last=Kempster |access-date=November 23, 2024}} Ridge, along with other former government officials and politicians Ed Rendell, R. James Woolsey, Porter Goss, Louis Freeh, Michael Mukasey, James L. Jones, Rudy Giuliani, and Howard Dean, have spoken in support of the group.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/us/us-supporters-of-iranian-group-mek-face-scrutiny.html|title=U.S. Supporters of Iranian Group M.E.K. Face Scrutiny|first=Scott|last=Shane|work=The New York Times |date=March 13, 2012|access-date=July 1, 2017|via=NYTimes.com}} Ridge and others wrote an article for the conservative publication National Review stating their position that the group should not be classified as a terrorist organization, raising the point that "The material-support statute doesn’t need revision to accommodate non-existent defects. What it does need – and does not often enough get for fear of offending some Muslim organizations – is rigorous enforcement against accurately designated organizations, of which MEK is not one."{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/256689/mek-not-terrorist-group-michael-b-mukasey-tom-ridge-and-frances-fragos-townsend |title=MEK is Not a Terrorist Group |date=January 1, 2011 |magazine=National Review |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111174147/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/256689/mek-not-terrorist-group-michael-b-mukasey-tom-ridge-and-frances-fragos-townsend |archive-date=January 11, 2011 |last1=Mukasey |first1=Michael B |author-link1=Michael Mukasey |last2=Ridge |first2=Tom |last3=Giuliani |first3=Rudolph W |author-link3=Rudy Giuliani |last4=Townsend |first4=Frances Fragos |author-link4=Frances Townsend}}

File:Shalala, Ridge, Lieberman, Wainstein, Greenwood at the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense.jpg (Ridge 2nd from left)]]

In 2015, Ridge served as co-chair of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, a commission that recommended changes to U.S. policy regarding biodefense.{{cite web|url=http://www.biodefensestudy.org/|title=Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense|website=www.biodefensestudy.org|access-date=January 20, 2017}} In order to address biological threats facing the nation, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense created a 33-step initiative for the U.S. Government to implement. Tom Ridge headed the organization with former Senator Joe Lieberman, and the Study Panel assembled in Washington, D.C., for four meetings concerning current biodefense programs. The Study Panel concluded that the federal government had little to no defense mechanisms in case of a biological event. The Study Panel's final report, The National Blueprint for Biodefense, proposes a string of solutions and recommendations for the U.S. Government to take, including items such as giving the vice president authority over biodefense responsibilities and merging the entire biodefense budget. These solutions represent the Panel's call to action in order to increase awareness and activity for pandemic related issues.

In 2016, Ridge endorsed Jeb Bush and subsequently John Kasich after Bush's withdrawal from the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. Ridge stated he would not endorse Donald Trump, following Trump becoming the presumptive nominee, or Hillary Clinton in the general election.{{cite news|last1=Struck|first1=Jules|title=Ridge Refuses to Support Trump|url=http://www.politicspa.com/ridge-refuses-to-support-trump/75505/|access-date=May 18, 2016|agency=PoliticsPA|date=May 17, 2016}}

File:2019 Inauguration of Governor Tom Wolf and Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman (46030618554) (cropped).jpg in 2019]]

In July 2020, Ridge criticized President Trump for saying in June that vote-by-mail leads to widespread voter fraud, responding that it is not a threat and that voters need a safe way to cast a ballot in the 2020 election, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ridge also said that it was "sad" that the President wants to quash the legitimacy of the election. In response to Ridge's comments, the RNC said lawsuits by Democrats to strip ballot safeguards are an attempt to delegitimize the election. Ridge is a co-chair of VoteSafe, a bipartisan group that promotes safe voting by mail and in person.{{cite news |url=https://www.weny.com/story/42368512/fmr-homeland-security-secretary-tom-ridge-pushes-for-mail-in-voting-option-this-november |title=Fmr. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge pushes for mail-in voting option this November |date=July 14, 2020 |first=Matt |last=Knoedler |publisher=WENY |access-date=July 22, 2020 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/06/19/880917081/tom-ridge-ex-dhs-sec-laments-sad-trump-fears-about-voting-by-mail |title=Tom Ridge, Ex-DHS Secretary, Laments 'Sad' Trump Fears About Voting By Mail |date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=NPR |first=Pam |last=Fessler |access-date=July 22, 2020 }}

Also in July 2020, Ridge slammed his former Department for sending in federal agents to detain rioters allegedly committing federal crimes in Portland, Oregon, after more than 50 days of protests and riots there. He also said, during an interview with radio host Michael Smerconish, that it would be a "cold day in hell" before he "would consent to an uninvited, unilateral intervention" in one of his cities in Pennsylvania. The White House cited federal law to support this use of federal law enforcement.{{cite news |url=https://triblive.com/news/world/ex-dhs-secretary-tom-ridge-it-would-be-a-cold-day-in-hell-before-personal-militia-would-be-welcomed-uninvited-in-pa/ |title=Ex-DHS Secretary Tom Ridge: 'It would be a cold day in hell' before 'personal militia' would be welcomed uninvited in Pa. |date=July 21, 2020 |website=TribLive |first=Bret |last=Gibson |access-date=July 22, 2020 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/portland-protests-federal-agents-white-house-dhs-legality/ |title=White House defends legality of use of federal agents in Portland |date=July 21, 2020 |work=CBS News |first=Melissa |last=Quinn |access-date=July 22, 2020 }} Trump later slammed Ridge on Twitter, calling him "a failed RINO" and saying he "loved watching pathetic Never Trumpers squirm!".{{cite tweet |user=realDonaldTrump |first=Donald J. |last=Trump |number=1286299924141932550 |date=July 23, 2020 |title=Recently watched failed RINO Tom Ridge, former head of Homeland Security, trying to justify his sudden love of the Radical Left Mayor of Portland, who last night was booed & shouted out of existence by the agitators & anarchists. Love watching pathetic Never Trumpers squirm! }}

In September 2020, Ridge endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president in a Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed.{{cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/tom-ridge-trump-biden-election-2020-vote-20200927.html|title=I was a Republican governor of Pa. I'm voting for Joe Biden.|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=September 27, 2020|first=Tom|last=Ridge|access-date=September 27, 2020}} On November 6, 2020, he confirmed to CNN that it was the first time he ever voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.{{Cite AV media notes |title=CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL |title-link= |last= |first= |author-link= |first2= |last2= |author-link2= |others=Don Lemon, anchor |url=http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2011/06/se.10.html |date=November 6, 2020 |access-date=August 30, 2022 |chapter= |page= |pages= |at= |type=transcript |publisher=CNN |id= |location= }}

Ridge, along with more than 100 Republican former national security officials, signed a letter in November that stated that the delay of the presidential transition imperiled the security of the nation. The 9/11 Commission finding that the shortened transition to the administration of George W. Bush during the disputed 2000 presidential election "hampered the new administration in identifying, recruiting, clearing, and obtaining Senate confirmation of key appointees" was mentioned in the statement.{{Cite news|last=Brook|first=Tom Vanden|title='Special jeopardy': 100 former Republican national security officials warn Trump must allow transition|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/23/100-gop-national-security-officials-trump-transition-refusal-hurts-us/6392529002/|access-date=2020-11-24|work=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}

In August 2022, Ridge described the January 6 United States Capitol attack as "conduct you’d see in a Third World country, not in the United States of America" and described current politics in America as "distressing", "personal, vengeful, [and] mean-spirited."{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Jan |title='It could bring a tear to your eye': Former Pa. Gov. Tom Ridge reflects on politics, Jan. 6, his health |url=https://www.pennlive.com/news/2022/08/former-pa-gov-tom-ridge-reflects-on-politics-today-his-health-his-administration.html-2 |access-date=30 August 2022 |work=PennLive Patriot-News |publisher=Advance Local Media LLC |date=August 29, 2022}}

In 2022, Ridge endorsed fellow Republican Mehmet Oz in the 2022 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania.{{Cite web |title=Tom Ridge backs Dr. Oz in the U.S. Senate race and is impressed by his 'desire to serve' |url=https://www.goerie.com/story/news/politics/elections/state/2022/09/29/former-governor-tom-ridges-backs-fellow-republican-dr-oz-us-senate-race-vs-john-fetterman-pa-seat/69526510007/ |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=Erie Times-News |language=en-US}}

Tom Ridge's book The Test of Our Times was published in September 2009.{{cite book |title=The Test of Our Times |last=Ridge |first=Tom |author2=Bloom, Larry |year=2009 |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books |isbn=978-0-312-53487-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/testofourtimesam00ridg |access-date=February 15, 2010 |url-access=registration }} Written with Larry Bloom, it focuses on Ridge's time as the head of the Department of Homeland Security. He explains the challenges and decision-making processes of the newly formed department, and gives his own views as to the future of the security of the United States of America. The book further discusses

{{blockquote|the infighting he saw that frustrated his attempts to build a smooth-running department. Among the headlines promoted by publisher Thomas Dunne Books: Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was 'blindsided' by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.}}

Ridge wrote in his memoir that then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft pressured him to raise the terror alert level, running up to the 2004 elections, because of a pre-election message critical of President Bush from Osama Bin Laden.

{{BLP sources section|date=June 2017}}

File:DHS celebrates 15 years (39848640424).jpg, John Kelly, and Michael Chertoff in 2018]]

• Awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.{{cite web |title=Ridge |url=https://www.ausa.org/sites/default/files/Ridge.pdf |website=ausa.org |access-date=29 February 2020}}
• Erie International Airport was co-named Tom Ridge Field in honor of Ridge.
• The Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania, is named after the former governor. Ridge was instrumental in securing funds for the center.{{cite web |title=Ridge |url=https://www.ausa.org/sites/default/files/Ridge.pdf |website=ausa.org |access-date=29 February 2020}}
• Ridge's picture hangs in the moot court room at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
• Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pennsylvania, runs the $100,000 Tom Ridge Stakes every meet.
• Mercyhurst University named its Tom Ridge College of Intelligence Studies and Applied Science after the first U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.{{cite news|url=http://www.mercyhurst.edu/news/mercyhurst-dedicates-new-intel-school-named-after-gov-tom-ridge|title=Mercyhurst dedicates new intel school named after Gov. Tom Ridge|date=April 11, 2014|access-date=May 25, 2015|publisher=Mercyhurst University }}

Tom's wife, Michele Ridge, is the former executive director of the Erie County Library System. Married since 1979, they have two children: Lesley and Tommy.{{cite news|title=Profile: Tom Ridge|author=BBC News|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1556612.stm|date=November 9, 2004}}

Ridge was hospitalized in critical condition in Texas after a cardiac event on November 16, 2017.{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/ex-homeland-security-secretary-tom-ridge-hospitalized |title=Ex-Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge hospitalized |date=November 16, 2017 |access-date=November 16, 2017 |publisher=Fox News |agency=Associated Press }}

On June 16, 2021, Ridge suffered a stroke while at his home in Bethesda, Maryland. He was hospitalized and underwent a successful procedure to remove a blood clot.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/politics/tom-ridge-stroke/index.html |title=Ex-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge hospitalized after suffering stroke |date=June 16, 2021 |work=CNN |first1=Rebekah |last1=Riess |first2=Devan |last2=Cole |access-date=June 17, 2021 }} Discharged in late June, Ridge began rehabilitation therapy in the Washington, D.C., area.{{cite news |url=https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/06/former-pa-gov-tom-ridge-leaves-hospital-begins-rehab-therapy-following-stroke.html |title=Former Pa. Gov. Tom Ridge leaves hospital, begins rehab therapy following stroke |date=June 28, 2021 |newspaper=The Patriot-News |first=Jan |last=Murphy |access-date=June 28, 2021 }}

{{Election box begin no change| title=1994 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election{{cite web|url=http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1994&off=5&elect=0&fips=42&f=0|title=US Election Atlas: 1994|access-date=July 1, 2017}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Republican Party (US)

| candidate = Tom Ridge

| votes = 1,627,976

| percentage = 45.40%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (US)

| candidate = Mark Singel

| votes = 1,430,099

| percentage = 39.88%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Constitution Party (US)

| candidate = Peg Luksik

| votes = 460,269

| percentage = 12.84%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Libertarian Party (US)

| candidate = Patrick Fallon

| votes = 33,602

| percentage = 0.94%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Reform Party (US)

| candidate = Tom Holloway

| votes = 33,235

| percentage = 0.93%

}}

{{Election box write-in with party link no change

| votes = 345

| percentage = 0.01%

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 3,585,526

| percentage = 100.00%

}}

{{Election box turnout no change

| votes =

| percentage = 60.98%

}}

{{Election box gain with party link no change|winner=Republican Party (US)|loser=Democratic Party (US)}}{{Election box end}}{{Election box begin no change|title=1998 Pennsylvania gubernatorial electionThe Pennsylvania Manual, p. 7-94.The Pennsylvania Manual, p. 7-16.}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Tom Ridge (incumbent)|votes=1,736,844|percentage=57.42%|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Ivan Itkin|votes=938,745|percentage=31.03%|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Constitution Party (United States)|candidate=Peg Luksik|votes=315,761|percentage=10.43%|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Libertarian Party (United States)|candidate=Ken Krawchuk|votes=33,591|percentage=1.11%|change=}}

{{Election box write-in with party link no change|votes=281|percentage=0.01%|change=}}

{{Election box total no change|votes=3,025,022|percentage=100.00%}}

{{Election box turnout no change|percentage=41.67%}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change|winner=Republican Party (United States)}}{{Election box end}}

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