1. Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009.
26 Facts About Pete Domenici
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Pete Domenici was succeeded by Democratic US Representative Tom Udall.
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Pete Domenici received criticism for his environmental record and extramarital affair.
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Pete Domenici chaired several key committees including the Senate Budget Committee and Senate Energy Committee.
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Pete Domenici was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Alda and Cherubino Pete Domenici, both of whom were born in Modena, Italy.
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Pete Domenici spent two years at the College of St Joseph on the Rio Grande before earning a degree in education at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque in 1954, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
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Pete Domenici taught mathematics at Garfield Junior High in Albuquerque.
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Pete Domenici earned his law degree at the University of Denver law school in 1958 and returned to practice law in Albuquerque.
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In 1966, Pete Domenici successfully ran for a position on the Albuquerque City Commission and in 1968 was elected Commission Chairman.
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Pete Domenici was the Republican nominee for governor in the 1970 New Mexico gubernatorial race, which he lost to Democrat and former state House Speaker Bruce King.
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In 1972, Pete Domenici successfully ran for a position in the US Senate and became the first New Mexico Republican to be elected to the position in 38 years.
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Pete Domenici was aided by Richard Nixon's landslide win over Democratic US Senator George McGovern at the top of the ticket.
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Pete Domenici polled 204,253 votes to 173,815 for Democratic state Representative Jack Daniels, a Hobbs realtor.
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Pete Domenici was re-elected in 1978,1984,1990,1996, and 2002 and is to date the longest-serving senator in his state's history, having served in the legislative body for 36 years.
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Pete Domenici was a member of the US Senate Committees on Appropriations and Indian Affairs, and served as Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Budget Committee.
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Pete Domenici advocated for the mentally ill, having pushed the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996.
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Pete Domenici voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr.
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Pete Domenici voted in favor of the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to the US Supreme Court.
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In 1998, Pete Domenici voted to convict President Bill Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice during his impeachment trial.
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In 1977, Pete Domenici set himself to the task of enacting a waterway usage fee.
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The issue greatly assisted Domenici in his home state, where the railroad industry was a significant player.
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The committee found "no substantial evidence" that Pete Domenici tried to influence attorney David Iglesias when he contacted him to inquire about the status of a 2006 investigation into corruption charges on a state Democratic official.
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The Ethics Committee said that Pete Domenici's phone call to Iglesias, in advance of an upcoming election, "created an appearance of impropriety that reflected unfavorably on the Senate".
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On October 4,2007, Pete Domenici announced his decision not to seek re-election to the Senate in 2008 for health reasons.
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The task force began its work in February 2010 and, led by Pete Domenici, released a report on November 17,2010 on ways to address and reduce the national debt and deficit.
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Pete Domenici died on September 13,2017, at the age of 85, at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from complications that resulted from abdominal surgery.