Chris Chocola
Joseph Christopher Chocola is an American businessman, lawyer, and former politician. A member of the Republican Party, Chocola served in the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007, representing Indiana's 2nd congressional district.
In 2002, Chocola ran for the U.S. House, defeating former Democratic congresswoman Jill Long Thompson. Chocola was a member of the Agriculture, Small Business, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Ways and Means committees. In 2004, he defeated lawyer and then-Mishawaka Marian School Board President Joe Donnelly, later losing in a rematch against Donnelly in 2006.
After leaving Congress, Chocola served as president of the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative 5014 organization, from 2009 through the end of 2014.
Early life, education, and career
Chocola was born in Jackson, Michigan. He grew up in Michigan, graduating from Williamston High School in 1980. He graduated in 1984 from Hillsdale College, in Hillsdale, Michigan, with a double major in business administration and political economy. While at Hillsdale College he joined the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. After graduation, he went to work at Society National Bank, now known as KeyBank, which had recruited him into its management program in Cleveland. At the time when he left to go to law school, he was employed as a foreign exchange trader for the bank.Chocola attended law school classes at night at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, in Lansing, Michigan, while working as a credit manager for his family's business, Chocola Cleaning Materials. He graduated in 1988.
In 1988, Chocola was hired as corporate counsel by CTB International in Milford, Indiana, a manufacturer of products for the poultry, egg, swine, and grain production industries, which his grandfather, Howard Brembeck, had founded. He initially managed all the legal aspects of the business as corporate counsel. He then held various management positions until he was named CEO in 1994. In April 1999, he left the CEO position to become chairman of the board.
In August 2002, CTB International was sold to Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm of billionaire Warren Buffett. The Chocola family received 55% of the $140 million paid to shareholders of the company.
Congressional elections
2000
In the 2000 election, Chocola made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in what was then, losing to incumbent Democrat Timothy J. Roemer by a 52–47% margin. In that campaign, Chocola spent more than $1 million, including $465,000 of his own money.In the October 8, 2000, edition of the Elkhart Truth, an Elkhart, Indiana newspaper, Chocola was quoted as saying that "Bush's plan of individual investment of 2 percent of the money is a start. Eventually, I'd like to see the entire Social Security system privatized. It's not a 'risky scheme'." In late October, after Roemer had featured that statement in political ads, Chocola said, "There is no one proposing, including me, a plan of total privatization." The newspaper, saying Chocola had made his statement in meeting its editorial board, refused to retract the story. Roemer refused to stop running the ad despite Chocola's contention that the quotation was taken out of context.
2002
Roemer retired after his 2001–2003 term. In 2002, Chocola ran again for the open seat, which had been renumbered as the 2nd District after redistricting. In November, he defeated former Congresswoman Jill Long Thompson by a 51-46 margin with 188,446 votes cast, in a race that included campaign appearances by President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and other top Republicans, to assist his bid.2004
In 2004, Chocola defeated Democrat Joe Donnelly by a 54–45% margin with 259,355 votes cast, in an election where Bush received 56 percent of the district's vote. In that race, Chocola outspent Donnelly $1.4 million to $700,000. Chocola was assisted by a fundraising visit from Vice President Dick Cheney during the campaign.2006
Chocola defeated Tony Zirkle, an attorney, Navy veteran, and frequent candidate, in the Republican primary on May 2, 2006 by 70% to 30%. In the November general election, Chocola lost to Democratic candidate Joe Donnelly, whom he had defeated in 2004, by a 54–46% margin with 191,861 votes cast.House of Representatives (2003–2007)
According to a profile by the Associated Press, "Chocola is a strong supporter of President Bush". The two do differ on some positions, such as illegal immigration. Chocola has supported the "tough enforcement first" House version of changes in immigration law, in opposition to the President's calls for a guest worker program.In January 2006, Chocola said that great strides were being made in transitioning Iraq from military coalition to police control. He said it was too early to predict when the job will be done.
Social issues
- Chocola was a cosponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2003 and voted for that Amendment when it came to the floor in 2004. He again was a cosponsor of the Marriage Protection Amendment in 2006 and voted for the amendment on July 18, 2006.
- He voted in 2005 for an amendment to the Constitution preventing the desecration of the American flag.
- Voted for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in July 2006, which restricts credit card companies from processing payment towards Internet gambling companies.
- Voted for the Pledge Protection Act in mid-July 2006, which would prevent federal courts from ruling on cases involving the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Voted against overriding President George W. Bush's veto of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act in July 2006. The bill would have modified restrictions on embryonic stem cell research and allowed for federal funding of the research.
Fiscal and economic issues
- Introduced a bill that would place currency manipulation tariffs on China. He later denounced this bill when he became president of the Club for Growth.
- Voted against increasing the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program by $1 billion in March 2006.
- Voted for the Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act in May 2006, which extended tax cuts set to expire over the next seven years.
- Voted for the Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act in June 2006. The bill permanently exempted personal estates of less than $5 million per spouse from estate taxes, and lowered the tax rate on larger estates.
- In the summer of 2006, voted for a bill that would allow private companies to drill for oil in ANWR.
- One of two cosponsors of HELPS Retirees Act, also known as the Healthcare Enhancement for Local Public Safety Retirees Act of 2005, which enables retired public safety officers to designate up to $5,000 per year from governmental pension or deferred compensation funds for health care premiums on a pre-tax basis. This earned Chocola an endorsement from the International Association of Fire Fighters, one of his only endorsements from organized labor.