Phillip P. Puckett

Background

Puckett, Phillip P. was born on August 10, 1947 in Russell County, Virginia, United States.

Education

He finished fourth and last in the Democratic primary, behind Leslie L. Byrne, Viola Baskerville and Chap Petersen.

Career

A Democrat, he was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 1997 and resigned on June 9, 2014. He represented the 38th district, made up of five counties and parts of four others in the southwestern part of the state. In 2005, Puckett ran for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.

In February 2014, Puckett"s daughter, Martha P. Ketron, was confirmed by the Virginia House of Delegates to fill a six-year term for the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judgeship that she had been temporarily filling since 2013.

Puckett resigned from the Senate on June 9, 2014, citing family reasons. His resignation gave Republicans a 20-19 majority during budgetary negotiations and the consideration of the expansion of Medicaid.

He had been under consideration for a job with the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission prior to his departure. Puckett"s resignation coincided with an alleged offer by the Virginia Republican Party to appoint him as the deputy director of the state tobacco commission, although following criticism, he announced he would not accept the appointment.

Republican legislators planned to confirm Puckett"s daughter to her full six-year term following his resignation.

Governor Terry McAuliffe said in a statement regarding Puckett"s resignation that he was disappointed because of the impact it would have on negotiations over his desire to expand Medicaid coverage for approximately 400,000 low-income Virginians. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington subsequently asked the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to investigate whether Puckett violated federal anti-corruption laws by resigning from office in exchange for offers of appointment to the tobacco commission and that of his daughter"s appointment to a state judgeship. The DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation subsequently launched an investigation in June 2014 into the circumstances surrounding Puckett"s resignation.

Puckett retained a former federal prosecutor, Thomas J. Bondurant Junior., as his lawyer

On October 3, 2014, it was learned that Government. McAuliffe"s chief of staff had "left a voice-mail message for a Democrat who was on the verge of quitting the General Assembly in June, saying that the senator"s daughter might get a top state job if he stayed to support the governor"s push to expand Medicaid, according to descriptions from three people who heard the recording.".

Achievements

• Phillip P. Puckett has been listed as a noteworthy state legislator by Marquis Who's Who.

Membership

The Senate of Virginia was also required to confirm her, but cited an informal policy that family members of current legislators are typically not appointed to the judiciary.