Josiah Robins Bonner Jr. (born November 19, 1959) is an American academic administrator and former politician who currently serves as the fourth president of the
University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...
. He was previously the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for from 2003 to 2013. He is a member of the
Republican Party. He resigned from Congress on August 2, 2013, to take a job with the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
. He served as Chief of Staff to Alabama governor
Kay Ivey
Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician serving as the 54th and incumbent governor of Alabama since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38t ...
from 2019 to 2021, before becoming the president of the University of South Alabama. He was officially inaugurated in December 2021.
Early life, education, and early political career
Bonner was born in
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About ...
, but was reared in
Camden, Alabama, to Josiah Robins Bonner and the former Imogene Virginia Lyons. He graduated in 1982 with a degree in journalism from the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
in
Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
.
Two years later he started working as campaign press secretary for U.S. Congressman
Sonny Callahan
Herbert Leon "Sonny" Callahan (September 11, 1932 – June 24, 2021) was an American businessman and politician from Alabama. After being elected as a Democrat from Mobile to the state house and senate, he shifted to the Republican Party after ...
, a Republican representing
Alabama's 1st congressional district
Alabama's 1st congressional district is a United States congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It includes the entirety of Washington, Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia and Mon ...
. In 1989, Bonner was promoted to Callahan's chief of staff and moved to
Mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ( ...
.
Bonner has served as a member of the board of directors for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce,
Rotary Club, Leadership Mobile, and the Mobile Chapter of the University of Alabama Alumni Association. In 2000, the College of Communications at the University of Alabama honored him as their Outstanding Alumnus in Public Relations. He was a member of Leadership Mobile, Class of 2000, where his classmates elected him co-president.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
;2002
Callahan did not run for reelection in 2002, and Bonner entered the race to succeed him. He ranked first in the crowded seven-way Republican primary with 40% of the vote, but failed to reach the 50% threshold needed to win outright. In the run-off election Bonner defeated Tom Young, chief of staff to
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
Richard Shelby
Richard Craig Shelby (born May 6, 1934) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Alabama. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 as a Democrat who later switched to the Republican Party in 1994, h ...
62%–38%. In the general election, he defeated Democrat Judy Belk with 61% of the vote. However, he had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with his primary victory. The 1st is one of the most Republican districts in Alabama and the South, and has been in Republican hands without interruption since 1965. Bonner was also endorsed by his predecessors, Callahan and
Jack Edwards.
;2004–2010
During this time period, Bonner never won re-election with less than 63% of the vote. He even ran unopposed in 2008 and 2010.
;2012
After redistricting, Bonner decided to run for a sixth term. In the Republican primary, he drew three opponents. For the third election in a row, no other party even put up a candidate, meaning that whoever won the primary would be all but assured of election.
An anti-incumbent super
PAC called the
Campaign for Primary Accountability
The Campaign for Primary Accountability is a nonpartisan Super PAC created in 2011. Founded by Leo Linbeck III and Eric O'Keefe, the group's goal is to defeat longtime and unpopular incumbents of both the Republican Party and Democratic Party. ...
spent $21,000 to try to unseat Bonner. Bonner told ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' that "obviously, when the Supreme Court made their decision to open up corporate war chests, this is the result." Bonner said he believed he would survive the primary challenge because his campaign expenditures far exceed the money being spent against him. "If I hadn't had $1 million in my account, I could be underwater right now," said Bonner. According to
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...
records, Bonner spent $650,000 on his re-election campaign. His three opponents spent a combined total of under $275,000. No Democratic candidates have filed to run against Bonner in the general election.
Bonner won the Republican primary with 56% of the vote. He won all of the counties in the district.
Tenure
Bonner was somewhat conservative by national standards, but moderate by Alabama Republican standards. Perhaps his most notable dissension was his opposition to on-shore
liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...
(LNG) terminals for Mobile, but went on to propose an off-shore option for the future. He pushed for Callahan's seat on the
House Appropriations Committee
The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...
but did not carry the support of his colleagues. Bonner hosted the
Gulf Coast Congressional Report
''The Gulf Coast Congressional Report'', or ''Congressional Report'', is a public service television program broadcast by WKRG-TV in Mobile, Alabama from 1973 to 2006. Originally hosted by Representatives from the three congressional districts wi ...
from 2003 to 2006, when the program was halted in response to an equal-time complaint by Vivian Beckerle, Bonner's opponent in the 2006 election.
Prior to being sworn into the 108th Congress,
Majority Whip
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...
Roy Blunt
Roy Dean Blunt (born January 10, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator for Missouri, a seat he was first elected to in 2010. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 33rd Missouri Sec ...
, a
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
Republican, named Bonner an Assistant Whip. The appointment made Bonner one of a number of freshmen who were part of weekly leadership meetings with Blunt, the second-ranking member in the Republican Leadership behind only the
Majority Leader
In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body. . On December 14, 2005, Bonner voted for the reauthorization of the
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of Congress, Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President of the United States, President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniti ...
. On June 29, 2005, he voted for a $25 million increase in funding for anti-
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
print and television ads. On October 6, 2005, he voted for the
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
. On July 13, 2006, he was one of thirty-three votes against renewal of the
Voting Rights Act
The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...
.
In December 2011, Bonner voted in support of H.R. 10, the "Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act," which would have required Congressional approval for any "major regulations" issued by the executive branch but, unlike the 1996
Congressional Review Act
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is a law that was enacted by the United States Congress under House Speaker Newt Gingrich as Subtitle E of the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 () and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Marc ...
, would not require the president's signature or override of a probable presidential veto.
Bonner is a signer of
Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to control ...
's
Taxpayer Protection Pledge
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to contr ...
.
According to the website Open Congress, Bonner votes with the Republican Party 93.5% of the time. This ranked 88th among the 242 House Republicans in 2011.
Heritage Action for America
Heritage Action for America, more commonly known simply as Heritage Action, is a conservative policy advocacy organization founded in 2010. Heritage Action, which has affiliates throughout the United States, is a sister organization of the conser ...
, a conservative policy advocacy organization, reports that 55% of Bonner's votes align with Heritage's preferred policy stances.
Bonner has received a 0% on the legislative scorecards for
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...
, the
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
, and the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
. The
American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...
gave him an 86% evaluation in 2013.
In 2008, following Bonner's appointment to the
Appropriations Committee, free-market advocacy group
FreedomWorks
FreedomWorks is a conservative and libertarian advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. FreedomWorks trains volunteers, assists in campaigns, and encourages them to mobilize, interacting with both fellow citizens and their political representat ...
called on Bonner to accept a personal one-year moratorium on accepting earmarks. A FreedomWorks statement said that "Representative Bonner has a long history of securing earmarks for his district, and voting in favor of egregious pork projects on the House floor."
Bonner has declined to join the
Tea Party Caucus
The Tea Party Caucus (TPC) was a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. The Caucus was founded in July 2010 by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in coordination ...
, saying, "I try not to get involved in caucuses that make me look like a radical, right-wing nut. I don't think that's what the Tea Party is, but I want to avoid the appearance."
In 2007, Bonner voted to increase the federal
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
. In 2008, he voted in favor of
TARP, the financial bail out package.
[''Washington Post'' "Jo Bonner (R-Ala.)," Accessed February 24, 2012]
/ref> Bonner voted against Republican-supported regulations on the credit-card industry and the Cash for Clunkers program. Bonner supported the Iraq war and opposed a timetable for withdrawal of American troops.[ He supports warrantless wiretapping. Bonner supports amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage and he voted against repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell." In the summer of 2011, Bonner voted to raise America's debt ceiling.
In March 2013, '']Mother Jones
Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
'' reported that in August 2012 Bonner and his wife took a $16,214.66 trip to a private 66,000-acre ranch in Kenya, paid for entirely by the International Conservation Caucus Foundation
The International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF) is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) educational foundation based in Washington, D.C. ICCF's stated mission is "to advance U.S. leadership in international conservation through public and private pa ...
. The ranch is owned by members of the Wildenstein family and was the filming location of the 1985 film ''Out of Africa
''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish people, Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the seventeen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called East Africa Protectorate, British East Afr ...
''. Bonner claimed that the trip was for the purposes of researching a link between illegal wildlife poaching and Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
.
Committee assignments
*Committee on Appropriations
The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...
(since February 2008)
** Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Vice Chair)
** Subcommittee on Defense
** Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
* Committee on Ethics (Chairman)
Caucus memberships
*Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus
* International Conservation Caucus
*Sportsmen's Caucus
*Congressional Cement Caucus
Bonner was a member of the Republican Study Committee
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana.
Although the prim ...
until October 2011, when he dropped out of the group.
Chief of Staff to the Governor of Alabama
After Steve Pelham, the then-chief of staff to Alabama governor Kay Ivey
Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician serving as the 54th and incumbent governor of Alabama since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38t ...
, took a job with Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
, Bonner was announced as Pelham's replacement in January 2019. In a press release, Ivey said of Bonner, "Steve has been a close friend and a trusted confidant for a number of years and has provided our office with outstanding leadership." Bonner officially took office as chief of staff following Ivey's inauguration for a full term as governor. Bonner left the position in 2021 to become president of the University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...
, and was succeeded by Liz Filmore.
Academic career
Bonner resigned from the U.S. Congress in 2013 to become the vice chancellor of government relations and economic development for the University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
.
In November 2021, Bonner, while serving as chief of staff to Governor Kay Ivey, was announced as the next president of the University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...
, following the retirement of Tony Waldrop. Bonner faced skepticism from some faculty and alumni over his political background; in response, Bonner stated, "all I can ask of those who still have doubts and concerns is to meet me halfway and give us a chance to show what we can do by working together." Bonner was officially inaugurated as the university's fourth president on December 2, 2021. Bonner has a base salary of $525,000, over three times his congressional salary at the time of his resignation.
Personal life
Bonner is married to Janée Lambert of Mobile. They are parents of a daughter, Jennifer Lee, and a son, Josiah Robins, III. The Bonners make their home in Mobile and are members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. His sister Judy served as the President of the University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
from 2012 to 2015.
Bonner is a member of the Reformers Caucus of Issue One
Issue One is an American nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influ ...
.
Electoral history
,
,
References
External links
Congressman Jo Bonner
official U.S. House website
Jo Bonner for Congress
*
Collected news and commentary
from ''Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
''
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonner, Jo
1959 births
21st-century American politicians
American Episcopalians
Living people
People from Camden, Alabama
Political chiefs of staff
Politicians from Mobile, Alabama
Politicians from Selma, Alabama
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama
United States congressional aides
University of Alabama alumni
University of Alabama faculty