Timothy Michael Donnelly (born May 9, 1966) is an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician who was a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

, representing the 59th and 33rd districts. Before his election to the Assembly in November 2010, Donnelly was a small businessman. He resides in

Twin Peaks, California Twin Peaks is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States, located on California State Route 189 west-southwest of Lake Arrowhead. Twin Peaks has a post office with ZIP code 92391, which opened in 1916. ...

. On January 22, 2013, Donnelly announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

in the 2014 election. He placed third in the open primary, behind incumbent

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

and investment banker

Neel Kashkari Neel Tushar Kashkari

, who contested the election in November 2014.

Early years and personal life

Donnelly was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and raised in

Berkley, Michigan Berkley is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1) in southeastern Oakland County. The population was 15,194 as of the 2020 Census. History Prior to ...

, the third of 14 children. Donnelly graduated from

Southfield Christian School Southfield Christian School (SCS) is a private, college-preparatory Christian school in Southfield, Michigan. It is a ministry of Highland Park Baptist Church for grades PK– 12. History SCS was founded in 1970. Academics Southfield Christian ...

in 1984. He attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

for a year and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in English from the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

in 1989. After college he worked in a family business. Five years later, Donnelly started his own company. Donnelly is married to Rowena Donnelly who is of Filipino descent. They have five children.

Political career

During his political career, Donnelly was an "unabashed

social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...

popular among the most conservative GOP stalwarts" and was a favored candidate of the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...

. He was known as "the Legislature's most outspoken gun rights advocate and opponent of illegal immigration."

Olivia Nuzzi Olivia Nuzzi (born January 6, 1993) is a political reporter who serves as the Washington correspondent for ''New York'' magazine. Early and personal life Nuzzi was born in New York City. She is the daughter of Kelly and John Nuzzi, who was born ...

described Donnelly as

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

. His home region, the California High Desert, is "arguably the most conservative part of the state."

Minuteman Project

In 2005, Donnelly became involved with the Minuteman movement, and founded the Minuteman Party in California. He stepped down from the Minutemen to return to private life in 2006.

Election to the California Assembly

In 2009, following the announcement that embattled 59th District Assemblyman

Anthony Adams Anthony "Spice" Adams (born June 18, 1980) is an American television host, actor, comedian, and former football defensive tackle. After playing college football for Penn State, he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of ...

would not seek re-election, Donnelly announced his candidacy. Appealing to

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

voters, he ran in the 2010 semi-closed primary election, and narrowly won the Republican nomination over

Covina Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley. The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 census, up from 47,796 at the 2010 census. The city's slogan, "On ...

City Councilman Christopher Lancaster, son of former state Assemblyman William H. Lancaster. He won the general election on November 2, 2010, with 57.3% of the vote, to the Democratic Party nominee's 36.8%.

Pedro Ramirez

In March 2011, Donnelly drove three hours from Sacramento to

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

to appear before the

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

student senate committee, in an attempt to oust the

student body president The student government president (sometimes called "student ''body'' president," "student ''council'' president" or "''school'' president") is generally the highest-ranking officer of a student union. While a student government group and a class p ...

Pedro Ramirez, a student in good standing at the university. Ramirez was brought by his parents to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of three. He had been injured after a car crash with a tree in January 2011, and was investigated by authorities for driving without a

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

, a minor infraction; illegal immigrants were not permitted to hold driver's licenses at the time.Gene Maddaus,
Your Legislature At Work: As Budget Talks Drag On, Assemblyman Tim Donnelly Tries To Get Illegal Immigrant Ousted From Fresno State Student Government
''LA Weekly'' (March 22, 2011). Donnelly called for Ramirez's removal, saying that the "This issue is about breaking the law and driving without a license." Donnelly was heckled by students at the hearing.

Anti-vaccine activities

In September 2012, Donnelly spoke at an

anti-vaccine movement Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

"Medical Freedom Rally" with actor

Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider (; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', he went on to a career in feature films, including starri ...

, urging Governor

to veto AB 2109, legislation that required parents seeking an exemption for vaccination of their children "to first talk with a health care provider about the risks and benefits of vaccines."Nancy Shute
How A California Law To Encourage Vaccination Could Backfire
NPR (November 9, 2013). The legislation aimed to encourage vaccination and improve vaccination rates in the state. (The legislation retained the ability of parents to reject vaccination for their child on the basis of "personal belief.") Brown signed the bill into law, although he added a signing statement indication that parents "whose religious beliefs preclude vaccination" should not be unduly burdened. In 2015, after outbreaks of

whooping cough Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or ...

and

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

the previous year, Governor Brown signed into law SB 277, a mandatory vaccination law that eliminated the "personal belief" exemption from school vaccination requirements, leaving a physician-granted medical exemption as the only exemption from vaccination requirements.Ryan Hage
Tim Donnelly launches anti-vaccine bill effort
''San Bernardino Sun'' (July 1, 2015).Tracey Seipel
California vaccine law: Opponents' repeal effort fails, but fight goes on
Bay Area News Group (October 7, 2015). One day after Brown signed the bill into law, Donnelly—who by this point had left the state legislature and become a conservative talk radio host—filed paperwork to begin signature-gathering in an attempt to place a referendum on the November 2016 California ballot to reverse the legislation. Donnelly characterized the issue as government intrusion on parental rights, and said that concerned over what he claimed was "the inherent risks of an ever increasing schedule of vaccinations," although scientific evidence shows that vaccines are safe and effective. Donnelly's referendum failed to make the ballot, having collected well under the required number of signatures.

Audit of Child Protective Services

Donnelly called for an audit of California's Child Protective Services along with Assemblyman

Mike Gatto Michael Anthony Gatto, (born October 19, 1974)California ...

, following the case of Sammy Nikolayev, who was removed from his parents' home after his parents wanted a second opinion regarding medical treatment. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted unanimously to audit CPS in three counties in the state of California on June 5.

Liberty Preservation Act

In 2013, Donnelly authored AB 351, the "Liberty Preservation Act." The law prevents "local entities from knowingly using state funds ... to engage in any activity that aids an agency of the Armed Forces of the United States in the detention of any person within California for purposes of implementing Sections 1021" of the

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012112th Congress, 1st Session, H1540CR.HSE"National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012."/ref> () is a United States federal law which among other things specifies the budget ...

. The bill achieved overwhelming, bipartisan support in the California Legislature, and was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. The Liberty Preservation Act prevents any state agency from indefinitely detaining American citizens. Donnelly stated, "Indefinite detention, by its very definition, means we are throwing away the basic foundations of our Constitution." He added, AB 351 "will prevent California from implementing indefinite detention for any reason."

Conviction for airport gun incident

On January 4, 2012, Donnelly had a loaded

Colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

handgun while attempting to board an airplane at

Ontario International Airport Ontario International Airport is an international airport two miles east of downtown Ontario, California, Ontario, in San Bernardino County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino. It ...

in San Bernardino. TSA security screeners discovered the gun in his carry-on luggage. The gun was not registered to Donnelly. Donnelly said the incident was a "regrettable" and "innocent and honest mistake." In March 2012, following a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

with prosecutors, Donnelly pleaded

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...

to two

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

offenses: one count of carrying a loaded firearm into a city without a concealed weapons permit and one count of possession of a prohibited item in a sterile area. He was sentenced to three years of probation, a $2,215 fine, and is prohibited from using, owning or possessing any firearm that is not registered to him.

"Hispanic insurgency" speech

A 2006 speech by Tim Donnelly surfaced in April 2014, in which Donnelly referred to a "Hispanic insurgency" which he compared to the war in Iraq. The speech drew strong rebuke from former U.S. Treasurer

Rosario Marin Rosario Marin (born April 4, 1958) is a Mexican-American politician who served as the 41st Treasurer of the United States from August 16, 2001, to June 30, 2003, serving under President George W. Bush. She is the first person since William Clar ...

, who said "I am just appalled. It's an embarrassment not only to himself but to the party and the efforts I am involved in at the national level … to elect Latino Republicans. This … makes my job that much more difficult." Primary Republican opponent

Neel Kashkari Neel Tushar Kashkari

reacted with a statement, ""Once again Assemblyman Donnelly's comments are outrageous and divisive. This is not who we are as Republicans and is not who we are as Californians. We need positive leadership that unites us to tackle the serious challenges that California families face."

2014 campaign for governor

In January 2013, Donnelly announced his bid for

governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

. Donnelly was endorsed by Hollywood actor

. In May 2014, during his campaign, a Donnelly campaign associate posted comments on Donnelly's official campaign Facebook page claiming that his Republican primary opponent

Neel Kashkari Neel Tushar Kashkari

had "supported the United States submitting to the Islamic, Shariah banking code in 2008" when Kashkari served as

Under Secretary of the Treasury The United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, in the United States government, advises and assists the Secretary of the Treasury in the supervision and direction of the Department of the Treasury and its activities, and succeeds the Secret ...

and administered the 2008 bank bailout.Seema Mehta
Donnelly ties GOP rival Kashkari to Sharia law
''Los Angeles Times'' (May 6, 2014). Donnelly's claim drew swift rebukes from other Republicans and Muslim groups.Darrell Issa Calls GOP Governor Candidate Tim Donnelly "Stupid," "Unfit for Any Office"
''Orange County Weekly'' (May 9, 2014)/ Representative

Darrell Issa Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for California's 50th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served i ...

, Republican of California, said: "As far as I'm concerned, this type of stupidity disqualifies Tim Donnelly from being fit to hold any office, anywhere. California Republican Party vice chair Harmeet Dhillon said that Donnelly's attempt to tie Kashkari (a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

of Indian descent) to Islamic law was an attempt "to trade on bigotry, racism, hatred of the other, hysteria." The California chapter of the

Council on American–Islamic Relations The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. It is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with regional offices nationwide. Through civil rights actions, media relations, civic enga ...

condemned Donnelly's anti-Muslim comments and said, "It is a shame that an elected official uses xenophobic and anti-Muslim rhetoric to discredit a member of his own party." Donnelly stood by his remarks. In the June 2014 California open primary, Democratic incumbent

won with 54.5% of the vote and Republican

Neel Kashkari Neel Tushar Kashkari

came in second with 19.0% of the vote, qualifying for the general election. Donnelly came in third with 14.8% of the vote. Although Kashkari called for Republican unity, Donnelly pointedly refused to ask his supporters to support Kashkari. Brown subsequently won the general election.

False Obama smears

In 2015, Donnelly claimed that President Barack Obama was "secretly following" Islam and that he wanted to see the United States punished. Donnelly referred to Obama as "Ayatollah Obama". He pushed the conspiracy theory that the Obama administration is staffed with Muslim Brotherhood members, saying that he was starting to believe "more and more" that Obama himself was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

2016 congressional campaign

In 2016, Donnelly ran for California's 8th congressional district against incumbent Republican

Paul Cook Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene. Early life and career Cook was raised in Hammersmith and atte ...

. He finished third in the blanket primary behind Cook and Democrat Rita Ramirez, with 20.7% of the vote, thereby failing to advance to the general election.

2018 congressional campaign

Donnelly ran again for the 8th district in 2018. He emphasized support for President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, and advocates for a

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

to be built along the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

. He also supports repealing the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...

, ending mandatory

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

s, and

originalism In the context of United States law, originalism is a theory of constitutional interpretation that asserts that all statements in the Constitution must be interpreted based on the original understanding "at the time it was adopted". This conce ...

. During his campaign announcement in October 2017, Donnelly criticized members of Congress for their alleged failure to support the agenda of President Trump. He finished second in the blanket primary behind incumbent

and advanced to the general election for a Republican vs. Republican battle. Cook defeated Donnelly in the general election.

2020 congressional campaign

In 2019, incumbent Republican

announced that he will run for the

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

in 2020 rather than seek reelection. Donnelly announced that he would be a candidate for the 8th district. He ran on the same issues he emphasized in the last two campaigns he waged. Donnelly came third in the blanket primary, behind Republican

Jay Obernolte Jay Phillip Obernolte ( ; born August 18, 1970) is an American politician, businessman, and video game developer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. A Republican, he was previously a member of the California State Assembly represe ...

and Democrat Christine Bubser, thereby failing to advance to the general election.

Television appearances

On June 21, 2007, Donnelly appeared on ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

''. In a satirical segment entitled ''Difference Makers'', Donnelly and his Minutemen group were videotaped building a small fence along the United States border with Mexico. On December 5, 2011, Donnelly was interviewed by

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

, a correspondent for ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' with

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...

in an appearance where he discussed California's budget shortfalls along with former

state Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

John L. Burton John Lowell Burton (born December 15, 1932) is an American politician and attorney. He served as Chairman of the California Democratic Party from April 2009 until May 2017. A professor of California Politics at San Francisco State University, h ...

, the chairman of the

California Democratic Party The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento. With 43.5% of the state's registered voters as of 2018, the Democratic Party has the highest number of r ...

regarding direct democracy in California.

References

External links

Campaign website

Join California Tim Donnelly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Tim 1966 births 21st-century American politicians Activists from California American critics of Islam American anti-vaccination activists Businesspeople from California Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Living people Republican Party members of the California State Assembly People from Berkley, Michigan People from San Bernardino County, California Politicians from Atlanta University of California, Irvine alumni University of Michigan alumni Candidates in the 2020 United States elections