Al Checchi
Encyclopedia
Alfred Attilio Checchi is an American politician who was a candidate for Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...

 in the 1998 gubernatorial election
California gubernatorial election, 1998
The 1998 California gubernatorial election was an election that occurred on November 3, 1998, resulting in the election of Gray Davis, the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years. Davis won the general election by an almost 20% margin over his closest opponent, Republican Dan Lungren...

, losing to fellow Democrat Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...

 in the June 1998 primary. Checchi finished in second place in the Democratic primary, capturing 12.49% of the vote. He ran as a New Democrat and called for increased spending on education. He set a new record at the time for spending in a California gubernatorial race, spending over $40 million dollars of his personal fortune. Checchi had previously enjoyed success in various business ventures, most notably serving as co-chairman of Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...

. He attended the Harvard School of Business. Checchi is married to his wife Kathryn and has 3 children.

Early life

Checchi was born on June 6, 1948 near Boston, Massachusetts. His grandfather ran the Elba Fruit Market, a grocery in Calais, Maine
Calais, Maine
Calais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The city has three United States border crossings or also known as a Port of entry with the busiest being on the St. Croix River bordering St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada...

. Checchi is of Italian heritage. He was raised in the suburbs of Washington D.C. to middle-class parents where he attended Catholic schools. Checchi's father was the No. 3 man in the Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...

 from 1946 to 1960, and later ran an investment firm. Checchi began to think of running for public office when he was 12. At the age of 14, Checchi saw Martin Luther King Jr.'s I have a dream
I Have a Dream
"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...

 speech.

Checchi attended Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

 in Massachusetts because he heard it was the most difficult to get into; he graduated in 1970 with an American studies major. He completed a Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...

 at Harvard School of Business.

Business career

Checchi first worked at Marriott Corporation where he rose quickly due to clever financing for hotel developments at home and abroad. In his 30's, he helped the Bass brothers of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 acquire a 25% stake in Disney, earning a reported $50 million in the process. In 1989, Checchi helped organize a $3.65 billion leveraged buyout of Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...

, investing about $12 million in the transaction. From 1989 to 1993, he served as co-chairman of Northwest Airlines. Checchi's critics state argue that Checchi moved the company near bankruptcy, forced $800 million in union concessions, and worked to gain $837 million in state and local bonds, subsidies and tax credits, while earning $32 million for his outside firm. Checchi counters that he protected the company from asset strippers and he helped triple the value of Northwest Airlines stock. He amassed a net worth of around $700 million.

Political positions

Checchi was a New Democrat, liberal on social issues and conservative on fiscal ones. He campaigned on increasing investing on education, making a 10% across-the-board cut in all state bureaucracies to pay for more teachers, computers, books, universal preschool and after-school programs. He called for teachers to be tested every five years and to expand charter schools. Checchi opposed Proposition 187 because of it cut benefits to illegal immigrants children and called for prosecution of businesses that hire undocumented workers. Checchi wanted to extend the death penalty to cover serial rapists and repeat child molesters, and he wanted a drug rehabilitation programs for the state's prisoners, with release contingent on a drug-free record. Checchi supported regional planning for growth, financial incentives to stimulate housing, and he promised to cut auto insurance rates by 10 percent. Raising California's pupil spending to the national average. He supports abortion rights for women and parental consent legislation for teenagers seeking abortions. He released a 90-page book detailing his policies and political positions.

Prior to his run for Governor, Checchi had voted in 2 of the last 6 elections.

The race

Checchi spent over $40 million from his personal fortune on his run for governor. Checchi's campaign featured numerous television ads and high priced political advisors and included a television ad that highlighted his Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...

 heritage. Other ads highlighted his business experience. One ad featured children struggling to pronounce his name ("Check-ee").

Checchi ran against Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of California
The Lieutenant Governor of California is a statewide constitutional officer elected separately from the Governor who serves as the "vice-executive" of California. The Lieutenant Governor of California is elected to serve a four year term and can serve a maximum of two terms...

 Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...

 and US Congresswoman Jane Harman
Jane Harman
Jane Margaret Lakes Harman is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 to 1999, and from 2001 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party....

. Checchi lead in early polls. Checchi outspent Davis by $33 million and Harman by $25 million. He set a new record at the time for spending in a California gubernatorial race. Checchi came in second in the democratic primary held on June 2, 1998 with 12.49% of the vote.
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