Robert Maxwell McCord (born March 5, 1959) is an American former politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the

Treasurer of Pennsylvania The treasurer of Pennsylvania is the head of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, an independent department of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), commonwealth's government. The treasurer is elected every four years. Treasurers are limited to two c ...

from 2009 to 2015. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for

Governor of Pennsylvania The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

in the 2014 election. In January 2015 he announced his resignation as Treasurer of Pennsylvania. On February 17, 2015, McCord pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion.

Early life and education

McCord was born in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to William Maxwell McCord (1930-1992) and Joan Fish McCord (1930-2004), both of whom worked at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. His older brother is Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, a professor at

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. His father, a sociologist, and his mother, a criminologist, separated when McCord was 4 years old. When he was 10, McCord moved to Ardmore, Pennsylvania and later attended Lower Merion High School. After graduating from Lower Merion High, McCord took a year off and then went to

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. At Harvard he did one year abroad and went to Trinity College in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and (back at Harvard) met Leigh Alexandra Jackson, his future wife. McCord also obtained an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

before he moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

McCord traveled back to Pennsylvania and set up home in Narberth, less than a mile from Ardmore. After having two children, the McCord family ventured to Bryn Mawr. McCord moved to North Carolina to become a yoga instructor. He lived in Long Branch, New Jersey prior to his arrest and conviction.

Career

From 1994 through 1998 McCord was a senior executive at Safeguard Scientifics. McCord founded and from 1998 to 2007 ran the Eastern Technology Council. McCord was elected the

in 2008. He, his wife, and their sons Jackson and Grant lived in Bryn Mawr. In 2014, McCord ran for

in the Democratic primary. He finished third in the May 20 primary, behind nominee

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and l ...

and U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz.

Federal trial and conviction

On January 29, 2015, McCord announced his resignation, effective February 12. The next day, he announced his resignation effective immediately and said he intended to plead guilty to federal charges of extortion relating to campaign fundraising. On February 2, 2015, McCord was formally charged, and on February 17, 2015, he pled guilty to two counts of extortion. After being made aware that he was being investigated but before he resigned, McCord cooperated as an informant on political donors. McCord's case was delayed after he pled guilty, possibly to assess the usefulness of his cooperation. On August 28, 2018, McCord was sentenced to 30 months in prison by Judge John E. Jones III.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:McCord, Robert 1959 births American venture capitalists Harvard College alumni Living people Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania politicians convicted of crimes People from Ardmore, Pennsylvania Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right State treasurers of Pennsylvania 2012 United States presidential electors Wharton School alumni Lower Merion High School alumni