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Politicos Go For Govolution;
Microsoft, Dems Back Women Vote 2000
More politicos are stepping forward to lend their experiences and input into new Web venture Govolution, which provides federal agencies with secure online transactions. National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons Chairman Julian Bond will join a group that includes Bill Kristol, editor and publisher of the conservative Weekly Standard, former State Department Assistant Secretary James Rubin, former Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver and Speechworks Chairman William O’Farrell. Former Boston Chief Information Officer Allan Stern and Mark Eaker, a business professor at the University of Virginia, and Thomas Gilbane Jr., CEO of building contractor Gilbane, also sit on the advisory board, lending strategic and technical advice.
Sun Microsystems recently hired Robert Smith as its newest federal affairs representative in the company’s Washington, DC, public policy office. As former legislative director to Rep. Wes Watkins, R-OK, and former legislative aide to Rep. Joel Hefley, R-CO, Smith covered issues of taxation, international trade, telecommunications, and technology. He will analyze tax issues for Sun.
The Democratic National convention is giving California first lady Sharon Davis a reason to smile. Davis hosted a luncheon Tuesday along side Ellen Malcolm, president of the Democratic women’s PAC, Emily’s List. Microsoft is sponsoring the event at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in an effort to raise funds for the Women Vote 2000 and mobilize the women’s vote for Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore. The luncheon will showcase first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and California’s two female Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.
Silicon Valley’s Tom Campbell, R-CA, is reaching out to Hispanics in his race to represent California in the Senate. This week he debuted new Spanish TV ads as part of "an ongoing effort by the congressman to continue to embrace Latinos," highlighting Campbell’s opposition of proposition 187. Campbell unveiled the ads in Los Angeles earlier this week, just in time for the Democratic National Convention.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard last week named Emily Hoffnar as liaison to the FCC’s local and state advisory board. She replaces Rosalind Allen who left commission to join law firm Arnold & Porter.
Washington, DC-based Ignition Strategic Communications, headed by Sydney Rubin, is opening a second office in Austin, TX. Ignition represents a variety of high-tech clients including the Online Privacy Alliance. One of the charter events the two-person Austin office will spearhead is an alliance briefing on privacy held in conjunction with Dell, which is headquartered outside of Austin. "We're trying to get the word out that the state has a large tech sector, and legislation on privacy is affecting states across the nation," said Rubin, who is from Texas, but left in 1970. The group plans to invite firms from Houston and Dallas, as well. Ignition has 12 people in its Washington office, including firm co-founder Cindy DiBiasi.
Nearly 50 percent of Americans own stocks and participate actively in the market, ensuring that the new economy is a winning topic for policy analysts and industry experts. Texas-based Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) is hoping to capitalize on just that with a luncheon featuring business columnist-cum-tech stock guru James K. Glassman. IPI Senior Vice President Michael Cox, who also is the reserve chief economist for Dallas, will join House Majority Leader Richard Armey, R-TX, in joining Glassman in discussing the regulatory threats to the new economy in Dallas on Wednesday.
More than 70 groups have recently joined the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT), a national high-tech industry group representing mostly small- and mid-sized tech firms in the Washington, DC, area, the group announced last week. Among the newest members are Applied Information Sciences, ConnectOS, Delphia Consulting, Hunt Interactive and Intellithought. "Congress and the Administration are considering rules and legislation covering every aspect of the IT sector, from Internet taxes to online privacy from workforce shortages to broadband access. Signing up with ACT gives these emerging high-tech firms a powerful voice in Washington," ACT President Jonathan Zuck said in a statement.
In other industry news, The Wall Street Journal reports that former Delta Airlines executive Edward West will take over as CFO of the global Internet Capital Group, a company specializing in business to business and e-commerce ventures. Red Herring noted that Peter Takiff, chief financial officer at Tommy Boy Records, is scrapping the entertainment altogether to join Flooz.com, the online gift card company, as its CFO.
 | - by Maureen Sirhal |
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