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TechnologyDaily Mobile
The Big Apple Beckons
by Bara Vaida
After seven months, Philippe Reines, communications director to Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., is leaving to become the press secretary to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. Reines, who grew up in New York City, said he had not been looking for a new job, but he could not resist the opportunity to work for a New York member. "The congresswoman has been great and is at the heart of some exciting [issues] this year...but at the end of the day, I'm a New Yorker," he said when asked about his decision to leave Harman, who has been an outspoken supporter of a homeland security department. Prior to joining Harman's office, Reines was deputy communications director for Peter Vallone's 2001 New York City mayorial bid. Before that, he was a research associate for the presidential campaign of Al Gore. Reines will replace Karen Dunn, who has been promoted to communications director in Clinton's office. Clinton has supported high-tech issues, including the expansion of broadband services and the extension of a moratorium on rules that would require companies to assess payroll taxes on employee stock plans. Harman's office has not filled Reines' position.
New Faces in the Lobbying and Policy World
Covad Communications has hired Praveen Goyal as senior counsel of government and regulatory affairs in Washington. Goyal recently spent three years at the FCC, where he worked as a staff attorney on rulemaking proceedings and adjudications related to the implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Prior to the FCC, Goyal was an associate at Wiley, Rein and Fielding. Covad, a digital subscriber-line provider, has been a fierce opponent to the so-called Tauzin-Dingell broadband bill, H.R. 1542, which aims to loosen some of the regulations in the 1996 act.
Siebel Systems has hired Matthew Breitfelder as a new Washington lobbyist. Most recently, Breitfelder graduated with an MBA from Harvard University, where he focused on high-tech business issues. Prior to that, he spent a summer as a manager for Accenture and has been a director of strategic planning and public policy for Privista, a privacy and financial services company. Between 1996 and 2000, Breitfelder worked at the Commerce Department, first as an international trade specialist at the Office of European Affairs and then as trade policy adviser in the Office of the Undersecretary for International Trade.
KPMG Consulting has hired Robert Chiaradio, formerly the executive assistant director for administration at the FBI, as its managing director and lead adviser on homeland security. At the FBI, Chiaradio worked on information technology and information management, including the development of the virtual case file, which aims to improve the agency's ability to manage its investigative files and improve its management capabilities. Currently, KPMG is working with the Transportation Security Administration to implement new security operations and ensure passenger safety.
Trey Smith is joining Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in its security, technology, and research and engineering sector where he will oversee core research and engineering programs in nuclear science, military systems and computational physics. Prior to joining SAIC, Smith was president of Cable & Wireless North America and global chief technology officer at Cable & Wireless PLC. SAIC was the first contractor of Network Solutions, which managed the Internet domain name system on behalf of the National Science Foundation and later the Commerce Department, before Network Solutions was bought by VeriSign.
Gary Lytle is replacing Lauren "Pete" Belvin at Qwest Communications as vice president of policy and law and will head the firm's D.C. office. Lytle was CEO of the U.S. Telecom Association and before that was vice president of federal relations at Ameritech. Belvin, who for years was the chief telecom counsel to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will be a consultant to Qwest.
On the Campaign Trail
New Democrat Coalition leader Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., could be getting some re-election opposition from a proven Democratic vote-getter -- former Rep. Cleo Fields and currently state senator, the Baton Rouge Advocate reported late last week. Fields, who has long been on the political outs with Landrieu, according to the report, said he is waiting to see if another Democrat he can support becomes a candidate for Landrieu's seat in the Senate. Fields is a veteran black political leader who got enough votes to emerge as the Democratic candidate in the runoff for governor in 1995. The primary election is Nov. 5, and a runoff, if necessary, is Dec. 7. Fields and Landrieu have been at odds since Landrieu refused to actively support Fields in the 1995 governor's race. Landrieu faces opposition from two Republican elected officials -- Rep. John Cooksey and state Rep. Tony Perkins.
A former mayor of Dallas, Democrat Ron Kirk, has an early edge over Republican Attorney General John Cornyn in their Senate campaign, according to news reports. The University of Houston's Center for Public Policy poll showed that 36 percent of Texans favored Kirk, and 28 percent were partial to Cornyn. More than a third were undecided. If Kirk wins, he would be the first African-American in the state to win a statewide public election. His success also would give Senate Democrats a seat they need to hold onto their one-seat margin. Kirk gained national prominence a few years ago when the Internet tax debate began raging. He appeared on media shows arguing for states' and localities' rights to collect taxes on e-commerce sales, and he was a member of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, created by Congress in 1998 to study federal, state, local and international taxation and tariffs on Internet transactions and access.
Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., holds a 49 percent to 47 percent lead over his challenger, Republican Rep. John Thune, according to the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader. In March, the poll showed Johnson trailing 51-46. In the latest results, Johnson had the support of 20 percent of Republicans and 49 percent of independents. Because more than half of voters in the state are registered Republicans, Johnson has been seen as one of the most vulnerable members and a key race to win for Republicans who are hoping to erase the Democrats one vote majority in the Senate.
New Bush Appointee
Kathryn Domenici, daughter-in-law of Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and partner at Albuquerque, N.M.-communications consulting firm Domenici Littlejohn, has been appointed to serve as a member of the Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities. Domenici also is an instructor at the University of New Mexico and has worked for a number of years on efforts to boost high-tech planning and distance learning at the nation's 32 tribal colleges. She also has been part of an initiative to boost economic development through the use of high-tech at tribal colleges and universities.
Cyber Award Winner
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, was given the Business Software Alliance Cyber Champion award for his commitment to cyber security. In particular, he was honored for his support of copyright protection, encryption policy and cyber security as a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
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