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Sen. Rockefeller Exits Tech Forum
by Bara Vaida
After more than three years as founding co-chairman of the Forum on Technology and Innovation, Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller has resigned from his position, leaving fellow co-chairman Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and the Council on Competitiveness, which co-sponsors the forum, to find another Democratic senator to replace the West Virginian.
According to the Council on Competitiveness, Rockefeller was spending increasing amounts of time on national security issues and had less time to devote to technology. In addition, Rockefeller's tech staffer, legislative assistant Mike Nilsson, returned to private practice, according to sources.
Separately, the Forum on Technology recently named a new executive director, William Bates. Bates previously worked on congressional affairs for the U.S. Telecom Association and before that was the chief of staff to Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.
Ex-Congressional Aide Wins State House Seat
Ben Cline, the former chief of staff to Internet Caucus co-Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., won his race last Tuesday to become the youngest member of Virginia's General Assembly, according to the Roanoke Times & World News. He won a special election for a House of Delegates seat.
Cline, 30, won his seat after a bruising battle with his Democratic opponent, Mimi Elrod, over Cline's residency and youth. The paper said that Cline bought a condominium last year in Washington, and Elrod used that purchase to charge that Cline did not live in the Virginia county he now will represent. Cline said he is registered to vote in the district through his parents' home and paid personal property taxes on his truck and Virginia income taxes.
The Roanoke Times also described the race between Cline and Elrod as having "a small-world flavor from the start." Elrod is the widow of former Washington and Lee University President John Elrod, Cline's father is a professor at Washington and Lee and his mother works in the university's news office. The paper also said Elrod is considering challenging Cline again in next year's election.
Steering Microsoft's Homeland Security Ship
Microsoft has appointed Thomas Richey to the newly created position of federal director of homeland security. Richey will be based in Washington, D.C., and be responsible for working with policymakers, agency officials and Microsoft partners to develop an information technology framework for homeland security.
Richey has a long history in public service, beginning in 1981 as a Coast Guard commissioned officer. There he held several positions, including Senate liaison in the congressional and public affairs office. He also handled project management of vessel acquisitions and was an executive member of the commandant's strategic planning staff. In 2001, Richey retired from the Coast Guard as a commander and became senior policy adviser to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
In other Microsoft news, Maggie Wilderotter has been named senior vice president of business strategy. She previously was the president and CEO of Wink Communications, an interactive television company. Before that, she was executive vice president of national operations at AT&T Wireless Services and CEO of AT&T's aviation communications division. She also worked at U.S. Computer Services Inc. and Cable Data. Wink recently was acquired by Liberty Broadband Interactive Television, which in turn sold the company to OpenTV.
Elsewhere in industry, Robert Bishop, a long-time spokesman for Verizon Communications' Washington offices, is taking a new job at the company as communications director of the Verizon Foundation. The foundation works on the "digital divide" between the technology haves and have-nots, computer literacy, and workforce issues. Maureen Flanagan in the company's New York office will replace Bishop in handling Verizon media inquiries.
Tech Groups Tap Board Leaders
Gregory Williams, executive chairman of the board of Intersil, was elected last week as the new chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Wilfred Corrigan, chairman and CEO of LSI Logic, was elected vice chairman.
"In a fast-paced global marketplace, we are fortunate to have the experience and insight Greg and Wilf bring to the industry and the SIA", SIA President George Scalise said, "particularly as we redouble our efforts to assure continuing technology development, increased federal funding for basic research and development in science, math and engineering, expanding world markets and international trade, and protection of intellectual property. With Greg and Wilf's leadership, we will make important progress on these major fronts."
SIA last week also honored Intel co-founder Gordon Moore with a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the information technology field.
The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) also elected four new members to its board: Mark Costello, associate general patent counsel at Xerox; Andy Gibbs, founder of the Web site Patent Cafe, which helps individuals through the patent process; Sanjay Prasad, a project manager at Oracle; and Louis Verilli with Unilever.
Bush Announces Pick For Education Slot
President Bush announced his intent to nominate Karen Johnson as assistant Education secretary for legislation and congressional affairs.
Currently, Johnson is vice president of social marketing and public affairs for Porter Novelli, where she provides strategic public affairs and communications counsel for various clients. Before joining Porter Novelli, she was a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communications. During the Republican National Convention in 2000, she served as the assistant convention manager for public liaison.
In other administration news, Adam Goldman, deputy director of the White House public liaison, has been listed as one of the top people to watch in 2003 by National Journal magazine. Goldman, who has taken the lead in the Office of Public Liaison on high-tech and telecommunications industry outreach, is succeeding Kirk Blalock as White House chief liaison to business interests.
Goldman, who is barely in his 30s, has been working for Bush since 1993. "He's largely an unknown to the business community," a Washington lobbyist told National Journal. "He doesn't have Kirk's background." Goldman will have some help from the head of the Office of Public Liaison, Lezlee Westine, who was the Republican strategist of the high-tech lobbying group TechNet before she started working at the White House in 2001.
FCC's Abernathy Selects Top Advisers
FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy has promoted Matthew Brill to the position of senior legal adviser. He had been her legal advisor for wireline matters.
Abernathy also named Carolyn Groves as her senior counsel for wireless and international issues beginning in early December. Groves currently is a partner in the Washington office of the Wilkinson Barker & Knauer law firm.
John Branscome, an attorney in the auctions division of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, has been advising Abernathy on wireless and international issues on an interim basis and will return to the wireless bureau in December.
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