Showing 131 - 140 of 2040 Items
Date: 2008-09-05
Creator: Severin Beliveau
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Severin Beliveau was born in Rumford, Maine, on March 15, 1938. He grew up in Rumford, where the largest industry was the paper mill. When he was sixteen he left home for St. Johnās Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts before attending Georgetown University, graduating in 1961. From 1961 to 1964 he studied law at Georgetown. He has been a lifelong Democrat, succeeded George J. Mitchell as chairman of the Maine Democratic Party in the late 1960s, and served on the National Committee. He helped found and served in the Democratic State Chairs Association. He was present at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and served as a delegate to the 1972 convention in New York City. He escorted President Carter during his visit to Bangor, Maine, during Carterās reelection campaign. He worked for the Save Loring Committee. He has been involved in efforts to represent Franco heritage in Maineās government and education. In 1999, he was interviewed for the Edmund S. Muskie Oral History Project. At the time of this interview he was a partner at the law firm Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau, Pachios & Haley, LLC.
Summary
Interview includes discussions of: family background; Rumford, Maine, community; Maineās Franco American community; St. Johnās Preparatory School; Georgetown University; an anecdote about why he did not matriculate at Bowdoin; early law practice in Maine; working as a capitol police officer; the relationships among Maineās politically active Democratic families; the 1968 Democratic National Convention and presidential nomination process; Muskieās presidential primary campaign in 1972; the Democratic State Chairs Association; anecdote about Muskie taking Bob Strauss to task; Watergate; President Carterās visit to Bangor; the Loring Air Force Base closure; Ted Kennedyās campaign against President Carter for the Democratic nomination; anecdote about Muskie releasing his delegates at the convention in 1972; George J. Mitchellās reputation and effectiveness; and Emmett Beliveauās experience working for the Obama Campaign in 2008.
Date: 2010-02-17
Creator: Diane Dewhirst
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Diane Dewhirst was born on May 28, 1957, in Framingham, Massachusetts, to Joan Priscilla Audubon and Robert Thornton Dewhirst. She grew up in Boston and Philadelphia. Her father worked in sales for an energy firm. Majoring in journalism at the University of Ohio and then transferring to Northwestern, she was graduated with a degree in political science. She worked on Jimmy Carterās presidential campaign in 1976, as an intern for Common Cause, the Democratic National Committee, and briefly for ABC News on delegate selection rules, covering the 1984 presidential election. She then became press secretary for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which George Mitchell chaired, and later joined Mitchellās press staff, where she served as his communications director for over ten years. At the time of this interview, she was senior advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; early interest in politics; work on the DNC (Democratic National Committee); meeting Senator Mitchell as a part of the Compliance Review Committee of the DNC; her work for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) under Mitchell; Mitchell and the press; Mitchellās relationship with the press in Maine; Mitchellās divorce; and the transition from being a member of the personal staff to the majority leaderās staff; oil spill legislation; spousal impoverishment legislation; and linking clean air issues with the health care debate.
Date: 2009-10-05
Creator: Thomas 'Tom' A Daffron
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Thomas A. Daffron was born on January 23, 1949, in New York City. He received a bachelorās degree from Brown University and a masterās degree in journalism from Columbia University. Prior to going to Washington D.C., he worked as a newspaper reporter. He was chief of staff for Senators Bill Cohen, Fred Thompson, Mo Udall, and Lisa Murkowski, and as a speechwriter for Chuck Percy. He has also worked for International Paper in Maine and for the Baltimore Orioles, and he has been a consultant to Senator Susan Collins. At the time of this interview, he was COO for Jefferson Consulting Group in Washington, D.C.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family background and education; fellowship to learn about Congress in Washington, DC; Senator Percy and moderate republicanism; transition to working for Senator Cohen; campaigning on foot with Bill Cohen; the Maine delegation while Daffron was working for Cohen; cooperation among the Maine delegation; Cohenās run against Hathaway for Senate; reaction in Cohenās office when Mitchell was selected to fill Muskieās seat; Mitchellās entering the Maine delegation; the 1982 election; Mitchellās rise in leadership; Cohenās reaction to Mitchellās rise; tension with the Bush administration; Clean Air Act amendments; Mitchellās retirement; Daffronās work with Thompson and Murkowski in the late-ā90s; Daffronās consulting work for Susan Collins; increased partisanship in the Senate; what makes a good chief of staff for a senator; Mitchellās legacy; and Iran-Contra.
Date: 2009-06-10
Creator: Paula D Silsby
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Paula D. Silsby was born on June 1, 1951, in Bangor, Maine, to Ruth Blaisdell and Herbert Trafton Silsby II; her father was an attorney practicing at Silsby & Silsby and became a superior court judge. Paula was graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1973 and the University of Maine Law School in 1976. From 1977 to 2001, she served as assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Maine, and as chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorneyās Office from 1994 to 2001. She has received the Caroline Duby Glassman Award from the Maine Bar Association, Attorney General Janet Renoās Directorās Award for Executive Achievement, and the Deborah Morton Award from the University of New England. In 2001 she was appointed U.S. attorney for the District of Maine on an interim basis by Attorney General John Ashcroft. She was reappointed and continued to serve in that capacity at the time of this interview.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Silsbyās family background in law; Paulaās familyās role in Maine politics; Paulaās experiences at Mount Holyoke College; how Paula met George Mitchell while he was campaigning for governor in 1974; her internship for Peter Mills while she was in law school at the University of Maine; Silsbyās clerkship at the Superior Court in Portland; meeting George Mitchell as a clerk for the Superior Court; how Paula was hired to work for George Mitchell when he became U.S. attorney in 1977; what Mitchell was like as a boss; how Jay McCloskey began working for Mitchell; working for Bill Brownell; Silsbyās reaction to Mitchellās appointment to the U.S. Senate; description of work in the U.S. Attorneyās Office under Mitchell; and Mitchellās style in the courtroom.
Date: 2010-04-22
Creator: Kelly T Currie
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Kelly T. Currie was born on September 11, 1963, in Lewistown, Montana, to Edmund and Bette Currie, and grew up in Farmington, Maine. His father was a professor at the University of Maine, Farmington and his mother was a nurse. He attended the University of Virginia and was graduated in 1986, serving a summer internship with Senator Mitchellās office between his junior and senior year. In the fall of 1986, he worked on Jim Tierneyās Maine gubernatorial campaign. He joined Senator Mitchellās Senate staff full-time in January of 1987 as a legislative correspondent dealing with finance, defense, and veteransā affairs issues. He later transitioned to the position of deputy press secretary, focusing on the Maine press and Maine issues. At the time of this interview he was deputy chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorneyās Office for the eastern district of New York.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: childhood and educational background; summer intern in Senator Mitchellās office; legislative correspondent and issues; deputy press secretary; driving for Mitchell and talking sports; Senate majority leader race; 1992 presidential campaign; extensive description of the Northern Ireland peace process; Iran-Contra; Sharm-el Sheikh; 1988 Senate reelection campaign; the Maine press; and Mitchellās sense of humor.
Date: 2010-05-04
Creator: Harold J Decker
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Harold James Decker was born February 23, 1945, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His parents were Harold and Dena (Bouma) Decker, both children of Dutch immigrants. He was graduated from Kalamazoo College majoring in political science, joined the Army in 1968 and served during the Vietnam War. In 1973, he took his law degree from Southwestern Law School and subsequently practiced law in southern California for six years. He then worked for the pharmaceutical manufacturer Upjohn for eighteen years. In February, 2001, he was asked by Dr. Bernadine Healy to redesign the legal function of the American Red Cross. In this capacity, he worked with Mitchell on the Liberty Disaster Relief Fund created after the September 11 Terrorist Attacks.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; joining the American Red Cross; detailed discussion of Red Cross management and mission; his experience of events on 9/11; Liberty Disaster Relief Fund; why Senator Mitchell was chosen; Deckerās memories of Mitchellās role in the Iran-Contra hearings; and Senator Mitchellās approach to and involvement in the Red Cross/ 911 Liberty Fund.
Date: 2014-07-22
Creator: Anonymous
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-09-11
Creator: Anonymous
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-06-27
Creator: Anonymous
Access: Open access