Showing 1 - 50 of 203 Items

Date: 2008-07-29

Creator: Robert 'Larry' L Benoit

Access: Open access

Biographical Note Robert Laurent “Larry” Benoit was born on August 20, 1948, to Robert Barry Benoit and Inez Frances Benoit. He grew up in the Portland, Maine, area, attended Cape Elizabeth High School, and entered the University of Southern Maine, where he concentrated in U.S. history and received a B.S. in education in 1970. He was a self-taught mechanic but became involved in politics at a young age, running for a vacant seat in the House of Representatives while still in college. After graduating, he took time off to travel and visit family and was then approached in 1971 to work in New Hampshire on Senator Muskie's presidential campaign. Benoit also worked on the reelection campaign of Peter N. Kyros, Sr., a U.S. congressman from Maine’s First Congressional District. He was on the staff as a caseworker until Kyros lost his seat in 1974 to David Emery. In 1980, when George Mitchell was appointed to Senator Muskie’s vacated U.S. Senate seat, Benoit was hired as a senior field representative for Maine. He later served as sergeant-at-arms of the U.S. Senate. Summary Interview includes discussions of: position with the Maine Democratic Party; work on Muskie’s 1968 vice presidential campaign; running field operations; working for Peter Kyros on the congressional reelection campaign, and later work as a caseworker on his congressional staff in Portland, Maine; establishing the Portland state Senate office; as campaign manager of Mitchell’s U.S. Senate campaign (1982); Mitchell’s U.S. Senate campaign (1988); Jasper Wyman; David Emery; Iran-Contra; work in the Capitol Building in Washington, DC; Senate security; and the intelligence and intellectual energy of Senator Mitchell.

Date: 2009-07-13

Creator: J Bennett Johnston

Access: Open access

Biographical Note

Bennett Johnston was born June 10, 1932, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was graduated from West Point United States Military Academy and served in the Judge Advocate Corps in Germany between 1956 and 1959. He won a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1964 and in the state Senate in 1968. In 1971, he ran for governor of Louisiana but was defeated in the runoff election. When the U.S Senate seat came up for election in 1972, he ran as a Democrat and won, receiving 54% of the vote, and he was continuously reelected to the Senate until retiring in 1997. He sought the role of majority leader in 1989 but lost to Mitchell. In 1997, he was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame. Since leaving the Senate, he has been a lobbyist in Washington, DC. At the time of this interview, he was serving as a government affairs and public policy advisor for Steptoe & Johnson and for his firm Johnston & Associates.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: coming into the Senate in 1972 and the campaign; the Senate becoming partisan; the Democratic Party in the South; partisanship and changes in the Senate; becoming chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; disappointments with Carter; the surprise of the 1980 election; the race against Mitchell for majority leader and Mitchell’s victory; Mitchell’s leadership and link to the White House; factions within the Democratic Party; the DG-51 Destroyer Maine-versus-Louisiana issue; the ’91 and ’92 energy bills; the BTU tax; reasons for leaving the Senate; and reflections on Mitchell.

Date: 2008-09-27

Creator: Patrick E Hunt

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Patrick E. Hunt was born on August 19, 1946, in Bangor, Maine, and grew up in Island Falls with his parents, Theodore E. Hunt and Margaret I. Doherty, and his three sisters. Theodore attended Husson College, and operated a restaurant in Island Falls until the 1960s, when he became the village postmaster; Margaret was from Boston, a graduate of Charlestown High School, and of Irish descent from Clonmany County, Donegal. Patrick attended Ricker College, entered the Army in 1968, and served in Korea; he completed his degree in economics at Ricker in 1971. Subsequently, he joined the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States Department of Justice in Massachusetts, attending evening law school courses, before returning to Island Falls in 1983 to start his own law practice. He was still practicing there at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Island Falls, Maine, community; Ed Muskie’s ideas for economic improvements; Drug Enforcement Administration; George Mitchell as U.S. attorney; politic aspects of U.S. Attorney’s Office; family background and Joe Doherty’s Northern Ireland story; George Mitchell’s work in Northern Ireland; thoughts on George Mitchell as president; and politics and economics in Aroostook County.

Date: 2008-09-04

Creator: Merton 'Mert' G Henry

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Merton G. “Mert” Henry was born on February 4, 1926, in Hampden, Maine. He lived there with his parents and helped out at his grandfather’s general store while growing up. He moved to South Portland just before starting high school. He deferred attending Bowdoin College until 1946 in order to serve in the Army, which sent him to the Philippines. He majored in history at Bowdoin and was graduated in the class of 1950. He also earned a law degree from Georgetown Law while working on a military history project at the Pentagon during the Korean War. A long-time leader in the Maine Republican Party, he worked for Senator Fredreick G. Payne of Maine and ran his unsuccessful 1958 reelection campaign, losing to Ed Muskie. Since then he has worked at the same law firm, currently under the name of Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry, in Portland, Maine, where he worked with George Mitchell for twelve years between 1965 and 1977.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: the Hampden, Maine community; Armed Services; Bowdoin College and law school in Washington D.C; involvement in Senator Frederick Payne’s campaigns, and Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s campaigns; meeting George Mitchell at Jenson Baird law firm; Mitchell’s campaign for governor in 1974; professional and personal relationship between Henry and Mitchell; advice to Mitchell about accepting his Senate appointment; U.S. Senate campaign (1982); Mitchell’s success as a senator; and changes in politics and campaigning.

Date: 2010-01-21

Creator: Michael 'Mike' M Hastings

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Michael M. Hastings, a native of Morrill, Maine, graduated from Tilton School (NH) in 1968 and Bowdoin College in 1972. Following a year of graduate study in Public & International Affairs at George Washington University, he worked for seven years as a foreign and defense policy aide to Senator William S. Cohen (1973-1980) and for four years for Senator George J. Mitchell (1980-1984). In October 1984, he joined the international staff of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and moved to Africa. Over a span of eight years, he worked as a CRS development administrator in Kenya, Tanzania, Togo and The Gambia. During the same period, he assisted in the provision of emergency food for people displaced by civil wars in the Southern Sudan and Liberia. In 1992, he returned to Maine to direct a “center for excellence,” focusing on aquaculture and economic development. Since 2004, he has worked for the University of Maine as its director of Research and Sponsored Programs. Between 1992 and 2008, he also served on several civic boards and institutions including the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, the Maine Oil Spill Advisory Committee, the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission, the Down East Institute, and the Maine Sea Grant Policy Advisory Committee. Between 1996 and 2001, he was elected three times to be a member of the Town Council of Hampden, Maine, where he resides with his wife, a middle school teacher.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: his transition from Cohen’s staff to Mitchell’s staff; Cohen’s feelings about Hastings’s move to Mitchell’s office; state and national issues; Kahlil Gibran; Cohen’s and Mitchell’s leadership styles with their office staff; the staff atmosphere around Mitchell’s 1982 election; the Mikulski Commission; the 1982 election; Mitchell’s staff, including Jane O’Connor, Regina Sullivan, and Gayle Cory; relationship between the Mitchell staff and the Cohen staff; Men of Zeal and the Iran-Contra scandal; Pat Cadell; Jim Tierney; Mitchell and Arab American groups; John Linnehan; anecdote about placing a large photo of George Mitchell in his Maine campaign office during the 1982 campaign; driving Muskie around; and Margaret Chase Smith coming back to Washington to celebrate her birthday with Mitchell.

Date: 2009-02-23

Creator: Mary 'M.C.' C Toker

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Mary Catherine “M.C.” Toker was born on August 13, 1959, in Miami, Florida, to Donald L. Toker and Mary Brennan Toker. Her father was a physician for the U.S. Public Health Service, and Mary Toker grew up in various locales around the world, including London, Hong Kong, and Japan. By the time she went to high school, her family had settled in Washington, D.C. After high school she attended Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and pursued a degree in international studies. She interned with the Department of Defense, where she worked on various policies regarding U.S. relations with other countries. She went to Maine to work on the 1982 Democratic coordinated campaign, and in 1984 she worked on the Mondale presidential campaign in New England. She then returned to D.C. in 1985 and began to work for Mitchell’s Senate office as a legislative correspondent. She dealt with foreign affairs issues for Mitchell’s office and moved to the deputy president pro tempore office when Mitchell moved there. She was involved in reviewing the schedule of visitors to ensure that Mitchell personally met with as many Maine constituents as possible and that VIPs were handled appropriately. In 1988, she left the Senate office to work for General Mills, where she served as vice president of government relations at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: living abroad as a child; attending Mount St. Mary’s College; interning with the Department of Defense; working on the Maine Democratic coordinated campaign in 1982; working for the Mondale presidential campaign; working as a legislative correspondent; Star Wars (Strategic Defense Initiative); how correspondence in the Senate office was managed; out-of-state correspondence; the importance of handling the mail because Mitchell might know the letter writer; Mitchell’s role on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; becoming deputy president pro tempore; the esprit de corps of the Senate office; Monday morning legislative meetings; making sure that people from Maine who came to the Senate office got to see Mitchell; adjusting to the cramped office environment; Toker’s job search and how she ended up working for General Mills; Mitchell’s election to majority leader; issues that Toker deals with for General Mills; the role of lobbyists as stakeholders helping legislators; how Mitchell gathered information to prepare to deal with issues; anecdote about how Senator Durenberger came running down the hall to give Mitchell a congratulatory hug after he was elected to majority leader; Mitchell’s mentoring relationship to Tom Daschle; Mitchell’s priorities in terms of balancing his different roles; Toker’s surprise at Mitchell’s decision to step down; the Good Friday Agreement; running into Mitchell in Dublin; the effect that having worked for Mitchell has had on Toker’s subsequent career; how the job of lobbyists and the Senate have changed over the years; increasing partisanship in the Senate; and how Toker believes Mitchell should be remembered.

Date: 2009-09-16

Creator: Dennis W DeConcini

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Dennis W. DeConcini was born on May 8, 1937, in Tucson, Arizona. He was graduated from the University of Arizona in 1959 and earned his law degree in 1963. He worked as a lawyer on the Arizona governor’s staff until 1967, when he founded the law firm DeConcini, McDonald, Yetwin & Lacy and where he remains as a partner. He was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat from Arizona in 1976 and served until 1995; he sat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee as well as subcommittees on Defense, Energy and Water Development, and Foreign Operations. He sponsored an amendment on the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and is known as a member of the Keating Five. President Clinton appointed him to the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, where he served from 1995 to1999.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Senate class of 1976; democratic ideology; CODEL to the Soviet Union with George Mitchell; the Helsinki Commission; Mitchell’s run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee; Mitchell’s majority leader race; Democratic Steering Committee; DeConcini’s time as chair of the Intelligence Committee; leadership under Byrd, Baker, Dole, and Mitchell; Mitchell’s role in DeConcini’s 1988 reelection; first impressions of Mitchell; the role of the filibuster in the Senate; Mitchell and the Intelligence Committee; Mitchell and the NRA; North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); DeConcini’s reaction to Mitchell’s retirement; being a conservative Democrat; Keating and DeConcini’s retirement from the Senate; and Mitchell’s legacy.

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; Decker’s memories of Mitchell’s role in the Iran-Contra hearings; and Senator Mitchell’s approach to and involvement in the Red Cross/ 911 Liberty Fund.

Date: 2009-02-09

Creator: Berl Bernhard

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Berl Bernhard was born in New York City on September 7, 1929, to Morris and Celia (Nadele) Bernhard. He grew up in New Jersey, then attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1951, and took his law degree at Yale Law School in 1954. His law career began in Washington as a law clerk to Luther Youngdahl. In the late 1950s he took a position on the Civil Rights Commission, and he was appointed staff director by John Kennedy in 1961. In 1963 he returned to private practice and in 1965 became counsel to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. He met George Mitchell while working on Senator Muskie's 1968 vice presidential campaign. He served as national campaign manager for Senator Muskie's 1972 presidential campaign, accompanying the Muskie on his trips to Israel and the Soviet Union. From 1980 to 1981 he served as senior advisor to Muskie when he became secretary of state. He is a senior partner at DLA Piper law firm in Washington, D.C. He has given further interviews with the Muskie Oral History Project at Bates College and the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: working with George Mitchell on Muskie’s 1968 vice presidential campaign; comparing Mitchell and Muskie; end of the 1968 campaign; Mitchell’s talent for compromise; Muskie disliking campaigning story; Mitchell enjoying public service more than Muskie; Mitchell and Dole’s mutual respect; Muskie’s unwillingness to compromise; getting out the vote for Mitchell’s 1974 gubernatorial campaign and the Muskie presidential primary campaign in 1971-1972; difficulties within the 1971-1972 campaign; Berl’s contact with Mitchell as a senator; Mitchell’s ’88 campaign for senate majority leader; Muskie’s staff; social contact with Mitchell; conversation with Mitchell about retiring; Mitchell joining Berl’s law firm; Mitchell as chair of the firm; the matter of Mitchell being considered for secretary of state; investigating the American Red Cross Liberty Fund; Mitchell’s aspirations with regard to major league baseball; looking at broad trends and changes in politics; description of Mitchell.

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. John’s 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 Carter’s reelection campaign. He worked for the Save Loring Committee. He has been involved in efforts to represent Franco heritage in Maine’s 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; Maine’s Franco American community; St. John’s 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 Maine’s politically active Democratic families; the 1968 Democratic National Convention and presidential nomination process; Muskie’s presidential primary campaign in 1972; the Democratic State Chairs Association; anecdote about Muskie taking Bob Strauss to task; Watergate; President Carter’s visit to Bangor; the Loring Air Force Base closure; Ted Kennedy’s campaign against President Carter for the Democratic nomination; anecdote about Muskie releasing his delegates at the convention in 1972; George J. Mitchell’s reputation and effectiveness; and Emmett Beliveau’s experience working for the Obama Campaign in 2008.

Date: 2010-02-24

Creator: John E Baldacci

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

John Elias Baldacci was born January 30, 1955, in Bangor, Maine. He attended the University of Maine, Orono, was a member of the Bangor city council from 1978 to 1981, and served in the Maine state senate from 1982 to 1994. In 1994 he was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representative and served four terms from 1995 to 2003. In 2003, he became governor of Maine and at the time of the interview was still serving in that capacity. Baldacci’s grandmother and George Mitchell’s mother were sisters.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Baldacci’s family connection to Mitchell; Baldacci’s mother’s recollections of Mitchell as a child; Mitchell’s appointment to the Senate and Governor Brennan’s role; Baldacci’s Lebanese background; the relationship between Baldacci’s grandmother and Mitchell’s mother; Baldacci’s hiring people who had been on Mitchell’s staff to work for him; and Baldacci’s grandmother’s youth in Lebanon.

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 bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a master’s 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; Cohen’s run against Hathaway for Senate; reaction in Cohen’s office when Mitchell was selected to fill Muskie’s seat; Mitchell’s entering the Maine delegation; the 1982 election; Mitchell’s rise in leadership; Cohen’s reaction to Mitchell’s rise; tension with the Bush administration; Clean Air Act amendments; Mitchell’s retirement; Daffron’s work with Thompson and Murkowski in the late-‘90s; Daffron’s consulting work for Susan Collins; increased partisanship in the Senate; what makes a good chief of staff for a senator; Mitchell’s legacy; and Iran-Contra.

Date: 2009-04-24

Creator: Sarah B Sewall

Access: Access restricted to use in the repository: George J. Mitchell Dept. of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, for more information contact sca@bowdoin.libanswers.com

Biographial Note

Sarah B. Sewall was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 21, 1961, the eldest of three children, and grew up in Falmouth and Portland, Maine. Her father, Loyall Farragut Sewall, Jr. was an attorney with Verrill Dana, a lobbyist, and worked with George Mitchell when Sewall was chairman of the Republican Party in Maine. Her mother worked for the Waynflete School in Portland, Maine. Sarah graduated Harvard and continued at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. During the Clinton administration, she worked as deputy assistant secretary for Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Assistance. She worked as senior foreign policy advisor to Mitchell from 1983-1993. She also worked as associate director on the Committee of International Security Studies at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has written on U.S. foreign policy and international security. She was one of President Barack Obama’s transition advisors for foreign affairs and oversaw national security program review. At the time of this interview, she directed the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy’s National Security and Human Rights Program at Harvard as well as the National Mass Atrocity Response Operations Program, was a lecturer in international affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and was on the secretary of defense’s Defense Policy Board.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Sewall’s father’s career in law and politics; her interests in high school; Harvard; junior year internship in politics in Washington, D.C. at the Institute for Policy Studies; internship for Olympia Snowe; internship at the Center for Defense Information; space weaponry and Reagan; thesis on anti-satellite weapons, arms, and arms control; Rhodes Scholarship; foreign travel to the USSR and Burma while at Oxford; first job at the Federation for American Scientists; working as a foreign affairs advisor for George Mitchell; Persian Gulf War Powers; traveling with Mitchell to meet Gorbachev in the USSR; work on the Democratic Policy Committee; Mitchell’s work on the nuclear testing moratorium and subsequent award from the Council for a Livable World; Sewall’s position as first deputy assistant secretary of defense for Peacekeeping; research on peace operations for a Council on Foreign Relations Fellowship at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard; work on the Committee on International Security Studies at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Sewall’s position as lecturer on public policy at the Kennedy School; and Sewall’s directorship and research at the Carr Center for Human Rights and Policy at Harvard.

Date: 2009-10-09

Creator: Robert 'Bob' M Rozen

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Robert Martin “Bob” Rozen was born on December 11, 1955, in Richmond, Kentucky, to Morris and Rosalyn (Eilenberg) Rozen. He majored in Soviet studies at Miami University (Ohio), graduating in 1977; he earned his law degree at George Washington University. He interned for Senator Wendell Ford as a legislative assistant for the Senate Finance Committee and then continued to work for him after law school. He also earned a master’s in tax law from Georgetown University. He worked on Senator Mitchell’s staff addressing tax, trade, and financial service issues.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Rozen’s working for Wendell Ford on the Finance Committee; working for Mitchell after receiving his master’s of tax law; Rozen’s impression of Mitchell before he began working for him; working for Mitchell; committee hearings with Mitchell; Mitchell’s decision-making process; Mitchell and tax reform; the Mitchell-Danforth task force on low-income housing and tax credit; campaign finance reform; Mitchell and health care; and deficit reduction.

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 Mitchell’s office between his junior and senior year. In the fall of 1986, he worked on Jim Tierney’s Maine gubernatorial campaign. He joined Senator Mitchell’s Senate staff full-time in January of 1987 as a legislative correspondent dealing with finance, defense, and veterans’ 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. Attorney’s Office for the eastern district of New York.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: childhood and educational background; summer intern in Senator Mitchell’s 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 Mitchell’s sense of humor.

Date: 2009-05-08

Creator: Kenneth 'Ken' M Cole III

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Kenneth M. Cole III was born November 3, 1943, in Portland, Maine, to Kenneth Cole, Jr. and Lena T. Cole. He lived in Windham, Maine, moving to Bernardsville, New Jersey, with his family during his fifth-grade school year. His father worked for Boy Scouts of America. Ken was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1969, then attended law school at Cornell. He returned to Maine to work as a law clerk at Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry in 1971, becoming a lawyer for the firm in 1972. He has been practicing at the firm for thirty-seven years and worked with Mitchell there in the 1970s. He has been active on the Windham town council. He was on the Republican National Committee from 1990 to 2004 and served as chairman of the Maine Republican Party in 1994, representing the party as a lawyer several times. He has run for other offices since then and continues to be in contact with Senator Mitchell.

Summary

This interview includes discussion of: childhood; Bowdoin College; Boy Scouts of America; Cornell Law School; Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry law firm; Cole’s legal career; Maine Republican Party; zoning acts in Maine; Plum Creek; George Mitchell’s legal career; Republican and Democratic politics in Maine; Republican National Committee; Maine work ethic; Mitchell’s senatorial career; Governor Haley Barbour; running for district attorney general; Mitchell’s public transformation; and Mitchell’s politics.

Date: 2009-05-06

Creator: Sheila P Burke

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Sheila Burke was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She earned a B.S. in nursing at the University of San Francisco (class of 1973) and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University. She started working for Senator Dole in May of 1977 to handle health issues on the Senate Finance Committee. A Democrat from California, she was hired due to her prior experience as a nurse with a hands-on understanding of patient care. She became deputy chief of staff in the leader’s office when Senator Dole became minority leader in 1985 and rose to chief of staff in 1986, remaining in that role for ten years until Dole’s retirement; she served a dual role as secretary of the Senate from January to June of 1995. From 1996-2000, she was executive dean and lecturer in public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 2000, she joined the Smithsonian Institution, where she rose to the position of deputy secretary and COO until 2007. At the time of this interview, she was a member of the faculty at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and lecturer at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute. She is married and has three children.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: George Mitchell and the Senate Finance Committee; Burke’s interest in working for Dole and how she came to be hired; first impressions of George Mitchell; the relationships between Senators Dole and Mitchell, Burke and Martha Pope; tax battles on the Finance Committee; Mitchell’s approach to legislating; Dole’s transition to leader; balancing Senate staff and leader staff interests; the easy working relationship between Dole and Mitchell as leaders and how that compared with Senator Byrd; health care reform and difficult issues surrounding the debate; the issues that Dole and Mitchell had in common and where they differed; Dole’s and Mitchell’s relationships to the White House; the role of partisanship and values; Burke’s experience of being criticized by conservatives in the Senate and the press; Mitchell’s expressing his sympathy for Burke on the occasion of Senator Packwood’s resignation; Burke’s reaction to Mitchell’s decision to retire; the Dole-Mitchell era in the Senate and how those two leaders maintained one another’s trust, elevated the discourse, and were evenly matched; where the Republican Party of 2009 will look for leadership; and Burke’s wish that Mitchell could return to work on the present attempt at health care reform.

Date: 2009-06-18

Creator: Robert 'Bob' W Packwood

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Robert W. “Bob” Packwood was born on September 11, 1932, in Portland, Oregon. He attended Willamette University, graduating in 1954, and the New York University School of Law, subsequently returning to Oregon to practice law. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the Oregon legislature, and in 1968 he won election to the U.S. Senate, serving five terms as a Republican. He chaired the Senate Finance Committee from 1985 to 1987 and was active in passing the Tax Reform Acts of 1986 and 1995. He resigned from his Senate seat in 1995. Later he founded Sunrise Research Corporation, a lobbying firm based in New York.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: meeting George Mitchell; how committee assignments are given; Mitchell’s superior leadership abilities that earned him a quick rise to the Senate leadership; Packwood’s electoral history; similarities between Oregon and Maine; capital gains and the Tax Reform Act of 1986; the Republican caucus’s view of Mitchell; qualities that make a good Senate leader; comparing Mitchell to Byrd; Mitchell’s pragmatic and strategic approach to legislating; the different roles of the House and the Senate; what the majority leader job consisted of for Mitchell; Mitchell on the Finance Committee; 1990 Budget Enforcement Act; the Clinton administration’s struggle with health care reform, the Republican opposition, and Mitchell’s role; the Clean Air Act, the NAFTA, round two of GATT, and earmarks; Packwood’s 1992 reelection race; the 1994 elections and the Contract for America; Mitchell’s Senate retirement; the period of Packwood’s resignation; Packwood’s brand of Republicanism; how Packwood would describe Mitchell on the political spectrum; an anecdote about when Mitchell was dating Packwood’s chief of staff, Janet Mullins; and Mitchell’s ability to focus on the end result.

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 Carter’s 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 Mitchell’s 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; Mitchell’s relationship with the press in Maine; Mitchell’s divorce; and the transition from being a member of the personal staff to the majority leader’s staff; oil spill legislation; spousal impoverishment legislation; and linking clean air issues with the health care debate.

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. Attorney’s Office from 1994 to 2001. She has received the Caroline Duby Glassman Award from the Maine Bar Association, Attorney General Janet Reno’s Director’s 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: Silsby’s family background in law; Paula’s family’s role in Maine politics; Paula’s 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; Silsby’s 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; Silsby’s reaction to Mitchell’s appointment to the U.S. Senate; description of work in the U.S. Attorney’s Office under Mitchell; and Mitchell’s style in the courtroom.

Date: 2008-07-29

Creator: Jeffrey 'Jeff' Nathanson

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Jeffrey “Jeff” Nathanson was born on July 10, 1958, in Biddeford, Maine, to Toby Yetta Nathanson and Jon Allen Nathanson. His family owned a fast food drive-in called Toby’s Drive-In, near Thornton Academy, along with a food stand in Old Orchard Beach; his parents sold Toby’s in 1997. Jeff attended Thornton Academy, graduating in 1976, and continued his education at Williams College; he majored in biology with a minor in environmental studies, graduating in 1980. He worked on Harold Pachios’s congressional campaign. Through Jim Case, he was hired as a part-time elevator operator for Senators Mitchell and Byrd in Washington, DC; he was later hired to run the mail operation for Mitchell’s 1982 election and was promoted to legislative assistant. After the election, he traveled throughout Europe before attending both Boston University and the University of Maine Law School. Following law school he held a number of positions at Maine Savings Bank, Fleet, and TD Banknorth. At the time of this interview he was on the board for the Cromwell Center for Disabilities, president of the Cancer Community Center in Maine, and working with Special Olympics.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: childhood and educational background; running elevators on Capitol Hill; Senator Mitchell’s mailroom during the 1982 election; serving as a legislative assistant until the spring of 1983; other staff in the office; and description of Mitchell personality and qualities.

Date: 2009-10-16

Creator: Thomas 'Tom' J Nale

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Thomas J. “Tom” Nale was born on December 19, 1947, in Bangor Maine, to Melvin Travis and Caroline Theresa Nale. He is a second cousin of George Mitchell; his grandmother and George Mitchell’s mother were sisters. Nale was graduated from Thomas College and then taught at the Maine Central Institute for four years before going to law school at the Franklin Pierce Law Center. In 1986, Nale ran for mayor of Waterville, Maine, and served for two years before returning to his law practice.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: the Mitchell family’s Lebanese heritage and being Lebanese in Waterville; the familial connections between the Nale, Baldacci, and Mitchell families; the importance of athletics to the Mitchell family; the Maronite Church; Nale’s time as mayor of Waterville; recollections of Senator Mitchell’s father and mother; the Jabar family; the Danny Thomas show and Tom’s grandfather; the importance of education in the Lebanese community; and the Middle East peace process.

Date: 2010-06-03

Creator: Gary B Myrick

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Gary Blendon Myrick was born on July 20, 1967, in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, to Carol and Warren Myrick. He attended the University of Maine and worked as a page in the Maine legislature during his final year of undergraduate studies. He worked as an intern in Senator Mitchell’s U.S. Senate office, answering mail and telephones, and in 1990 he was hired as a staff assistant in the personal office, moved to answering phones in Mitchell’s leadership office, and then took a position in the Senate Cloakroom. He earned his law degree from American University. From 1995-2003, he joined the Senate Floor Staff under Senator Tom Daschle. At the time of this interview he was chief of staff for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; internship in Senator Mitchell’s office; answering phones in the leadership office; description of the Senate Cloakroom and job responsibilities; majority leader comparisons and changes; Mitchell’s strength of speaking on the Senate floor; transitions from Republican to Democratic White House and vice versa; Mitchell’s decision to retire from the Senate; scheduling; Senator Tom Daschle; Senator Harry Reid; filibusters; and changes in the Senate culture.

Date: 2008-05-01

Creator: Mary E McAleney

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Mary Elizabeth McAleney was born on March 18, 1945, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her mother, Helen Irene (Twombly) McAleney, was a Works Progress Administration worker, and her father, William McAleney, was a U.S. Customs officer. Mary came from a strongly Democratic Maine family and was politically active from a young age. She was sent from her home near Vanceboro, Maine, to St. Joseph’s boarding school in South Portland, and from there she went to Merrimac College. After her graduation, she taught high school in Maine, first at St. Joseph’s and then at Catherine McAuley High School. After eight years of teaching, she went into political work. She quickly rose through the ranks during Senator Muskie’s ‘76 campaign and worked for state Senator Jim Tierney. She served in George Mitchell’s U.S. Senate office for ten years (1984-1994), focusing on Maine issues.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: George Mitchell’s dedication to and impact on Maine as senator and majority leader; opportunities for young people within Mitchell’s Senate office; health care: spousal impoverishment legislation; Talmadge Plantation; Mitchell Scholarship program/Mitchell Institute; sending Maine bottled water to the Senate; achieving balance between Maine and national politics; Mitchell’s understanding of human nature; Martha Pope; relationship between Pope and Mitchell; Loring Air Force Base and its closure; Paul Haines; Bob Corolla; McAleney’s introduction to the Mitchell staff and her job definition; Gayle Cory and her “wits and know-how”; Mitchell’s Senate Pioneer Scholarship; Mitchell’s 1982 campaign; and driving stories.

Date: 2011-06-06

Creator: George J Mitchell

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

George J. Mitchell was born on August 20, 1933, in Waterville, Maine, to Mary Saad, a factory worker, and George Mitchell, a laborer. Senator Mitchell spent his youth in Waterville. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1954, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps until 1956. In 1960 he earned a law degree from Georgetown University. Mitchell worked for Senator Edmund S. Muskie as executive assistant and as deputy campaign manager during Muskie's 1972 presidential campaign. He later became U.S. senator (D-Maine) 1980-1995, Senate majority leader 1989-1995, and, upon his retirement from the Senate, special advisor on Northern Ireland 1995-1998. Since 1998, Senator Mitchell has served on many boards and committees and has received high profile appointments including: chairman of the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee on the crisis between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (2000); overseer of the Red Cross Liberty Fund (2001); lead investigator into the illegal use of performance enhancing substances in Major League Baseball (2006); and special envoy for Palestinian-Israeli affairs (2009-2011).

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: involvement as a board member and chairman of the board at the Walt Disney Co.; personalities on the board; power, and on advising the powerful; meeting with Maine constituents as a U.S. senator and airing differences of opinion; involvement in the Red Cross 9/11 commission and Mitchell’s role as overseer of the Liberty Fund; being in New York on 9/11, witnessing the collapse of one of the World Trade Center towers, and encountering restrictions on travel into Manhattan; challenges in establishing fair criteria for distributing funds to 9/11 victims and their families when claimants had such disparate circumstances; the formation of and circumstances surrounding the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee; working relationships among committee members; travel to Berlin, Germany, years after having served there in Army Intelligence; responsibilities that attach to intelligence work, and similar responsibilities that come with being a judge; the Berlin Wall, its collapse, and the failure of Communism; how walls play a role in warring communities (Berlin, Belfast, Palestine); differences and commonalities among peoples around the world; and America’s success as a meritocracy.

Date: 2009-12-10

Creator: Brendan G Melley

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Brendan G. Melley was born on July 3, 1963, in Hartford, Connecticut, to Joseph Melley, Jr. and Rita Murphy Melley. He attended Providence College in Rhode Island and was commissioned to the Infantry in the Army upon graduation, where he served seven years active duty. In 1993, he began working for Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, DC. He worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington and then the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. In 2000, he worked with Mitchell on the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee to support peace and stability in the Middle East. At the time of this interview, Melley worked with former Maine Senator Bill Cohen as vice president of the Cohen Group.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Melley’s work in Intelligence in the Army; the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board; working with Mitchell on the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee; Mitchell’s leadership; Senator Warren Rudman; interacting with the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations; Melley’s travel to the Middle East; how Melley’s time on the Sharm el-Sheikh committee was spent; and Mitchell’s reaction to the final report.

Date: 2009-03-16

Creator: Christopher 'Chris' Mann

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Christopher Mann was born December 19, 1962, in Augusta, Maine. His parents were Alden and Deana Mann. His father was a Maine native who worked for the State Bureau of Banks and Banking as the director of Securities. Chris grew up in Augusta, attended Cony High School and was graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Southern Maine. He worked on Joe Brennan’s 1988 congressional campaign. After that, Mary McAleney offered him a position doing research for the state legislature. He later moved to Washington, D.C., to work in the mailroom for Senator Mitchell’s office and eventually became a legislative correspondent. When Senator Mitchell retired, with the help of Mary McAleney, he went to work for the secretary of the Senate in the bill status office. After two years in that position, he was offered a place as a staffer in then Congressman Baldacci’s office. In 1999, he moved back to Maine to run the Bangor office for Congressman Baldacci. At the time of this interview, he held a position with the Maine Department of Transportation in the Bureau of Planning.

Summary

This interview includes discussion: family and educational background; Augusta, Maine in the 1960s and 70s; State Bureau of Banks and Banking; University of Southern Maine; Public Interest Research Group (PIRG); interning at Senator Mitchell’s office in Portland, Maine; the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; Mary McAleney; Joe Brennan’s congressional campaign in 1988; the Maine state Senate; working for Senator Mitchell in Washington, D.C.; Maine people on staff in Washington D.C.; George Mitchell as majority leader; being a legislative correspondent; the Catastrophic Healthcare act; health care; Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA); Chris Mann’s responsibilities in Senator Mitchell’s office; the Democratic Party network; working for the secretary of the Senate; the Senate bills status office; working for the minority party; Republican Revolution; division in the Senate; living in rural Maine; Maine Department of Transportation; and Senator Mitchell’s current projects.

Date: 2010-10-16

Creator: Peter H Lunder

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Peter H. Lunder was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on September 14, 1933, to Ann and Michael Lunder. He was graduated from Colby College in 1956 with a degree in business. He joined the family shoe business, where he eventually became president and co-chair of the board for Dexter Shoes. His uncle was Harold Alfond. In 1977 he was part of the Yawkey Group that bought the Red Sox. He served on the Smithsonian American Art Museum Board in the early 1990s, and at the time of this interview he was an overseer of Colby College.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Lunder’s time at Colby College; beginning a career in the shoe industry; his acquaintance with George Mitchell; Lunder’s friendship with Robbie Mitchell and the Mitchell family; running a business in Maine; Lunder’s interest in the Colby Art Museum; visiting Mitchell while he was in the Senate; Mitchell’s role in the Middle East; and Mary McAleney.

Date: 2009-03-31

Creator: John W. Warner

Access: Audio recording permanently restricted

Biographical NoteJohn William Warner was born February 18, 1927, to John W. Warner and Martha Budd Warner. He grew up in Washington, D.C. and was graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1945. He enlisted in the Navy after high school and is a veteran of World War II. After leaving the service he attended Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, graduating in 1949. He attended law school at the University of Virginia but left to serve in the Marines during the Korean War; subsequently, he received his law degree from George Washington University in 1953, served as a law clerk and became an assistant U.S. attorney before going into private practice in 1960, when he also served as a member of Richard Nixon’s advance staff during the 1960 presidential campaign. He married Catherine Conover Mellon in 1967 and they had three children before divorcing in 1973. In 1969, Warner was appointed undersecretary of the Navy, and then in 1972 he rose to be secretary of the Navy, a post he held for two years. President Ford appointed him director of the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. In 1976, he married Elizabeth Taylor; they divorced in 1982. In 1978, Warner ran unsuccessfully in the Virginia Republican primary for the U.S. Senate; however, when the nominee was killed in a plane crash, he was asked to step in with only ten weeks until the election. Warner managed a narrow victory, earning the nickname “Landslide Johnny,” and remained in the Senate for thirty years, eventually retiring in 2009 as Virginia’s second longest serving senator. At the time of this interview he was a partner at the firm Hogan & Hartson, now Hogan Lovells. SummaryInterview includes discussion of: Warner’s entry into politics in 1960 as a member of then Vice President Nixon’s advance staff; opening Nixon’s Washington, D.C. office in 1968; serving as undersecretary, and later secretary, of the navy; working on the nation’s bicentennial; the 1978 Virginia Senate race; an anecdote about Warner and Mike Mansfield serving in the military; majority and minority leaders descriptions; the role of the filibuster in the Senate and how it has evolved; Mitchell’s Elizabeth Taylor joke and sense of humor in general; how the Republican caucus regarded Mitchell; an anecdote about Washington and Jefferson discussing the role of the Senate in the bicameral system; George Mitchell’s interest in environmental issues and the Clean Air Act; the ISTEA transportation bill; projects, or “pork”; the Gulf War Resolution; Mitchell’s views on military spending and awarding of shipbuilding contracts; BRAC proceedings and the Loring Air Force Base closure; the pendulum of political power; the political shift in 1980 with Reagan’s election; Reagan’s economic policies; how the culture of the Senate has changed; the increased importance of fund-raising; former House members in the Senate; Maine senators and distinguished careers; the Gang of Fourteen; Warner’s role in electing Bill Frist to majority leader; the Clintons’ attempt at health care reform; Warner’s role in encouraging Dole to run for majority leader; Hillary Clinton as a senator; Mitchell’s career since leaving the Senate; the challenges Mitchell faces as special envoy for the Middle East; Warner’s thoughts on leaving the Senate, and his plans for the future at the firm Hogan Lovells.

Date: 2008-09-27

Creator: Floyd L Harding

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Floyd L. Harding was born on August, 26, 1923, in Albion, Maine. His father was a rural mail carrier and his family lived and ran a small family farm. He is one of twelve children (10 boys and 2 girls). He attended Bessey High School in Albion and Colby College. He served in the Army for three years, where he was taken prisoner-of-war. In 1949, he received his law degree from Boston University; he then moved to Presque Isle, Maine, and has practiced law there ever since. He worked for the Maine Potato Growers as assistant general counselor from 1950-1954 and established his own practice in 1954. He served three terms on the Maine state Senate (his wife ran one of his campaigns). He and his wife raised nine children.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: parental political leanings and the naming of their son Warren; Harding’s experience as a prisoner-of-war in Dresden during World War II; his work for the Potato Board; family law in Presque Isle; the Democratic Party’s development in Maine; serving as a state senator and as majority leader; the “car beside the road” analogy for progressive policy; Mitchell’s cow joke; the contrast between Mitchell and Muskie; Loring Air Force Base closure and its transition to various civilian uses; the founding of Northern Maine Community College; taking issue positions during a campaign and how Mitchell learned from Harding; and Mitchell as an advocate for Maine.

Date: 2009-02-20

Creator: Gerard D Goldstein

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Gerard Goldstein was born August 30, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Bernard and Tilly Jepsky Goldstein. His father’s family immigrated from Russia in the early 1900s and his father owned a shoe factory. His mother’s family were also Russian immigrants and were involved in the paint and wallpaper business. Gerard grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts, and attended Lynn English High School. He and George Mitchell were both in Bowdoin College’s class of 1954. While at Bowdoin, Goldstein played on the football team and was a member of ARU (All Races United) fraternity. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. He specializes in real estate law and is also involved in various philanthropic activities through the local Jewish community, Temple Emmanuel in Marblehead, and the Retina Foundation.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: the Goldstein family history of immigrating from Russia and Romania; attending Lynn English High School in the late 1940s; the process of selecting a college and choosing Bowdoin College; football at Bowdoin; favorite professors; the social scene at Bowdoin and the All Races United fraternity; ROTC; Harvard Law School; Karen Mills’s appointment to the Small Business Administration; the ongoing connection with Bowdoin alumni; George Mitchell at Bowdoin; Goldstein’s connection to Mitchell through legal work in Maine; Goldstein’s real estate business; Mitchell’s new appointment as special envoy to the Middle East; Goldstein’s trips to Israel and involvement in Jewish philanthropic organizations; his work with the Retina Foundation and Schepens Eye Research; steroids in baseball controversy; and the influence of a Bowdoin education on later life.

Date: 2009-08-31

Creator: Robert 'Hap' Hazzard

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Robert Hazzard was born in Gardiner, Maine, in 1932 to Robert and Margaret (Wyman) Hazzard. His parents owned and operated a shoe factory while he was growing up. He attended local schools, Deerfield Academy, and was active in athletics. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1954 in the same class with George Mitchell, playing collegiate basketball and tennis. After graduation he worked as a CPA in Portland, Maine, where he occasionally continued to play tennis with Mitchell.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Hazzard’s childhood; meeting George Mitchell as a freshman at Bowdoin College; playing basketball and tennis with GJM; and Bowdoin College in the 1950s.

Date: 2008-08-11

Creator: Barry L Valentine

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Barry Lee Valentine was born September 12, 1943, in Emporia Kansas. He grew up in York Harbor, Maine, attended York High School, and received a degree in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. During college he took part in ROTC and after graduation joined the Air Force, serving as a pilot in Vietnam. He left the Air Force in 1972 and returned to Maine, where he helped run an airfield and became involved in politics because a neighbor ran for a seat in the Maine state legislature. He was the York county coordinator for the Maine public power campaign and then joined George Mitchell’s 1974 gubernatorial primary campaign, serving as a scheduler and driver. That fall he ran unsuccessfully for state Senate. He worked in Augusta, Maine, as a staffer for the state House majority leader. In 1976 he made a successful bid for a seat in the state legislature. In 1979 he became a district manager for the 1980 census. He worked in aviation, managing the Portland Jet Port, serving as the regional vice chairman of the National Association of State Aviation Officials, and as chairman of the Airports Committee. Then in 1992 he began work as a staffer for Senate Majority Leader Mitchell on the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. After the committee completed its work, Valentine became an administrator at the FAA during the Clinton administration. At the time of this interview he was semi-retired.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Valentine’s love of flying; Air Force and Vietnam; working on Neil Rolde’s 1972 campaign; the Maine public power referendum; working for George Mitchell in the 1974 gubernatorial campaign; an anecdote about a mill worker who wanted to know what Mitchell would ‘do about them women’ who were getting jobs on the mill floor; Barry’s insights as scheduler/driver; Mitchell’s position on two Democratic planks – gay rights and amnesty for those who avoided the draft – and an anecdote explaining his position to four truckers at a Bangor truck stop; Barry’s running for state senate in 1974 and winning election to the state legislature in 1976; the 1980 census; Mitchell’s 1982 campaign; working on the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs; the 1992 presidential election; and Mitchell’s commitment to his beliefs even when they were politically unpopular.

Date: 2009-04-29

Creator: Thomas 'Tom' D Gallagher

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Thomas D. Gallagher was born on September 6, 1954, in Redfield, South Dakota, to Ray and Theresa Gallagher. His father was a lawyer and was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, serving as its national commander in 1969-1970. Tom attended the University of South Dakota and later received a master’s degree in public policy from the Kennedy School at Harvard University. He moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the Congressional Research Service from 1978-1980. He became a staff member of the Senate Budget Committee when Senator Muskie was its chairman. He started working for Senator Mitchell in early 1981 as a legislative assistant on the Finance Committee, where he remained for about four years. He then took a job at the International Trade Commission. At the time of this interview, he was senior managing director of International Strategy and Investment.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Gallagher’s father’s involvement in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and how this spurred Gallagher’s interest in public affairs; the path Gallagher took to Washington, D.C.; working for the Congressional Research Service; working on the Senate Budget Committee staff for Senator Muskie; John McEvoy’s recommendation of Gallagher to work for Mitchell; Finance Committee issues; the political considerations between Budget and Finance; Mitchell’s working relationship with Gallagher and other staff; working on a bill on alternative energy tax credits; working with state staff to learn Maine issues; Mitchell’s relationship with Senator Dole; the fate of Democrats in the 1980 election; an anecdote about Mitchell being kicked out of a Delta Air Lines lounge and the company’s subsequent apology; Mitchell’s judge-like demeanor; the 1982 U.S. Senate campaign and election; the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, and the Foreign Investment and Real Property Tax Act of 1980; Senator Long as a mentor to Mitchell; Social Security reform; the looming need for Tax Reform; Reagan’s economic policies; the partisanship of Senate staffers; the difference between being part of a committee staff or member staff; “psychic remuneration”; how Mitchell positioned himself to become part of the Senate leadership; and the skills that Mitchell has that have contributed to his success.

Date: 2009-04-22

Creator: David T Flanagan

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

David T. Flanagan was born in Bangor, Maine on June 39, 1947. He grew up in Bangor, Hampden, and then Portland, where he attended Deering High School. He was the eldest of eight children. His mother, Constance Flanagan, was a registered nurse, and his father, Thomas Flanagan, was an insurance claims adjustor for the USF&G Company. David attended Harvard University, where he studied history and government, and then went on to the University of London, Kings College, earned a master’s degree, and returned to Boston College Law School on a scholarship. He worked on the congressional campaign of Peter Kyros, Sr., and did some political work for Elmer Violette and Governor Ken Curtis. He ran as an Independent candidate for governor of Maine in 2002. For many years, he served as president and CEO of Central Maine Power. He has also been chairman of the American University in Bulgaria and general counsel to the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee’s investigation of Hurricane Katrina. At the time of this interview, he was a member of a task force to investigate restructuring of the University of Maine System. As of 2010, he is chairman of the Board of Visitors for the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: interests while in high school; growing up in Portland; Harvard University and work-study jobs; King’s College School of Economics and traveling to Moscow and Leningrad; Boston College School of Law; working in the Maine legislature; working for Governor Brennan; working as the attorney for the Maine Bureau of Public Lands; securing the Maine public lands from the timber industry in a lawsuit; working as the attorney general for Maine Department of Conservation; Peter Kyros, Jr.; John O’Leary; Brennan’s working style; the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement Act; Mitchell’s rise to leadership in the Senate; Central Maine Power’s role in Maine politics; the American University in Bulgaria; and the Senate investigation of Hurricane Katrina.

Date: 2010-01-21

Creator: Ellyn 'Lyn' C Ballou

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Ellyn “Lyn” Clemmer Ballou was born in Patterson, New Jersey, on December 8, 1944, to Hazel Hendrickson and John Gerhard Clemmer, Jr. Her father worked for the Philadelphia Electric Company and her mother was a homemaker. Lyn attended Middlebury College, studying languages. She and her husband moved to Maine so he could go to the University of Maine School of Law. She worked at the law firm Pierce Atwood while he attended school, and she worked for Joe Brennan in the District Attorney’s Office, where she met George Mitchell. She later earned her law degree, clerked for Sidney Wernick, and practiced law for several years. At the time of this interview she was teaching French in Topsham, Maine.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Ballou’s family background and the Quaker tradition; her interests and inspirations in high school; Middlebury; time abroad in France; meeting and marrying her husband, Peter; working at Pierce Atwood; Cumberland County District Attorney’s office; Joe Brennan; Arthur Stilphen; going back to law school; female lawyers; Murray, Plumb & Murray; her transition to teaching French; and George Mitchell scholars and the Mitchell Institute.

Date: 2009-06-20

Creator: Michael 'Mike' Aube

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Michael “Mike” Aube was born on July 17, 1950, in Biddeford, Maine, and grew up in the Biddeford-Saco area in a Franco-American bilingual family. His mother worked as a clerk/cashier at a grocery store; his father was an electrical worker for a small electrical contractor in Saco, then began his own small electrical contracting business. Mike attended Boston College from 1968-1972, majoring in history and education. Although he became a certified teacher, he entered the realm of government and politics, working for George McGovern in 1972, and in 1973 becoming president of Maine Young Democrats. He served on Maine’s Democratic State Committee and worked for George Mitchell. Between 1975-1980, he went to Washington, DC, to work for the Senate Budget Committee (Muskie was chairman of the committee) as a researcher and was then promoted to director of special projects in Maine. He stayed in Washington until 1981 as Senator George Mitchell’s executive assistant. He has worked with the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce, with jurisdiction over Maine, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. At the time of this interview he was Maine state director for USDA Rural Development.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Aube’s work for the Economic Development Administration, USDA Rural Development; mayor of Bangor; the 1972 McGovern campaign; Mitchell as Democratic National Committeeman; Aube’s involvement in the Maine Young Democrats and working for Mitchell during the 1974 gubernatorial race; the 1973 Maine Public Power referenda; an anecdote about Mitchell being a light sleeper; an anecdote about retrieving the discarded campaign literature to reuse; factors that contributed to Mitchell’s loss in 1974; visiting the Mitchell family; the 1976 Muskie reelection campaign; Mitchell’s appointment to the Senate; the transition to Mitchell in the Senate office; an anecdote about how initially no one knew who Senator Mitchell was; Senator Mitchell saying he needed to become majority leader so that he could control the schedule; staffing the Environment and Public Works Committee and working on economic and community development issues; working as Mitchell’s executive assistant; Aube’s decision to leave Washington, D.C.; Aube’s decision to become a Republican; how Mitchell helped Aube’s daughter with an application to the Disney Corporation; and an anecdote about campaigning at Bowdoin College in 1974 when Mitchell recited the starting line-up of the Red Sox and their batting averages to earn a vote.

Date: 2009-12-07

Creator: Jason S Grumet

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Jason S. Grumet was born February 25, 1967, in Rochester, New York, to Gerald and Madeleine Grumet. After high school, he spent a year traveling North America through a program with the National Audubon Society Expedition Institute. He received an environmental studies degree from Brown University and then worked for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. He attended Harvard Law School and ran an organization that worked for the Northeast State Air Pollution Control officials. At the time of this interview, he was president of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Mitchell and the Clean Air Act of 1990; Mitchell and the National Commission on Energy Policy; the Clinton Global Initiative; purpose of the National Commission on Energy Policy; bipartisanship; how Senators Mitchell, Daschle, Dole, and Baker interacted on the bipartisan health care commission; how the challenges with Clinton health care influenced the commission; reaction to the report from the commission; Chris Jennings and Mark McClellan; working with the law firms of former senators; lack of bipartisan energy on health care; the Obama administration’s role; how the projects are organized; Senator Mitchell and bipartisan leadership; and Mitchell’s legacy.

Date: 2009-04-13

Creator: William 'Bill' E Frenzel

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

William E. “Bill” Frenzel was born July 31, 1928, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended Saint Paul Academy and received a B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1950 and an M.A. in 1951. He served as a lieutenant in the Navy from 1951 to 1954 during the Korean War. He served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1962 to 1970, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota’s Third District. He held that office from 1971 until he retired in 1991; he served on the House Budget Committee and the Ways and Means Committee during his tenure. He also served as a Congressional Representative to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) for fifteen years. Since retiring from the House, Frenzel was president of the Ripon Society until 2004, a guest scholar of the Brookings Institute and, in 1997, was named director of the Brookings Governmental Affairs Institute. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed him to the bipartisan President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security and, in 2002, to chair the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations. He currently chairs the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, is the vice chairman of the Eurasia Foundation, chairman of the Japan-America Society, chairman of the U.S. Steering Committee of the Transatlantic Policy Network, co-chairman of the Center for Strategic Tax Reform, co-chairman of the Bretton Woods Committee, co-chairman of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Tax and Investment Center, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: first impressions of Senator Mitchell; the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 negotiations, major players, and Mitchell’s role and its eventual passage; the reasoning behind going to Andrews Air Force Base budget summit; spending caps and PAYGO; “read my lips” and the 1992 presidential campaign; Mitchell’s personality and characteristics as a senator; Senators Baker and Dole in comparison to Mitchell; Tom Foley, Barber Conable, and Bob Michel as Frenzel’s role models in the House of Representatives; changes in relationships between congressional members, partisanship, and the effect on Congress; Frenzel’s decision to retire from the House; term limits; Frenzel’s hopes and fears in terms of the U.S. budget; the Reagan deficit; Gramm-Rudman Act; Republicans in Congress and President Clinton; GATT; free trade, NAFTA, and how some states’ concerns, like Maine’s, are involved; the filibuster; how Frenzel relates to other legislators like George Mitchell as a Republican to a Democrat; and the two parties in the U.S. today.

Date: 2009-09-22

Creator: Robert 'Bob' J Dole

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Robert J. “Bob” Dole was born July 22, 1923, in Russell, Kansas, and attended the University of Kansas. He served with distinction in World War II, and after the war earned his law degree at Washburn School of Law. He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1961, serving until 1969, when he ran for the U.S. Senate. He won and held that seat until 1996, when he became the Republican Party’s 1996 presidential nominee. He was on the Finance Committee and was minority leader when George Mitchell was majority leader; in 1994 he became Senate majority leader. At the time of this interview, he served as special counsel in the law firm Alston & Bird.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: relationship with Senator Mitchell; when Mitchell emerged as a potential leader; comparison of working with Mitchell and Byrd; Mitchell’s partisanship; relationship with Mitchell when Bill Clinton succeeded George Bush; health care reform; Dole’s meetings with George Mitchell; Dole’s and Mitchell’s working together to pass the ADA bill; reaction when Mitchell announced his retirement; Mitchell’s legacy; working at Verner Liipfert law firm with Mitchell; working on a bipartisan nonprofit healthcare effort with Mitchell (Bipartisan Policy Center); and George Mitchell’s legacy.

Date: 2008-08-19

Creator: James 'Jim' W Case

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

James W. “Jim” Case was born on June 21, 1945, in Chicopee, Massachusetts. His father was a firefighter and his mother was a homemaker who raised seven children; Jim was the fourth of five boys. His family was Irish-German Catholic, and his parents were involved in local politics. He grew up in a blue-collar mill town with a good public educational system; he attended Clark University, where he majored in psychology. He was drafted in November 1968 at the height of the Vietnam War and served two years as an administrator in a physical therapy clinic at an Army hospital. Subsequently, he attended the University of Maine School of Law, became active in politics as co-chair of the local Kennedy campaign committee, and developed an interest in labor law. He also worked on George Mitchell’s gubernatorial campaign in 1974. After law school he went to Washington, DC to work in Senator Muskie’s office, first as assistant counsel to the Committee on Environment and Public Works, which involved economic development and environmental policy, and later as legislative director. He was Senator Mitchell’s first administrative assistant, a post he held until 1981. At the time of this interview he was a partner in the McTeague, Higbee, Case, Cohen, Whitney & Toker law firm.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: 1972 Muskie presidential primary race; 1974 Maine gubernatorial race; factors that contributed to the results of the 1974 election; Mitchell on the campaign trail; Mitchell’s role in Muskie’s 1976 reelection campaign; how Mitchell came to be appointed U.S. attorney and later a federal judge; the transition in the Senate office when Muskie moved over to the State Department; Mitchell getting committee assignments; issues he worked on in his first year of office; Finance Committee deregulation of the banking industry; Case’s predicting that Mitchell would be Democratic leader; Senate prayer breakfasts; Case’s bringing David Johnson in to replace himself when he left in 1981; Mitchell’s accessibility to Mainers and commitment to Maine; and the mutual loyalty between Senator Mitchell and his staff.

Date: 2008-05-14

Creator: Laurence 'Larry' E Pope

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Laurence E. “Larry” Pope was born on September 24, 1945, in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts. He attended Bowdoin College; upon graduating in 1967, he entered the Peace Corps and then the foreign service in 1969. He spent thirty-one years as a diplomat, serving as ambassador to Chad and as a political advisor to General Tony Zinni. He was the original staff director for the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee chaired by Senator George J. Mitchell.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Braintree, Massachusetts, during the 1950s; interest in the Foreign Service; Bowdoin College; events surrounding the Iraq Liberation Act and Pope’s nomination to become ambassador to Kuwait; the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee; the fact-finding process with Israelis and Palestinians; Pope’s resignation from the commission; selecting Fred Hof as deputy staff director and later director; Senator Warren Rudman; and appointment of Khai Eide as Czar of International Reconstruction Efforts in Afghanistan.

Date: 2009-07-26

Creator: Gerald 'Gerry' F Petruccelli

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Gerald F. Petruccelli was born on February 24, 1943, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Mary Rita (Madden) and Gerald F. Petruccelli, Sr. Gerry went to Archbishop Williams in Quincy, Massachusetts, and then to Boston College. He attended law school at the University of Toledo and then the University of Maine, receiving his degree from Boston College, where he was involved in Boston College’s Law Review. He served as professor of law at the University of Maine Law School from 1968-1975, lecturer from 1975-1979, and adjunct professor from 1979 to the the time of this interview. In 1971 he was a special assistant attorney general in Maine, and from 1973 to 1980 he practiced law at Preti Flaherty. Since 1980, Petruccelli has worked for Petruccelli, Martin, and Haddow, LLP in Portland, Maine.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: childhood and educational background; background in politics; description of Boston College Law School Dean Bob Dryden; becoming a member of the faculty at the University of Maine Law School; the change in Uniform Commercial Code; how Petruccelli met George Mitchell through Joe Brennan; working for Mitchell as a lawyer; the Muskie reelection in 1970; working at the district attorney’s office with Mitchell when Joe Brennan was elected; interaction with Mitchell in the Democratic primary election of 1974; working on a major marijuana importation case with Mitchell as U.S. attorney; and meeting with managers of TV stations on behalf of Mitchell in the 1982 campaign.

Date: 2009-07-10

Creator: L. Joe Wishcamper

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Lyndel “Joe” Wishcamper was born August 18, 1942, in Amarillo, Texas, to Joe Henry Wishcamper and Mildred Louise (Pierce) Wishcamper. He attended Yale University and later earned his law degree at Harvard Law School. He practiced law in New York, then transitioned to the investment and real estate businesses. He worked with Max Cardmen, who was instrumental in creating 221.B.3, one of the first government subsidized housing projects; during the Nixon era, this project morphed to become the Section 8 program in 1974. Wishcamper was involved in George Mitchell’s 1982 U.S. Senate campaign. He was involved in the Section 8 program in Portland, Maine, renovating many buildings to be used as subsidized housing, in part working with the Tax Reform of 1986. At the time of this interview, he was president of Wishcamper Industries, which is based in Maine.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Wishcamper’s legal career; 221.B.3 housing project; Section 8 housing; Nixon administration; playing tennis with the Senator; Mitchell’s U.S. Senate appointment (1980); U.S. Senate campaign (1982); Mitchell’s role in the low income housing tax credit; Tax Reform of 1986; and entrepreneurship in Maine.

Date: 2009-04-09

Creator: Paul Orloff, Germaine A Orloff

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Paul Orloff was born in Waterville, Maine, on June 30, 1931. He is first-generation American, the son of two immigrants from Belarus, and one of two children. He met the Mitchell family at a young age because Mrs. Mitchell and his father would commute together to the woolen mill in Waterville. Consequently, he spent much of his time in the Mitchell home growing up, eventually becoming best friends with Robbie Mitchell, George’s brother. He attended Michigan State University, keeping in contact with Germaine, whom he was then dating, by letters. He served on the Waterville School Board for eight years. Germaine Alice (Michaud) Orloff was born in Waterville, Maine, in 1933. The daughter of a Canadian immigrant, she grew up in the French section of Waterville, one of six children. She attended Colby College, living at home while commuting to campus. She served on the city council in Waterville for six years, running on the Democratic ticket.

Summary

This interview includes discussion of: growing up in Waterville, Maine, in the mid-twentieth century; immigrant cultures in Maine; lower middle class experience in Waterville; the Mitchell family; Robbie Mitchell’s personality; Hollingsworth & Whitney; George Mitchell as a young man; George Mitchell’s dating; Bowdoin and Colby Colleges; participation in the Democratic Party; the Orloff family; activities at the Boys and Girls Club; memories about various members of the Mitchell family; tennis; growing up as first generation Americans; George Mitchell’s current activities; and local political activity.

Date: 2009-06-26

Creator: H. 'Tim' Timothy O'Neil

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Hugh Timothy “Tim” O’Neil was born in Geneva, New York, on June 13, 1935, to Mary Ann (Perrella) and Hugh Joseph O’Neil. He grew up in Binghamton, New York, and attended Colgate University. He married while he was a student there and graduated with a major in sociology. He spent nine years working in sales for Goodyear, then moved to Maine where he worked for Noyes Tire for nineteen years. He later worked for Portland Glass, becoming the company’s president. He first met George Mitchell as a litigator on the other side of a case involving Portland Glass, and through some mutual friends they became frequent tennis partners. O’Neil has four children and lived in Scarborough, Maine, at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; O’Neil’s connection to Harvey Picker; working for Goodyear; moving to Nashua, New Hampshire; how O’Neil came to work for Portland Glass; meeting George Mitchell; Mitchell as a lawyer and a tennis player; an anecdote about Mitchell’s helping O’Neil’s daughter get her divorce finalized; Mitchell’s dislike of partisanship; talking to Mitchell during the 1982 campaign and his first TV ads; visiting Mitchell in D.C. and Naples, Florida, to play tennis; Mitchell’s current position as special envoy to the Middle East peace process; the respect that people have for Mitchell; Mitchell as a businessman; Mitchell’s not being a good handyman; and O’Neil’s current business.

Date: 2009-04-20

Creator: Thomas 'Tom' A Daschle

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Thomas Andrew Daschle was born on December 9, 1947, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Elizabeth B. Meier and Sebastian C. Daschle. He attended South Dakota State University, being graduated with a degree in political science in 1969. After college he served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force. He started in politics as a staff member to South Dakota Senator James Abourezk. In 1978, Daschle was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served for four terms there. In 1986, he ran for the U.S. Senate and won, serving until he lost the seat in the fall 2004 elections; he succeeded George Mitchell as Senate majority leader in the Senate in 1995. He served as a key advisor to Barack Obama in his presidential campaign of 2008 and was nominated to be the secretary of health and human services; his nomination proved controversial, and he withdrew his name from consideration. He has been heavily involved in working for health care reform. At the time of this interview, he served as a policy advisor at the firm Alston & Bird and was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: becoming acquainted with Mitchell; making the move to the Senate from the House; Mitchell’s role as chairman of the 1986 Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; the Senate class of 1986; the Democratic trend in the 1986 elections; working in the Senate compared to working in the House; the similarities between Daschle and Mitchell and the foundation of their friendship; Daschle’s role as co-chair of the Policy Committee; the Policy Committee’s functions and Mitchell’s role in expanding its responsibilities; Mitchell’s interest in baseball; Daschle’s campaign and election to majority leader; the procedure of the Senate leader election; Mitchell’s advice to Daschle as his successor as majority leader and his help in making the transition; Daschle’s surprise at Mitchell’s retirement decision; the 1994 elections; the check scandal that involved the House bank; Byrd’s decision to move from majority leader to chair of the Appropriations Committee; how Mitchell ought to be remembered; the Bipartisan Policy Center; thoughts on how Mitchell would have been as a presidential candidate; and Mitchell’s and Daschle’s mutual interest in hearing and telling funny stories.

Date: 2009-08-04

Creator: Charles 'Chuck' S Robb

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Charles “Chuck” Robb was born on July 26, 1939, in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew up near Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1961. He joined the United States Marine Corps and was graduated with honors from Quantico. He met Lynda Bird Johnson, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, when he became a White House social aide; they were married there in 1967. He served two years of combat duty in Vietnam leading a rifle company, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star. Upon his military discharge, he earned a doctor of law degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 1973. Following a clerkship with a federal appeals judge, he entered private practice as a lawyer. He served as lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1978 to 1982 and as governor of Virginia from 1982 to 1986. He was elected to the U.S. Senate and served from 1989 until 2001, was instrumental in creating the Super Tuesday primary, and co-founded the Democratic Leadership Council. In 2004, he chaired the Iraq Intelligence Commission. Since 2001, he has held the position of distinguished professor of law and public policy at George Mason University.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Robb’s political family history; comparison of serving as governor and as senator; the work accomplished as governor; running for U.S. Senate; the CODEL to Kuwait; the founding of and involvement with the Democratic Leadership Council; the process of electing Mitchell as majority leader; Mitchell’s leadership; conflict with the Budget Committee; partisanship in the Senate; Mitchell’s position with the party spectrum; the continued growth of the DLC and recruiting Bill Clinton; Mitchell and the DLC; success as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC); Mitchell’s retirement from the Senate; Robb’s last term; the Vietnam group of six in the Senate; and George Mitchell’s legacy.

Date: 2010-01-28

Creator: John B Breaux

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

John Berlinger Breaux was born in Crowley, Louisiana, on March 1, 1944. He was graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana at Lafayette in 1964 and Louisiana State University Law School in 1967. He served as assistant to U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards. After Edwards resigned in 1972, Breaux was elected to his seat in the U.S. Congress in a special election. He served in the House of Representatives until 1987, when he was elected to the Senate, where he served until 2005. In 1993, Senate Democrats elected him deputy majority whip. Since retiring from the Senate, he has worked as a lobbyist and taught at Louisiana State University.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Breaux’s entering the Senate when Mitchell was chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC); succeeding Russell Long in the Senate; difference serving in the Senate after serving in the House; Senate majority leader race in 1988; Mitchell’s start as Senate majority leader; responsibilities of Senate majority leader; Breaux’s role as whip; Mitchell’s focus on functional leadership; importance of majority leader’s relationship with the House; Mitchell and Dole; working with presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton; Mitchell’s relationship with Bill Clinton; Breaux as a deal maker and bridge builder; working on the Clean Air Act with Mitchell; health care reform; 1990 Mitchell’s legacy in the Senate; John H. Chafee; Moynihan; Lloyd Bensten; Kennedy; Breaux’s retirement in 2004; and Mitchell as a conflict solver.

Date: 2010-05-17

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 Carter’s 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 Mitchell’s 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: Iran-Contra and writing Men of Zeal; clean air; acid rain; long term health care; spousal impoverishment; how the press office operated; the national press; the “dugout” on the Senate floor; Clarence Thomas hearings; CODELs; Foreign travel: Canada, Mexico, Soviet Union, Germany, Middle East; health care debate; and relationship with Bob Dole.