Information about the Commission on Presidential Debates Board of Directors

by -alec Sunday, Oct. 08, 2000 at 6:50 AM

Detailed information about the Commission on Presidential Debates Board of Directors.

errorInformation about the Commission on Presidential Debates Board of Directors

October 6, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



alec activist
freedom of information division
"the movement"
seattle, washington, los angeles,
philidelphia, prague, sydney, melbourne


Dear Democracy,

. . .


Commission on Presidential Debates
1200 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Washington, D.C.


As I see it, the following people are the ones responsible for the exclusion of third-party candidates during the 2000 Presidential election.

How can the following people possibly represent the public interest?




Co-Chairman
--------
Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
Paul G. Kirk, Jr.


Executive Director
--------
Janet H. Brown


Honorary Co-Chairmen
--------
Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan


Directors
--------
Clifford C. Alexander, Jr.
Howard G. Buffett
John C. Danforth
Rep. Jennifer Dunn
Antonia Hernandez
Caroline Kennedy
Newton N. Minow
Paul H. O'Neill
Dorothy Ridings











Frank J. Fahrenkopf (Co-Chairman of the CPD)
--------
-President and CEO of American Gaming Association (AGA), a "national trade association of U.S. commercial hotel-casino companies, gaming equipment manufacturers, and vendor-suppliers of goods and services to the industry."
-Serves on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Party Development, along with CPD co-chairman Paul G. Kirk, Jr.
-AGA members provide a total of over $2.5 billion in tax revenues
-Served 1983-1989 as Chairman of the Republican National Committee
-Made statement in June of 2000 to the House Judiciary Committee recommending that sports gambling in Nevada should remain unregulated.





Individual Political Donations 2000 election cycle:


06/05/00 - $1,000 to Thomas M Davis, III


05/01/00 - $1,000 to George Allen


02/13/00 - $250 to Patrick J Tiberi

Frank J. Fahrenkopf


3906 Hillandale Court Nw


Washington, DC 20007-3946


Phone: (202) 298-0403


Phone: (202) 298-6363

Fahrenkopf, Frank J


555 13th Street Nw


Washington, D.C. 20004-1109


Phone: (202) 637-5676









Paul G. Kirk, Jr. (Co-chairman of the CPD)
--------
-Serves on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Party Development, along with CPD co-chairman Frank J. Fahrenkopf.
-The Center for Party Development states about its purpose, "Through the effective operation of competative party systems, shared social and political values are reinforced."
-Close friend of the Kennedy's
-Caroline Kennedy also serves on the CPD Board.

Individual Political Donations 2000 election cycle:


N/A




Address not available at this time.










Janet H. Brown (Executive Director of the CPD)
---------
-Previously on the staff of Senator John Danforth and the Office of Management and Budget under the Reagan Administration. Senator Danforth is also currently on the CPD Board.
-Serves on the Board of Directors for MDCINC (www.mdcinc.org), a private nonprofit group to foster economic development in the South.
-MDCINC is located in Chapel Hill, NC
-Janet Brown also currently serves on the MDCINC Board with William C. Friday, who is an advisor to the chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill, which is, coincidentally, where the second presidential debates are being held on October 11, 2000.

Individual Political Donations 2000 election cycle:


N/A, unless multiple residences exist

Registered to vote Republican in Washington, D.C. at


BROWN JANET H 4848 DEXTER ST NW REP 09/08/72

Janet H. Brown


Commission on Presidential Debates


1200 New Hampshire, NW


Suite 445


Washington, D.C. 20036


Phone: (202) 872-1020


Fax: (202) 783-5923




Janet H. Brown


4848 Dexter Street, NW


Washington, D.C. 20007-4222


Phone: 202-338-4222








Clifford C. Alexander, Jr. (Director of CPD)
--------
-Serves as President on the newly formed MCI/Worldcom conglomorate.
-President and CEO of Alexander & Associates, Inc.
-Has cummulatively donated $3,280 on six occasions this year to Kirkpatrick and Lockhart, a "national law firm with 600 lawyers in Boston, Harrisburg, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York, Pittsburgh, San Franscisco, and Washington. We serve a diverse roster of international, national, and regional clients that includes Fortune 100 companies, smaller business enterprises, and individuals."
-Was the chief negotiator to build a new stadium for the Washington Redskins.

Individual Political Donations 2000 election cycle:


05/31/00 - $578 to Kirkpatrick and Lockhart


04/27/00 - $500 to Barack H. Obama


03/31/00 - $578 to Kirkpatrick and Lockhart


11/22/99 - $531 to Kirkpatrick and Lockhart


09/30/99 - $531 to Kirkpatrick and Lockhart


09/23/99 - $1,000 to Regina Montoya


06/15/99 - $500 to Charles S. Robb


05/28/99 - $531 to Kirkpatrick and Lockhart


03/16/99 - $1,000 to Bill Bradley


02/26/99 - $531 to Kirkpatrick and Lockhart




Clifford C. Alexander, Jr.


Alexander & Associates, Inc


400 C Street Ne


Washington, D.C. 20002-0582


Phone: 202-546-0111






Howard G. Buffett (Director of CPD)
--------
-Serves on the Board of Directors of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. (CCE)
-Father of Warren Buffett; his son's net worth is over $10 billion.
-Chairman of the Board of The GSI Group, an multinational agricultural firm.
-Coca-Cola Enterprises net operating revenues exceed $14 billion.
-A Coca-Cola Enterprises document recommended his reelection to the Board.




Buffet's Individual Political Donations 2000 election cycle:


04/07/00 - $1,000 to Coca-Cola Enterprises


03/16/00 - $1,000 to Scott Dale Moore


03/03/00 - $1,000 to Peter G. Fitzgerald


02/11/99 - $1,000 to Coca-Cola Enterprises



Address not available at this time.






John C. Danforth (Director of the CPD)
--------
-Currently serves on the corporate boards of Cerner Corp., The Dow Chemical Corp., and General American Life Insurance Co.
-Former U.S. Senator (R-Mo.), served 18 years in the Senate, retired in 1995.
-Works at Bryan Cave, LLP, a private law firm..."Bryan Cave LLP, one of the nation's leading corporate, transactional and litigation law firms, has 600 lawyers located in 16 offices in the United States and around the world, and ranks among the 50 largest firms in the world."
-Was appointed by Janet Reno to conduct the Waco case investigations.
-Served on the Trilateral Commission during the Carter and Reagan Administrations.
-Was a commencement speaker for Washington University in St. Louis during the 134th commencement, has also spoken at Washington University on St. Louis 2004: Vision for a Vibrant Community.
-Resident in St. Louis...coincidently the location of both Washington University and of the third presidential debate during the 2000 Presidential race.




Danforth's Individual Political Donations for year 2000:


07/19/00 - $1000 to Rely on Your Beliefs


06/02/00 - $1000 to Lincoln D Chafee


06/02/00 - $1000 to Lincoln D Chafee


05/30/00 - $1000 to George W. Bush




John C. Danforth


Bryan Cave, LLP, Partner


St. Louis


Phone: (314) 259-2980


Fax: (314) 259-2020


jcdanforth@bryancave.com

John C. Danforth


Metropolitan Square


Saint Louis, MO 63102-2733


Phone (314) 259-2000







Newton N. Minow (Director of the CPD)
--------
-Past chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
-Serves on the Board of Directors for the part-time labor corporation Manpower, along with Paul H. O'Neill, another CPD board member.
-Currently on the Board of Directors for AON, an international insurance brokerage organization. AON is the largest reinsurence broker in the world.
-AON corporate revenue of $6.5 billion in 1998.
-AON is in 120 countries worldwide.
-Minow was one of the people initially calling for the formation of the CPD...in 1986 he published the report, "For Great Debates: A New Plan for Future Presidential TV Debates" along with Clifford M. Sloan.

Individual Political Donations 2000 election cycle:


06/01/00 - $500 to Jan Schakowsky


07/29/99 - $1000 to Barack H Obama


07/30/99 - $250 to Jan Schakowsky


03/16/99 - $250 to Bill Bradley




Address not available at this time.







Paul H. O'Neill (Director of the CPD)
--------
-CEO of ALCOA, the Aluminum Company of America. ALCOA earned over $16.4 billion in revenue in 1999.
-Director of: Eastman Kodak Company, The National Association of Security Dealers Demonstration Research Corporation, Lucent Technologies Corp
-Serves on Board of Trustees for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a right-wing think tank. Dick Cheney also serves on the AEI board as vice chairman.
-Chairman of RAND. RAND states that, "research on national security became the institution's first hallmark." RAND was creating at the urging of the U.S. Air Force. RAND also states that, "U.S. Government agencies provide its largest share of support."
-O'Neill's home town is St. Louis, the same as John Danforth, who also serves on the CPD board. St. Louis is also the location of the third presidential debate during the 2000 election year. St. Louis was also a debate site in 1996.
-Employed at Tenet Healthcare, a National HMO. Donated $1,000 to Tenet Healthcare during this past year. Tenet Healthcare had net operating revenues during 1999 of $5.6 billion.




Individual Political Donations 2000 election cycle:


07/07/99 - $500 to TENET Healthcare Corporation.


06/20/99 - $500 to TENET Healthcare Corporation




Paul H. O'Neill


3100 Hampshire Court


Frisco, TX 75034-6809


Phone: (972) 625-1742







Dorothy Ridings (Director of the CPD)
--------
-Former President of the League of Women Voters
-CEO and President of the Council on Foundations
-David S. Ford also serves on the Council on Foundations; he is also President of Lucent Technologies Foundation.
-Former Newspaper publisher in Bradenton, FL; her old paper is now owned by the Knight-Ridder chain.

Individual Political Donations 2000 election cycle:


05/23/00 - $500 to Scotty Baesler


04/19/00 - $500 to Martha Yeager Walker


06/25/99 - $500 to Martha Yeager Walker




Address not available at this time.






These ex-Presidents are also on the CPD board
--------
Gerald R. Ford (Honorary Co-Chairman)
Jimmy Carter (Honorary Co-Chairman)
Ronald Reagan (Honorary Co-Chairman)




Representative Jennifer Dunn (Director of the CPD)
--------
No information at this time.



Antonia Hernandez (Director of the CPD)
--------
No information at this time.



Caroline Kennedy
-------
-The last of the Kennedy family
-Friends with Paul G. Kirk, Jr., who also serves on the CPD board.







Cheers,


-alec