Ken Mehlman

Ken Mehlman

Kenneth B. Mehlman (born 1967 in Baltimore, Maryland) is the chair of the Republican National Committee. He served as the campaign manager for George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.

Early career

Mehlman received his undergraduate degree in 1988 from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991. He practiced environmental law at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington (1991–1996) and assisted campaigns in Massachusetts (William Weld's 1990 gubernatorial campaign), Ohio, Virginia, Texas, and Georgia as well as the 1992 and 1996 Presidential campaigns.

Mehlman was Congresswoman Kay Granger’s (TX-12) Chief of Staff and Congressman Lamar S. Smith’s (TX-21) Legislative Director. Mehlman served George W. Bush as the field director for his 2000 campaign and later became the White House Director of Political Affairs. He managed the Bush presidential re-election campaign in 2004. In January 2005, the American Association of Political Consultants gave Mehlman the "Campaign Manager of the Year" award for his management of the Bush/Cheney presidential ticket [1].

Involvement in phone jamming scandal

Main article: 2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone jamming scandal

A Democratic analysis of phone records introduced at the 2005 criminal trial of James Tobin, the Northeast political director for the RNC in 2002, show that he made 115 outgoing calls - mostly to the same number in the White House office of political affairs - between September 17 and November 22, 2002. At the time, the office of political affairs was headed by Mehlman. Two dozen of the calls were made from 9:28 a.m. the day before the election through 2:17 a.m. the night after the voting, a three-day period during which the criminal phone jamming operation was finalized, carried out, and then abruptly shut down.

Virtually all the calls to the White House went to the same phone number. In April 2006, Mehlman issued a statement on the matter, noting that his deputy for the Northeast states routinely discussed election business with RNC officials, and categorically stated that "none of my conversations nor the conversations of my staff, involved discussion of the phone-jamming incident." [2] [3] [4]

Republican Party chair

Mehlman was President Bush's choice to replace Ed Gillespie as the chair of the Republican National Committee and was elected to the post on January 19, 2005.

In an address in front of the NAACP on July 14, 2005 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mehlman apologized for the Republican Party's failure to reach out to the black community in the aftermath of 1964's Civil Rights Act, stating, "Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization ... I am here as Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong" [5], [6]. In a CNN interview a couple of days after the speech, he reluctantly mentioned the "Southern Strategy" by name [7].

Although Mehlman's speech seemed to suggest a new approach towards the African-American community, the NAACP's Congressional Report Card for 2005 gave 98% of Congressional Republicans an "F" on issues of importance to the African-American community [8]. George W. Bush's approval rating among African-Americans falling to 2% in one poll [9]

Connections to Jack Abramoff

An article in the April 2006 issue of Vanity Fair detailed alleged email exchanges between Mehlman and Jack Abramoff. The article claimed there was a very close personal relationship between Mehlman and Abramoff, and said Mehlman had been a Shabbat dinner guest at Abramoff's home. The article also said that Mehlman acted on behalf of Abramoff to prevent Allen Stayman, a Clinton appointee in the State Department, from keeping his job [10].

Mehlman, through a spokesperson, denied recalling the email exchanges “because he was often contacted by political supporters with suggestions and ideas.”

Personal

Mehlman is Jewish, a fact which he has sometimes cited to counter criticism of lack of diversity in the Republican Party. He lives in Washington, D.C. and has never been married. In response to public questions about his sexual orientation, Mehlman initially declined to answer questions about his personal life (see references) and in May 2006, he denied being gay, adding that the rumors have impacted his dating life [11].

External links

• RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Official biography
• Ken Mehlman's campaign contributions