Sizing Up Wheeler By The Folks He’s Hired

The late, great FCC Commissioner (and Interim Chairman) Jim Quello waited nearly a year in the 1970s to be confirmed, you know. He was nominated by President Nixon to replace Bill Moyers’s favorite FCC commissioner, Nick Johnson, and that former Maritime Administration head strongly objected. So Johnson stirred up near-endless trouble. In the end, Quello fended off more “hearsay, innuendo, and character assassination” complaints than were even tossed at Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli this fall. Or, Nixon way back then.

Well, the new FCC Chairman, Tom Wheeler, was nominated earlier this year, in the spring. He, too, was assailed as an industry tool, having headed various trade associations for years. Then, Wheeler just had to wait. (As former FCC Commissioner Erwin Duggan famously said: “At the FCC it’s always wait, then hurry up.”) Wheeler’s confirmation was delayed by all too many Republican Senate staffers contending for another FCC seat. And, a dispute over Citizens United. But all that was finally sorted out.

FCC Chairman Wheeler evidently spent some of his “waiting time” putting together his staff. Last Monday, he was formally sworn in (he was probably really sworn in a bit earlier by the FCC personnel folks, to put him on the payroll and ensure no health insurance breaks). That same day, Mr. Wheeler announced a bunch of senior staff — his leadership team. The folks who are supposed to help him “hit the ground running,” of course.

The late Peter Flanigan Sr., handled regulatory (and, other) personnel matters for President Nixon, and he often said that appointees “should know a lot about the subject matter, or a lot about how the government works — preferably both, but never neither.” And, the Obama Administration and its appointees haven’t always followed this rule when it comes to the FCC, have they?

Mr. Genachowski certainly knew something about the communications business. He’d been married to ABC News personality Martha Radditz, for instance, and even worked as one of FCC Chairman Reed Hundt’s assistants. But he also brought in lots of folks who seemed to be chiefly (a) former Obama campaign workers, or (b) people who’d worked for law firms and consulting firms with whom Mr. Genachowski had previously worked in California. They certainly didn’t know much about how the government works — or, communications either, in some cases.

All these highly political “outlanders” arrived at the FCC. And the agency then hired even more, via contract with Booz Allen. The FCC’s leadership declared only outlanders could prepare the “National Broadband Plan” that some Democratic congressional leaders had demanded.

Understandably, the career FCC staff reacted negatively to this signal that they didn’t know what they were doing. And, if you wonder why the National Broadband Plan has since joined dozens of others in that enormous GSA archives in Silver Hill, Md., never to be heard of again, just remember: Political appointees come and go, but the FCC staff remains. And, remember that old margarine ad on TV: “It doesn’t pay to fool Mother Nature.” Well, FCC careerists don’t like to be dissed, either, do they?

Well, three of FCC Chairman Wheeler’s new appointees are blue-ribbon, card-carrying members of the FCC club. Chief-of-Staff Ruth Milkman has worked in the Common Carrier, International, and now Wireless bureaus, and also served on two chairmen’s staff.

“Counselor” Phil Verveer has headed more FCC bureaus than anyone — this was during the Ferris chairmanship, during the Carter Administration — and he’s also worked at the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and, most recently, Department of State.

“Special Counsel” Diane Cornell has worked for several commissioners (on common carrier and wireless issues), and also worked in the International and Wireless bureaus. All these people know what they’re doing — and, how the FCC and government work. Or, don’t.

At 67, Chairman Wheeler is probably the oldest FCC Chairman at his swearing in (Interim Chairman Quello aside). Wheeler’s three “lifer” staff are much older than many of their predecessors. But that’s good, isn’t it? Isn’t it helpful to have folks on the payroll who are vaguely (or, otherwise) aware of what’s happened — or, been tried — before? Some of Mr. Wheeler’s predecessors didn’t seem to think so. Like Henry Ford, they thought history was bunk. But ignoring the past is usually an error, isn’t it? Naming “newbies” to high posts at the FCC doesn’t make sense, does it? As Jet Li aptly warned in Kiss of the Dragon (2001), when you do that “you’re making a big mistake.”

In addition to these three super-class appointees, Mr. Wheeler has named two individuals who are certainly well-informed and quite talented — but also fall in the category of significantly partisan folks — “true believers,” as it were.

Gigi Sohn is a career public interest lawyer, and she shares one characteristic of Mr. Wheeler. That is, the older she gets the more liberal and interventionist she seems to become (exactly the opposite from what usually occurs). Ms. Sohn is said to be both very Democratic, and to be the proverbial “bring back the rack”-style regulator as well. And, has she ever met and talked with an actual Republican? Probably not.

Kenneth Robinson is a Washington communications lawyer and one-time senior legal adviser to former FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes. He is also the writer and publisher of The Telecommunications Review. This column first appeared in the Nov. 10 issue of the the Review. He can be contacted at (703) JAckson 8-0960 or [email protected].