President-elect Barack Obama may stand for change, but he's turned to
some powerful Washington insiders to help him staff the nation's top
communications regulator, the Federal Communications Commission.
Picking the FCC chairman may not be the top priority for the Obama
transition team, which is focused on naming a Treasury secretary tasked
with ending the economic crisis, and appointing foreign policy leaders
who will need to navigate two wars and other pressing diplomatic
issues. Still, the Obama Administration will need to put some emphasis
on finding a deft leader to head up the agency responsible for
regulating TV, radio, and other telecommunications services. The new
Administration is expected to give greater prominence to emerging
providers of communications products and services, such as Google (GOOG)—a departure from the Bush Administration, which has tended to favor traditional providers such as AT&T (T).
In making the choice, the Obama team is considering appointing the
first African American woman to the post, while it also fields
recommendations from advisers who served in the FCC under President
Bill Clinton. Heading up the selection process is Henry Rivera, partner
at Washington law firm Wiley Rein. Headed by former FCC Chairman Richard Wiley, Wiley Rein has represented such companies as AT&T, Verizon Communications (VZ), Viacom (VIA), Motorola (MOT), and Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI).
Short List of FCC Candidates
Rivera was the first Hispanic FCC commissioner, serving from 1981
to 1985, and is considered an advocate for local telcos, wireless
companies, and cable TV providers. "Henry is a wise man, a bipartisan
with lots of experience," says John Muleta, former head of the FCC's
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and now CEO of M2Z, an emerging wireless broadband provider.
Rivera, who is not interested in the position, has drawn up a short
list of candidates that includes two African American women, according
to a person familiar with Rivera's thinking. One is Julia Johnson, a
Florida consultant who chairs Video Access Alliance, an advocacy and
advisory group for independent, emerging, and minority networks and
Internet content providers. Johnson is also on the board of MasTec (MTZ),
a contractor that designs and builds telephone, broadband, electric,
and other networks. She didn't return a call or an e-mail. Rivera was
not available for an interview.
Another possibility: Mignon Clyburn, who has been a commissioner for
the Public Service Commission of South Carolina since 1998. After
earning a bachelor's degree in banking finance and economics from the
University of South Carolina, she worked as a newspaper editor and was
general manager and publisher for the local Coastal Times.
Clyburn is a daughter of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, South
Carolina's most prominent black politician. Clyburn declined to comment
for this story.
Obama's team is also weighing recommendations from former FCC Chairmen Bill Kennard and Reed Hundt, both of whom advised the Obama campaign on telecommunications-related issues.
