Insight
Remember
When • •
Following The Money
Ellen Weintraub is the first Jewish member of the Federal Election Commission.
AMY KELLER
Jewish Renaissance Media
Washington, D.C.
lien Weintraub realized the
moment when she finally
"arrived," so to speak, in
Washington.
It was when she received an invi-
tation to one of the hottest parties in
town — the annual Congressional
Correspondents Dinner.
The swanky black-tie affair is a vir-
tual who's-who of Washington's
political elite, a formal gathering
where the nation's most influen-
tial lawmakers and government
officials wine, dine and shmooze
with the reporters who cover
them.
Weintraub, a native New Yorker
and one-time congressional aide-
turned election law attorney, was
invited because she is the new
chair — and first Jewish member
— of the Federal Election
Commission.
The six-member panel oversees
the nation's campaign finance
laws and will have its collective
hands full until November 2004
tracking the eight — at last count
— announced Democratic presi-
dential candidates as well as
Republican President George W.
Bush, perhaps the best-heeled
incumbent ever.
If landing a spot on "A" list
parties is one of the stellar perks
of her new job, the pitfalls of
Weintraub's $134,000-a-year
position are also worth noting.
The campaign watchdog agency, or
FEC as it's more commonly called, is
one of the most battered agencies in
Washington.
Since its post-Watergate inception,
the FEC has a frosty, often con-
tentious relationship with the very
members of Congress who created it.
That's not surprising. The FEC is
entrusted with the delicate task of
tracking lawmakers' campaign
fundraising practices, and cracking
E
the whip when it believes candidates
for federal office have broken the
rules.
But Weintraub, who is the only
woman currently on the panel, rel-
ishes the challenge.
A Democrat who was appointed in
December by President Bush,
Weintraub insists she isn't just up to
the task, she savors it, calling her
new job "exciting" and herself
"enthusiastic."
She is also proud to bring some
As the only woman currently sit-
ting on the FEC, Weintraub good-
naturedly describes the first predica-
ment she faced in her new job when
she was suddenly bestowed with the
rotating chairmanship of the agency,
which is passed back and forth
between Republicans and
Democrats.
"I call myself 'chair.' Just plain old
chair. I'm assuming nobody will real-
ly get me confused with furniture,"
Weintraub said, noting that in a for-
mer life, when she served as a
counsel on the House ethics com-
mittee, one female lawmaker
insisted on calling herself
"Madam Chairwoman."
Even Weintraub admits that
"Chairwoman Weintraub" is a
mouthful and she thought that
"chairperson" sounds "stilted" so
she settled on "chair."
Washington Background
diversity to the agency, remarking
that it is important that the public
see more than six white men in gray
suits running the show.
"I'm only the third woman, and
there's never been an African-
American [sitting on the FEC].
There's never been a Hispanic,"
Weintraub explained in a recent
interview. "And this of all places real-
ly ought to be a little bit more repre-
sentative of the electorate."
Weintraub believes in simplifica-
tion wherever possible, a philoso-
phy she's already espousing as she
goes about her duties. If she
prefers a more practical approach
to regulating, Weintraub is equal-
ly consumed by the notion of
"fairness" — and it is little won-
der considering her resume.
With a bachelor's degree from
Yale and a law degree from
Harvard University, Weintraub
spent six years on Capitol Hill,
toiling behind the scenes for the
House ethics committee.
Just as the FEC keeps the cam-
paign finance community in line, the
House ethics committee makes sure
that lawmakers follow strict ethical
and legal guidelines that control
everything from their outside income
to their post-congressional employ-
ment.
Proving that she has a knack for
being in the right place at a very busy
time, Weintraub had the demanding
task of implementing the Ethics
INSIGHT on page 30
From the pages of the Jewish News
from this week 10, 20, 30, 40, 50
and 60 years ago.
1993
The first Zionist of the Year award
dinner will be held by the Detroit
Zionist Federation and will honor
Evelyn Noveck, Anne Gonte Silver
and Annette Meskin — women who
have distinguished themselves in work
with Zionist organizations.
According to the Guinness Book
of World Records, 17 students at
the Hadassah Hotel Management
College in Jerusalem have baked
the world's largest hamantash —
weighing 550. pounds.
1983
Detroit is serving as a model for the
Catholic Church in the United States
and for many Protestant denomina-
tions in a concerted effort to translate
the broad message of Vatican II into
grassroots action to eradicate anti-
Jewish teachings in Christianity.
1973
Leonard Simons, president of the
Detroit Historical Commission, has
been named general chairman of
the arrangements committee for the
annual convention of the American
Jewish Historical Society.
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held
for a new Detroit junior high that
will be named for Fred M. Butzel, a
Detroit attorney and philanthropist.
1983
In recognition of his efforts toward
the promotion of symphonic music
by Jewish composers, Paul Paray,
conductor of the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra, received the Hashofar
citation of merit from Julius Chajes.
1,94-37'
Leah Crohn, soprano, Betty
Kowalsky and Kurt Saffir, 13-year-old
pianists, and Joseph Silverstein, 10-
year-old violinist, will be the soloists
at the Purim festival sponsored by the
music department at the Jewish
Community Center in Detroit.
— Compiled by Holly Teasdle,
archivist, the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin
Archives of Temple Beth El
3/14
2003
29