Prince.Skeletor
Don’t Be Like He-Man
Tomorrow, Democratic National Committee members will vote to approve a slate of 75 nominees to serve as at-large members that have been put forward by Chair Jaime Harrison. The vote will take place in a virtual meeting that will also include votes on who will serve on the organization’s top committees including the Executive Committee and the Rules and Bylaws Committee.
Harrison’s picks for new at-large DNC members include many corporate lobbyists, consultants, and executives, including partners at firms that represent the fossil fuel industry, pharmaceutical companies, electric utilities, and defense contractors, as well as senior employees with Facebook, Pepsi, and Softbank. The nominees will be voted on as a slate and are almost certain to be approved.
Many of these at-large nominees, who make up an influential faction of the approximately 447 voting DNC members, will select other members of the DNC committees that issue decisions on topics like whether the party groups will continue to accept donations from executives in the fossil fuel industry.
Update, Oct. 9, 3pm ET: In the virtual DNC fall meeting held today, the motion to suspend the rules and approve Jaime Harrison’s slate of 75 at-large members was passed by DNC members by a vote of 304-59.
With a new Democratic administration in the White House and a new DNC chair in Harrison, who had experience as a state party chair in South Carolina, DNC members calling
for reforms had been hoping that the new leadership would be open to changes in how the party operates. But some members say the slate of nominees is being rushed and that they were not properly notified of the process.
“This is supposed to be an election—there should be notices that go out with enough time for there to be a genuine democracy around these positions and for people to be able to run, and that just isn’t happening,” said David Atkins, a pro-transparency DNC member from California. “It’s an election in name only, but in reality we’re being presented with a slate of appointments.”
Earlier this year, Democratic party leaders did not allow for any competing candidates to gather signatures ahead of the election for DNC chair. Harrison, a former corporate lobbyist and U.S. Senate candidate who was the Biden political team’s choice to lead the national party, was officially made DNC chair on January 21 in a virtual winter meeting through a process that was reported to be “near-unanimous.”
Harrison’s at-large nominees with corporate ties include the following individuals who would be joining the DNC for the first time:
Marcus Sebastian Mason—lobbyist and senior partner at government affairs firm The Madison Group
This year, Mason is registered to lobby the federal government for clients including DoorDash, Fox Corp., Google, student loan company Navient, private equity firms Cerberus and Carlyle Group, biotech company Nano Cures, and Walgreens, according to Senate records. More of his lobbying clients include BNSF Railways, Intuit, and loan company Opportunity Financial, and previously, Avanir Pharmaceuticals and electric utility company Energy Future Holdings. The Madison Group counts many more federal lobbying clients, including the International Association of Plastics Distribution. He will be appointed to the DNC Budget and Finance Committee. Mason is also on the leadership team of the Washington Government Relations Group, a volunteer association that supports African-American lobbyists, and a board member of the Congressional Black Caucus’ PAC.
Kenny Thompson, Jr.—vice president of external affairs, North America at PepsiCo
Pepsi remains a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, contributing over $500,000 in member dues last year, as the powerful business lobbying group leads a multifaceted campaign against the Democratic reconciliation package currently in Congress. The company was pressured by advocacy groups including Greenpeace and Public Citizen in a 2017 campaign to drop its membership in the Chamber, which is the top-spending federal lobbying group. Thompson will be appointed to the Rules and Bylaws Committee.
Nicole Isaac—director of international strategic response at Facebook
Before starting at Facebook in February, according to LinkedIn, Isaac was the director of North America policy at LinkedIn, working at the company for about six years. Advocacy groups with funding from Facebook have lobbied this year against tech industry antitrust legislation being developed by House committees. Based in D.C., Isaac will be appointed to the 11-member Budget and Finance Committee.
Tonya Williams—head of external engagement & corporate responsibility, SoftBank Group International
A former director of legislative affairs for Vice President Biden, Williams joined the multinational Softbank in April, according to LinkedIn. Williams will be appointed to the Rules and Bylaws Committee.
Harrison Nominates New Corporate Lobbyists to Join the DNC
At least 21 of the 75 at-large nominees report D.C. as their region. DNC member Atkins says, “It’s very D.C.-heavy, there’s under-representation from the West and the South. The problem is that if the DNC is going to be about a 50-state organizing strategy, we need to pick up seats there.”
Harrison’s picks for new at-large DNC members include many corporate lobbyists, consultants, and executives, including partners at firms that represent the fossil fuel industry, pharmaceutical companies, electric utilities, and defense contractors, as well as senior employees with Facebook, Pepsi, and Softbank. The nominees will be voted on as a slate and are almost certain to be approved.
Many of these at-large nominees, who make up an influential faction of the approximately 447 voting DNC members, will select other members of the DNC committees that issue decisions on topics like whether the party groups will continue to accept donations from executives in the fossil fuel industry.
Update, Oct. 9, 3pm ET: In the virtual DNC fall meeting held today, the motion to suspend the rules and approve Jaime Harrison’s slate of 75 at-large members was passed by DNC members by a vote of 304-59.
With a new Democratic administration in the White House and a new DNC chair in Harrison, who had experience as a state party chair in South Carolina, DNC members calling
for reforms had been hoping that the new leadership would be open to changes in how the party operates. But some members say the slate of nominees is being rushed and that they were not properly notified of the process.
“This is supposed to be an election—there should be notices that go out with enough time for there to be a genuine democracy around these positions and for people to be able to run, and that just isn’t happening,” said David Atkins, a pro-transparency DNC member from California. “It’s an election in name only, but in reality we’re being presented with a slate of appointments.”
Earlier this year, Democratic party leaders did not allow for any competing candidates to gather signatures ahead of the election for DNC chair. Harrison, a former corporate lobbyist and U.S. Senate candidate who was the Biden political team’s choice to lead the national party, was officially made DNC chair on January 21 in a virtual winter meeting through a process that was reported to be “near-unanimous.”
Harrison’s at-large nominees with corporate ties include the following individuals who would be joining the DNC for the first time:
Marcus Sebastian Mason—lobbyist and senior partner at government affairs firm The Madison Group
This year, Mason is registered to lobby the federal government for clients including DoorDash, Fox Corp., Google, student loan company Navient, private equity firms Cerberus and Carlyle Group, biotech company Nano Cures, and Walgreens, according to Senate records. More of his lobbying clients include BNSF Railways, Intuit, and loan company Opportunity Financial, and previously, Avanir Pharmaceuticals and electric utility company Energy Future Holdings. The Madison Group counts many more federal lobbying clients, including the International Association of Plastics Distribution. He will be appointed to the DNC Budget and Finance Committee. Mason is also on the leadership team of the Washington Government Relations Group, a volunteer association that supports African-American lobbyists, and a board member of the Congressional Black Caucus’ PAC.
Kenny Thompson, Jr.—vice president of external affairs, North America at PepsiCo
Pepsi remains a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, contributing over $500,000 in member dues last year, as the powerful business lobbying group leads a multifaceted campaign against the Democratic reconciliation package currently in Congress. The company was pressured by advocacy groups including Greenpeace and Public Citizen in a 2017 campaign to drop its membership in the Chamber, which is the top-spending federal lobbying group. Thompson will be appointed to the Rules and Bylaws Committee.
Nicole Isaac—director of international strategic response at Facebook
Before starting at Facebook in February, according to LinkedIn, Isaac was the director of North America policy at LinkedIn, working at the company for about six years. Advocacy groups with funding from Facebook have lobbied this year against tech industry antitrust legislation being developed by House committees. Based in D.C., Isaac will be appointed to the 11-member Budget and Finance Committee.
Tonya Williams—head of external engagement & corporate responsibility, SoftBank Group International
A former director of legislative affairs for Vice President Biden, Williams joined the multinational Softbank in April, according to LinkedIn. Williams will be appointed to the Rules and Bylaws Committee.
Harrison Nominates New Corporate Lobbyists to Join the DNC
At least 21 of the 75 at-large nominees report D.C. as their region. DNC member Atkins says, “It’s very D.C.-heavy, there’s under-representation from the West and the South. The problem is that if the DNC is going to be about a 50-state organizing strategy, we need to pick up seats there.”
