New Commissioners join the Commission
On June 24, 2008, the U.S. Senate confirmed five new commissioners: Cynthia L. Bauerly, Caroline C. Hunter, Donald F. McGahn II, Matthew S. Petersen and Steven T. Walther. On July 10, 2008, the Commission elected Mr. McGahn as Chairman and Mr. Walther as Vice Chairman. The new commissioners join current Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub.
Chairman Donald F. McGahn II
Prior to joining the Commission, Chairman McGahn was the head of McGahn & Associates PLLC, a Washington, DC, based law practice specializing in political law. He represented and advised a number of political clients, including federal and state candidates, Members of the U.S. House and Senate, national state and local party committees, leadership PACs, corporations and corporate PACs, non-profits, trade associations and others involved in the political process on issues such as campaign finance law and government ethics.
From 1999 to 2008, Chairman McGahn served as the General Counsel for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in Washington, DC. He also served as Counsel for the Illinois Republican Party from 2005 to 2008.
Prior to serving as General Counsel for the NRCC, Chairman McGahn practiced law with the Washington, DC, office of Patton Boggs LLP as a member of the firm’s litigation group. He advised and represented elected officials, candidates, national and state parties and others on election law issues. In addition to political law, he handled all matters of complex litigation and was recognized for significant pro bono work for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Chairman McGahn clerked for the Honorable Charles R. Alexander at the Court of Common Pleas in Clarion, PA. He received his law degree from Widener University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Vice Chairman Steven T. Walther
Vice Chairman Walther, was first sworn in as a Commissioner on January 10, 2006, as a recess appointee. Although his name was placed before the Senate for confirmation in June 2007, his recess term expired on December 31, 2007, before the Senate acted. On June 24, 2008, he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate and was sworn in on June 27, 2008, to resume the balance of his statutory term.
Prior to his appointment, Vice Chairman Walther was an attorney in private practice at Walther, Key, Maupin, Oats, Cox & Legoy, which he co-founded in 1972. Mr. Walther has been active in numerous professional legal and judicial activities. He has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association and currently serves as co-chair of the ABA Center for Human Rights. He has been active in ABA initiatives focusing on international relations—especially in programs which promote development of fair and open election laws—and has served as the ABA Representative to the United Nations.
He was on the Board of Trustees of the National Judicial College and served for many years as a lecturer and educator on rule of law, human rights and international law issues for judges in both the United States and Russia. He is a former president of the State Bar of Nevada, the Western States Bar Conference and the National Caucus of State Bar Associations.
Vice Chairman Walther received a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame with a major in Russian. He received his J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, and recently served as president of the Boalt Hall Alumni Association.
Commissioner Cynthia L. Bauerly
Prior to her appointment to the Commission, Ms. Bauerly served as Legislative Director for Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York. She directed all aspects of the Senator’s legislative agenda by setting and implementing legislative priorities, managing policy staff, advising the Senator on floor strategy, campaign finance and ethics policy, overseeing committee and subcommittee activities and coordinating with communications staff.
In 2004 and 2005, Ms. Bauerly specialized in intellectual property and business litigation with Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis, Minnesota. From February until November 2005, she was the policy director for Amy Klobuchar’s successful U.S. Senate campaign in Minnesota.
From 2002 to 2004, Ms. Bauerly served as Senator Schumer’s counsel on the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committees. In this position, she advised Senator Schumer on a broad range of policy matters including election reform, campaign finance, technology, telecommunications, intellectual property, antitrust, legal process reform and immigration.
Prior to her work for Senator Schumer, she specialized in complex litigation and appellate law at Jones Day in Washington, DC. She previously served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Florence-Marie Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the Honorable Theodore R. Boehm of the Indiana Supreme Court.
Ms. Bauerly graduated cum laude from Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington and received a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University’s School of Environmental and Public Affairs. Ms. Bauerly is a summa cum laude graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.
Commissioner Caroline C. Hunter
Ms. Hunter previously served as the Vice Chair of the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC). She was nominated to the EAC in 2006 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 15, 2007. Prior to joining the EAC, Ms. Hunter served as deputy director of the White House Office of Public Liaison from January to October 2006. From 2005 to 2006, she served as executive officer at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman.
From 2001 to 2005, Ms. Hunter was associate counsel and then deputy counsel at the Republican National Committee, where she provided guidance on election law and the implementation of the Help America Vote Act.
Ms. Hunter graduated cum laude from the University of Memphis School of Law and received her bachelor of arts degree from The Pennsylvania State University.
Commissioner Matthew S. Petersen
From 2005 until his appointment to the Commission, Mr. Petersen served as Republican chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. As chief counsel, Mr. Petersen provided counsel on issues relating to federal campaign finance and election administration laws as well as the Standing Rules of the Senate.
Prior to his position with the Senate Rules Committee, Mr. Petersen served as counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration. During his tenure, Mr. Petersen was extensively involved in the crafting of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) and the House-Senate negotiations that culminated in HAVA’s passage. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Petersen specialized in election and campaign finance law at the law firm of Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, DC.
Mr. Petersen received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from Brigham Young University. He also received an A.S. degree with high honors from Utah Valley State College.