New commissioners join the FEC
On January 4, 2006, President Bush appointed three new commissioners, Robert D. Lenhard, Hans A. von Spakovsky and Steven T. Walther, to the Federal Election Commission, and reappointed Commissioner David M. Mason.
Robert D. Lenhard, a Democrat from Maryland, will serve the remainder of a six-year term replacing Danny Lee McDonald. On January 19, he was unanimously elected Vice-Chairman for 2006.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Lenhard served as Associate General Counsel for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (AFSCME). At AFSCME, he was responsible for legal issues related to federal and state election laws. His work included counseling the union on federal and state campaign finance issues, litigating enforcement actions before the FEC and state agencies and providing training to field staff on federal and state election law issues.
Prior to his work at AFSCME, he served as an Associate at Kirschner, Weinberg & Dempsey, where he represented AFSCME and other labor unions.
Mr. Lenhard received his B.A. with honors from Johns Hopkins University and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Hans A. von Spakovsky, a Republican from Georgia, replaces Bradley A. Smith for a six-year term.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. von Spakovsky served as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he provided expertise and advice on voting and election issues, including of the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
He previously was a member of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections in Georgia and has been actively involved in voting and election issues. He is a past member of the Georgia Election Officials Association and the International Association of Clerks, Commission (continued from page 1) Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers. Mr. von Spakovsky advised the Commission on Federal Election Reform, testified before state and Congressional legislative committees and has published articles on voter fraud, election reform, e-government and Internet voting.
Mr. von Spakovsky received a B.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University.
Steven T. Walther, an Independent from Nevada, will serve the remainder of Commissioner Scott Thomas’s six-year term, which expires in April 2009.
Prior to his appointment, he was an attorney in private practice at Walther, Key, Maupin, Oats, Cox & Legoy, which he co-founded.
Mr. Walther has been active in professional legal and judicial activities; he has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association and most recently 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 issuesfor judges in both the United States and Russia.
Mr. Walther received a B.A from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D. from University of California, Berkeley.
The newly-appointed Commissioners join Chairman Michael E. Toner, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub and newly-reappointed Commissioner Mason.