Public Interest Groups Split on Potential Wheeler Nomination

Sascha Meinrath, director of the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, has been the most outspoken so far. Meinrath released a statement Monday that sounds a warning note on Wheeler without mentioning him by name. “Given President [Barack] Obama’s pledge to keep lobbyists out of key government positions, it’s unconscionable for the president to be considering the head of not one, but two, separate industry lobbying groups for the chairmanship of the FCC,” Meinrath said (http://bit.ly/YDzj0W). “It’s time for the Obama Administration to add balance to the FCC -- after decades of industry-backed chairmen, it’s time to have a strong consumer advocate and public interest representative at the helm."

Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood told us his group is watching closely. “It’s hard not to be concerned by the fact that he’s headed those two different industry trade associations,” Wood said. “If he is nominated and confirmed -- still a big if at this point -- we'll judge him by his actions, not his resume. In the meantime there are still a lot of questions to be answered, and the White House has the burden of proving why anyone it chooses would be best for the job and for the public interest."

Stephanie Chen, telecom policy director for the Greenlining Institute, also questioned the choice. “Tom Wheeler clearly has a great deal of industry experience, but it’s less certain whether he has the breadth of experience required to lead an agency with as broad a reach as the FCC,” Chen said. “Being the FCC chair isn’t just about industry, it’s about advancing policies that best serve all Americans. Any candidate for this important seat needs to prove he or she can serve all interests, including unconnected, underconnected, and hard to reach Americans. Someone like Cathy Sandoval, who’s now serving on the California Public Utilities Commission, would bring a more balanced mix of private, public, and intellectual experience, so for Greenlining that’s where the bar for leadership at this level is set."

A top communications lawyer said Monday that probably 40 percent of Obama’s core constituency in the 2008 election likely wouldn’t be pleased with the Wheeler choice if they knew he was the top candidate to chair the FCC. “I am sure he has indicated his objectivity to the folks in the White House,” the lawyer said of Wheeler. “I'm assuming that they've decided that any concerns they have about his prior relationships with the largest industry sectors that are going to be regulated by the FCC are outweighed by his industry knowledge, his reputation as a tough negotiator and his ability to sort of act without being constrained."

"I haven’t conducted a poll of the public interest community, but I don’t see signs of intense opposition,” said public interest lawyer Andrew Schwartzman. “As to his industry connections, his tenure at the NCTA was prior to the 1984 Cable Act, when cable was a disruptive upstart. I think there is a belief that his principal regulatory philosophy is a bias in favor of disruption and innovation, which is not unattractive."

A fourth public interest group official said Wheeler doesn’t come straight out of a regulated industry and has been gone from CTIA for almost 10 years. “I don’t think one’s resume is an indicator of whether he’s going to be a great chair or not,” the official said. “It’s been a long time since [Wheeler] has been a lobbyist and, quite honestly, when he was head of those trade associations, they were the up-and-comers. ... Do I know for sure how he’s going to be? Nope. But, then again, I don’t think a resume is an indicator of that.”

"On the surface, it might seem that Wheeler’s prior association with the cable and wireless sectors could be a complicating factor,” said Jeff Silva, analyst at Medley Global Advisors. “On the other hand, the fact that his name remains so prominent at this point in parlor-game chatter about possible successors to Chairman Genachowski might suggest the White House already has thoroughly considered Wheeler’s lobbying past, and its implications, within a broad context of factors and perhaps is comfortable putting his name forward. Personally, I have no problem visualizing Wheeler as a fair dealer and an eminently competent chairman of the FCC. His skill set is extraordinary, and I'm not convinced his trade association background should be a disqualifying factor. It seems unfair and unnecessarily shortsighted to pigeonhole Wheeler."

Randolph May, president of the free-market oriented Free State Foundation, said Wheeler would be a good choice for chairman. “Indeed, even though they date back many years now, I view his prior experiences as leader of two important industry associations as a positive for the knowledge he gained in those positions,” May said. “And I assume that the marketplace perspective he acquired as a leader of Core Capital Partners is valuable as well. I am not a lobbyist, of course, and I have never been one. But I find the notion that Wheeler’s past leadership of two prominent trade associations should be viewed as a negative, or even disqualifying, disturbing. I'm sure if he’s named chairman, I certainly won’t always agree with him, but that’s not the point. He’s well-qualified.”