On April 2nd, just 20 days
before Pennsylvanians go to the polls in the
state primary -- and when many
other states have already voted -- this
Election 08: The Power of We program goes to the heart of the primary
process. Is it fair? Should it be changed? If so, how?
Email us your thoughts at: talkback@constitutioncenter.org, then join us as
a distinguished panel of
political experts respond to citizen ideas on reform!
From inside the political
world, our program
participants include people who have long toiled in the
campaign
trenches and those relatively new to the process:
Angela "Bay" Buchanan
began her
political career as the national treasurer of Ronald Reagan's
presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1984. In 1981, President Reagan
appointed her
to be treasurer of the United States.
At the age
of 32, she was the youngest person to hold that position since it was
established in 1775. Buchanan served as the campaign chairman for all
three of
her brother Pat Buchanan's presidential campaigns. This
election cycle, she
served as chairman of Tom Tancredo's presidential
campaign and as a senior
advisor to Mitt Romney.
Pedro A. Cortés is the
Secretary
of State for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For years he
has also been
active with many community and government related
organizations, including the
National Association of Secretaries of
State. Previously, Secretary Cortés was
the Executive Director of the
Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Commission on
Latino Affairs. He also
served with the PA State Civil Service Commission and
the PA Department
of Public Welfare. He is the first confirmed Latino Cabinet
member in
Pennsylvania history.
Thomas "Tad" Devine is a partner at Devine Mulvey and has worked as a media consultant, writing, directing and
producing television and radio advertising for leading Democratic candidates in
the U.S. In the 2000 general election, Devine served as a senior strategist to the
Gore/Lieberman campaign and oversaw the day-to-day management of the
campaign in the general election. In 2004, he served as a senior advisor
and strategist to Senator John Kerry’s campaign for president in both the
primary and the general election. TIME magazine called Devine “perhaps the party’s leading expert on
delegates,” and the Weekly Standard wrote that he was “among the
Democratic Party’s top two or three general election strategists.” His work in
politics began in 1980 on President Carter’s campaign as a delegate tracker.
Chris
Henick,
who was Senior
Advisor to the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee, has spent
his life
in politics. From January 2001 to December 2002, he served President
George W. Bush in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President
and
Deputy to the Senior Advisor. During the 2000 presidential
election, he was
Deputy Director of Strategy for the Bush-Cheney
presidential campaign. He
currently serves on the Advisory Committee at
the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture
and he is an instructor at New
York University’s School for
Continuing and
Professional Studies.
Just after graduating from the University of Delaware,
Meredith White worked as a field organizer in Iowa, Nevada
and
Missouri for
John Edwards’ most recent presidential
campaign. In college, she worked on various campaigns including Wes
Clark's presidential
campaign in New Hampshire. She is
now a staff assistant for Senator Claire
McCaskill in
her Washington, D.C. office.
Uniquely poised to moderate this important conversation is
Jane
Eisner, Vice President for National Programs and
Initiatives at the National
Constitution Center. She worked for 25
years—including tenure as the Editorial Page Editor—at The Philadelphia
Inquirer. Eisner is the
author of Taking Back the Vote:
Getting American Youth Involved in our Democracy.
As part of Election 08: The Power of We, the
Center is presenting a series of programs designed to engage Americans in the
2008 presidential election from the citizen perspective. The series is
based on the premise that ordinary citizens have an important voice, not only in
choosing among candidates, but also in shaping the nature of the election from
its most elemental stages.
Parking for this event is available for
$7 at the Independence Visitor Center’s garage located on 5th and 6th
Streets between Market and Arch Streets.
For reservations, please call 215.409.6700. Programs of the
National Constitution Center begin promptly and latecomers may
not be
admitted to the program. Please note that the program is subject to
change.
Related Links:
Taking Back the
Vote: Getting American Youth Involved in our Democracy
(Beacon)
