My youngest son, Tom, starts work in Washingon today as a legislative correspondent for Iowa Demcratic Sen. Tom Harkin. To avoid any appearance of conflict, I have told my colleagues at The Gazette that I will avoid any involvement in stories involving Harkin or editorial board discussions that involve Harkin. I may not always know immediately when we are discussing an issue on which Harkin has taken a leadership position, but will withdraw from those discussions when I do become aware.
Tom is a political science graduate of Marquette University and previously worked as an analyst for the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves.
As I have reported previously, my oldest son, Mike, was worked for Chuck Hagel, who was a Republican senator from Nebraska but did not run for re-election last year. Mike held several positions for Hagel, ending as his chief of staff. Hagel is now chairman of the Atlantic Council of the United States and a distinguished professor at Georgetown University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Hagel is less likely to be in the news for Gazette readers, but I would similarly avoid involvement in news coverage or editorial board discussions of Hagel.
[…] communication director and later chief of staff for former Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican. My youngest son, Tom, is a legislative correspondent for Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa […]
LikeLike
[…] I similarly steer clear of DFM coverage of Sen. Tom Harkin, for whom my youngest son, Tom, works. […]
LikeLike
[…] occasional relationship deepened in 2009 when my youngest son, Tom, went to work for Harkin (I then stopped attending editorial board meetings if Harkin was visiting or we were discussing […]
LikeLike