Martin Seen as Leading Race to Succeed Powell
Before his appointment to the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin J. Martin worked for the Bush-Cheney transition team. Now the speculation is that the president may help Martin himself transition into a new job: chairman of the FCC.
With the announcement of Chairman Michael K. Powell’s long-expected resignation, Martin is believed to top a short list of candidates that also includes Bush allies Pat Wood and Rebecca A. Klein.
Both Klein and Wood formerly headed the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Wood, appointed by then-Gov. Bush, is now chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Klein replaced Wood on the Texas agency.
Whoever is named to head the FCC will have to bring something sorely missing under the Powell regime, experts said -- a unifying voice for the agency.
“Everyone will be looking forward to working with a new commission because of the unproductive attitude that has enveloped this one,” said Jessica Zufolo, an analyst for Medley Global Advisors. “Everyone is desperately hoping that a consensus will be found in a post-Powell era.”
The Powell era often was marred, she said, by acrimony, court fights and too many 3-2 votes that left even victors worried about how long the decisions would hold up.
Since his appointment to the FCC in 2001, Martin has appeared to follow a more stringent deregulatory path than Powell in certain matters, yet in others he can be more bent on using regulation to achieve results. He also is considered more hard-line on indecency issues than Powell, who has drawn fire from broadcast executives for taking them to task for sexually explicit content.
After Powell negotiated a record $3.5-million settlement with Viacom Inc. over indecency, Martin criticized the pact, saying it wasn’t as tough as earlier consent decrees reached with Clear Channel Communications Inc. and Emmis Communications Corp.
“By requiring less of Viacom than we have required of others, we may be treating those other companies unfairly,” he said.
Martin also appears to be more willing to deregulate high-speed lines fully, giving telephone companies the same control that cable companies have over their networks.
In a high-profile clash with Powell, Martin got the commission’s two Democrats to join him on telephone competition rules that would have ensured more land-line competition. Powell wrote a blistering dissent that led to a court’s rejection of the rules.
One advantage Martin has over potential competitors for the chairmanship is that he’s already on the commission and would not have to undergo the Senate confirmation process, which could delay the agency’s work.
Though handicapping appointments is a Washington sport, sources say the most likely scenario now is that Martin would be named chairman and, should another vacancy occur as expected, Klein and Earl W. Comstock would be appointed. Comstock is a former aide to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who chairs the committee that oversees the FCC and would handle the confirmation process.
Klein, a Latina, ran for Congress last fall but lost. Her husband, Dale Klein, was appointed by Bush as an assistant to the secretary of Defense in nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs. She has wanted to move to Washington to rejoin her husband, sources said.
She also worked as a White House executive in the administration of Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, and was an associate director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
But Bush’s biggest pal may be Wood.
“If Pat wants to campaign for the job, he may be the front-runner over Kevin,” said one industry source. “He wanted it before, when Powell was elevated to chairman, and he wants out of FERC.”
It is unlikely that Wood would accept a commission appointment unless it is as chairman, the source said.
Should Wood be named chairman, Martin is expected to remain as a commissioner. Klein and Comstock then would battle for the spot now held by Kathleen Q. Abernathy, whose term has expired and who is widely expected to step aside soon, despite her insistence that she is staying put.
Other names that have surfaced as possible commission candidates include Michael Gallagher, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; and Janice Obuchowski, a former ambassador to the World Radiocommunications Conference and head of the NTIA under former President Bush.
Gallagher, however, may be an unlikely choice. He already is seeking jobs in industry. He was turned down recently for the presidency of the National Cable Telecommunications Assn.
Despite the many scenarios for a reconstituted FCC, many analysts do not see any dramatic shifts.
Said analyst Blair Levin of Legg Mason Equity Research in a note to investors: “No matter who would become chair, we do not expect a basic change in the direction of FCC telecom and media policy.”
