Joseph J. Andrew

Joseph J. Andrew (Joe) is a member of the Advisory Board of the New Democrat Network, a corporate lawyer and PR consultant. In addition, he published a spy novel, titled "The Disciples" (Simon & Schuster). 


 * Global Chair, SNR Denton

Legal Work
Andrew is a partner at the Washington DC law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, where he practices corporate law, "focusing on mergers and acquisitions of regulated companies." According to his bio on the firm's website, Andrew "has represented many Fortune 1000 companies in acquisitions, spin-offs, financings, corporate governance disputes, and structuring capital market products to meet their needs. In addition, because of his political and governmental background, he advises companies on the larger regulatory issues involved in each transaction." 

Political Work
According to various bios, Andrew served as:
 * Chairman of the New Democrat Network - present
 * Chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention
 * National Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, 1999 - 2001 - at the time, Andrew was "the youngest DNC National Chair in the 152-year history of the Party"
 * Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, 1995 - 1999

According to his speakers bureau listing, Andrew "helped Indiana elect more Democratic officeholders with fewer self-identified Democratic voters than any other state in America ... as a member of the team led by Senator Evan Bayh and Governor Frank O'Bannon." 

Andrew also considered running for governor of Indiana:
 * Originally with a Wall Street law firm, he left for McDermott Will & Emery when he was recruited to run for governor of Indiana. (It would not do to be a Wall Street lawyer and running for governor of Indiana.) But then fate stepped in: Term-limited governor Frank O'Bannon died, and Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan, who was not going to run for governor, stepped up and decided that he would run for his own term. "I was not crazy enough to run against an incumbent of my party," Andrew said.

In January 2005, Andrew endorsed Simon Rosenberg for National Chair of the Democratic National Committee - a position won by Howard Dean instead. In a letter explaining his endorsement, Andrew wrote that Rosenberg "is a uniter, who brings together the left and the right of our Party and knows how to win. From the Clinton War Room, to the mastery of the internet, to the support for minority media, he has delivered the message, raised the money, organized the mechanics, and managed the result as well as anyone I have ever known." 

PR Work
In August 2005, O'Dwyer's PR Daily reported, "Former National Democratic Committee chairman Joe Andrew is fronting" a "national PR campaign" by electronic voting machine manufacturer Diebold Election Systems." According to the O'Dwyer's piece, Andrew "is referred to as 'the humble man with the golden rolodex' for his connections with CEOs and labor leaders. The said master of 'grassroots organizing' was responsible for putting the DNC out of debt and upgrading its technology."

In 2004, California decertified Diebold ES' AccuVote TS-X machine - a decision Andrew had lobbied against, as part of "a vigorous campaign to dissuade the panel from barring touchscreen voting." "If California decides not to have touchscreen voting, no question, I think that will have a powerful effect on the rest of the nation," Andrew told the Oakland Tribune. "Every single big civil-rights group, every single disability group feels differently" than e-voting critics, he said. "We have been talking about the individual problems of an individual vendor," Andrew said, referring to Diebold, "but the problem is, we are making precedential decisions on electronic voting." 

2008 elections
Nedra Pickler, DNC chairman under Bill Clinton: Unite behind Obama, The Associated Press presented by Yahoo.com, May 1, 2008.

SourceWatch resources

 * New Democrat Network
 * Diebold Election Systems
 * E-voting PR
 * A Short but Tragic History of E-voting Public Relations