March 2001 Regional Reporter

White House trio attempts to answer regionals' calls

Meet the press aides

By Jeff Miller
Allentown Morning Call

They don't command West Wing press podium or see their names in The New York Times on a daily basis. But Ken Lisaius, Jeanie Mamo and Scott Stanzel are important information gatekeepers in the White House.

The trio speaks for the Bush administration via the Media Affairs Office, where most regional reporters in Washington go for information about presidential initiatives, appointments and travel plans.

Lisaius goes coast-to-coast from the Northwest and Northeast. Mamo's portfolio has the southern tier. And Stanzel's territory runs from the Plains states to Pennsylvania. The sheer volume of calls spanning so many time zones guarantees a lot of long days and weekend shifts.

Structurally, the media affairs office doesn't report to chief White House spokesman Ari Fleischer but to Karen Hughes, whose title is counselor to the president.

The arrangement reflects "Karens and the Presidents desire to serve and think about and interact with people beyond the Beltway media," said their boss, Tucker Eskew, deputy assistant to the President.

Media Affairs has a number of other operations, including offices for Hispanic and New Media, and broadcast operations. But the voices on the other end of the telephone will usually be those of the three regional press secretaries. Here's an introduction:

Ken Lisaius

Ken Lisaius, 32, was born in Michigan but moved with his family to Spokane while still in grade school. His interest in politics blossomed at Washington State University, where he was active in the student senate. For six months, he lobbied the state legislature on tuition rates and other student concerns.

After graduation in 1992, Lisaius worked for the state Republican Party through the fall elections. Later, a friend suggested that he talk "to this guy who's going to run against Tom Foley." Lisaius said, "I want a job, not something I'm going to do for six months."

But working for Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., turned out to be a longer gig after Nethercutt upset the Speaker of the House in the 1994 Republican landslide.

Lisaius served as Nethercutts press secretary until 1999, when he took a job at Gabbegroup, a small public relations firm in New York. The client list included Conoco, Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson. He joined the Bush campaign relatively late, taking a leave of absence from Gabbegroup just before the Republican Convention, moving to Austin != and then Florida != for the duration of the election.

Of his new job, Lisaius said, "It's not intimidating but it can be overwhelming if you let it get that way. You're dealing with reporters from all over the country. There's definitely a sense that youre words are being watched so much closer."

Jeanie Mamo

Jeanie Mamo, 35, grew up in Rocky Mount, N.C., and majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina. After graduation, she moved to Washington and worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the final year of the Reagan administration. She lingered a few months into Bush I before leaving to start a public relations office within a law firm, only to see the firm declare bankruptcy.

"Some of your darkest days turn out to be fortunate things," Mamo said.

The fortunate part was a job in Sen. Phil Gramm's press office from 1990 through his presidential bid in 1996. Mamo credits Gramm and his press secretary, Larry Neal, with teaching her "everything I know." "That's where I learned a lot about politics and strategy and conservatism."

At that point, Mamo made another detour out of politics when David Gardner, a college friend, recruited her to the Motley Fool to handle the media onslaught drawn by the hot financial Web site headquarted in Northern Virginia. Mamo said it was fun being a Fool, "but I so missed politics."

Six months later, she was back on the Hill, working as communication director first for Rep. Jim Ryun of Kansas and then for Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas.

Around the Republican Convention, Mamo was recruited to work for the Republicans' Victory 2000 operation, where she arraigned to have surrogates across the country go on TV and radio in support of the Bush campaign.

It's a role she continued to play during the post-election period from Tallahassee.

Mamo said her political beliefs are "right in line" with Bushs, and shes thrilled to be working for him.

"We hope to meet all the reporters' needs," Mamo said. "And when we don't know an answer, well try to find someone who does."

Scott Stanzel

Scott Stanzel, 28, grew up on a farm in Sac City, Iowa, population 2,200. Being an Iowan, Stanzel took a well-traveled road into politics. Following a Washington internship with Rep. Jim Ross Lightfoot and Sen. Charles Grassley, Stanzel worked the Iowa Caucus for Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign.

After the caucus, he stayed in Iowa to raise money for Lightfoot's Senate bid against Sen. Tom Harkin.

Lightfoot didn't make it back to Washington, but Stanzel did when Grassley hired him as assistant press secretary. In addition to writing press releases and answering press calls, Stanzel designed Grassley's web site and produced his monthly TV show.

He signed on with the Bush campaign in the fall of 1999, Iowa, Michigan and Missouri as well as Texas. After the voting, he went to New Mexico for its recount, and then != where else? != to Tallahassee.

As the administration fills out, Stanzel expects to redirect more calls to agency and department press secretaries. But "if it's something that pertains to the White House," he said, "we'll try to deal with those as rapidly and as accurately as we can."

Stanzel, who has a picture of himself skydiving on his personal Web site, said leaving the Hill to work for Bush required a "leap of faith." But so far, it's been a smooth landing.

And, he said, "It's a very humbling experience to come to work each day and walk on the White House grounds and understand that the work going on there has a tremendous impact on the country and the rest of the world.

"As a person coming from small-town Iowa, I consider myself lucky to be here."

Ken Lisaius
Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington.
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

Scott Stanzel
Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.