Linda Chavez
Encyclopedia
Linda Chavez is an American author
, commentator, and radio
talk show
host. She is also a Fox News analyst, Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity
, has a syndicated
column that appears in newspapers nationwide each week, and sits on the Board of Directors of two Fortune 1000 companies: Pilgrims Pride and ABM Industries Inc. Chavez was the highest-ranking woman in President Ronald Reagan
's White House, and was the first Latina ever nominated to the United States Cabinet
.
in 1970. She attended graduate school at UCLA.
, where she was responsible for editing that organization's publications.
She was a confidante of Al Shanker, the AFT's president. While she believed in President Shanker's personal philosophy of trade unionism, she eventually came to feel that many in the organization were intent on moving the union in another direction after Shanker's inevitable departure. She later wrote that the more she learned about the goals of these newer union leaders, the less comfortable she felt in the organization. She left the AFT in 1983.
Director of Public Liaison
(1985), under President Ronald Reagan; Staff Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1983–1985) appointed by President Reagan; and Chairman of the National Commission on Migrant Education (1988–1992) under President George H.W. Bush. Concurrently with some of these positions she served as a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States
(1984–1986) under President Reagan.
In 1992, Chavez was selected by the United Nations Human Rights Commission to serve a four-year term as U.S. Expert to the U.N. Sub-commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities
. In August 1993, the sub-commission asked Chavez to study systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during wartime, including internal armed conflict. As Special Rapporteur, Chavez reported regularly for nearly four years to different sub-commission meetings. In May 1997, Chavez asked that the final report be finished and delivered by a colleague, and was granted permission to withdraw from the project. (On June 22, 1998, her successor, Gay McDougall
, released the final version of "Contemporary Forms of Slavery".)
Chavez was the head of Governor George W. Bush's taskforce on immigration
when he ran for president in 2000, and she later met with him on a number of occasions while he was president to discuss immigration reform
.
nominated Chavez for Secretary of Labor
. She was the first Hispanic woman nominated to a United States cabinet position. However, she withdrew from consideration after it was revealed, through her neighbor Margaret "Peggy" Zwisler, that she had allegedly given money to Marta Mercado, a one-time illegal immigrant from Guatemala
who lived in her home more than a decade earlier. Chavez withdrew as President Bush's nominee but stated she never felt pressure from Bush's political team to do so. Chavez has always maintained that she knew Mercado was in the United States illegally, stating "I think I always knew."
for the United States Senate
against Democrat
Barbara Mikulski
in the state of Maryland
. Chavez left her post as the highest ranking woman in Ronald Reagan's White House in an attempt to win the open U.S. Senate seat in Maryland.
In the campaign, Chavez attacked Mikulski as a "San Francisco-style, George McGovern, liberal Democrat." Because of a possible interpretation of "San Francisco-style", Chavez was accused of making Mikulski's sexual orientation
a central issue of the political campaign
. However, the term referred to Jeane Kirkpatrick
's 1984 Republican National Convention
"Blame America First" speech, in which she coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal" in reference to the Democratic Convention in San Francisco.
Mikulski defeated Chavez with 61% of the vote.
, the Glenn Beck show, Hannity and Colmes, The Rush Limbaugh Show
, Good Morning America
, and The Newshour with Jim Lehrer
.
She quit PBS
's To the Contrary after a May 12, 2000, incident when the host, Bonnie Erbé
, made the claim on air that, at her age, Chavez was more likely to be hit by lightning
than rape
d. The comment was made during a discussion on gun control
and whether it was necessary for Chavez to obtain a gun to defend herself against a potential rape. Chavez and Erbé argued on the opposite sides of the gun ownership issue. Chavez decided to leave the show after Erbé's controversial comment. After an absence of more than seven years, Chavez returned to the program on January 18, 2008 and is listed as a panelist on its website.
, a conservative think tank devoted to issues of race and ethnicity. The Center is the leading conservative organization fighting against race-based public policies, known as "affirmative action" in contracting, employment, higher education, and K-12. Under Linda Chavez's leadership, the Center for Equal Opportunity has released dozens of studies documenting the extent to which race is a factor in college admissions, at over 60 colleges and universities.
Chavez is also the founder and Chairman of Stop Union Political Abuse (SUPA), a federally registered Political Action Committee. In August 2007, the Washington Post reported that Chavez and her immediate family members, through political action committees they had created, had raised $24.5 million from January 2003 to December 2006. The Republican Issues Committee, the Latino Alliance, Stop Union Political Abuse, and the Pro-Life Campaign Committee donated $242,000 to politicians. The Post also listed the salaries of her family members, who worked for the PACs. Chavez's family members earned a total of $261,237, each earning an average of approximately $10,000 per year for their part-time work with the PACs.
The Post also reported that over the previous two years, the Federal Election Commission
has fined three of the PACs for a total of $262,500 for failing to file timely reports and for not promptly disclosing all the money raised and spent. However, the FEC found no intentional wrongdoing.
In addition to the income from the PACs, the Post reported that Chavez and her family had been paid as executives of four nonprofit foundations founded by Chavez and her family. Between 2003 and 2006, the four foundations, combined, raised about $350,000 per year.
In January 2008, Chavez and her husband said that they were continuing some of their fundraising operations, though they were closing down one of their PACs.
and ABM Industries. Pilgrims Pride is the largest poultry producer in the United States, and ABM Industries is the 2nd largest property management company in the United States. Chavez is a past Board member of Greyhound Lines
as well as the Foundation for Teaching Economics
.
Chavez sits on the Boards of several non-profit organizations, including the Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, and was named to the advisory board of the Bruin Alumni Association
.
(father's side) descent who emigrated to what is now New Mexico from Spain in the 17th century and Anglo-American (mother's side) ancestry. She is married to Christopher Gersten, former Bush Administration official, and is the mother of three adult sons, David, Pablo, and Rudy. She is a grandmother of nine and resides with her family in Boulder, Colorado
.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, commentator, and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host. She is also a Fox News analyst, Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity
Center for Equal Opportunity
The Center For Equal Opportunity is a conservative think tank, which focuses on three specific areas of concern: affirmative action, immigration and bilingual education....
, has a syndicated
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
column that appears in newspapers nationwide each week, and sits on the Board of Directors of two Fortune 1000 companies: Pilgrims Pride and ABM Industries Inc. Chavez was the highest-ranking woman in President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's White House, and was the first Latina ever nominated to the United States Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
.
Education
Chavez earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of ColoradoUniversity of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
in 1970. She attended graduate school at UCLA.
Background with labor unions
Starting in 1975, Chavez was employed within the inner circles of the United States second largest teachers' union, the American Federation of TeachersAmerican Federation of Teachers
The American Federation of Teachers is an American labor union founded in 1916 that represents teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals...
, where she was responsible for editing that organization's publications.
She was a confidante of Al Shanker, the AFT's president. While she believed in President Shanker's personal philosophy of trade unionism, she eventually came to feel that many in the organization were intent on moving the union in another direction after Shanker's inevitable departure. She later wrote that the more she learned about the goals of these newer union leaders, the less comfortable she felt in the organization. She left the AFT in 1983.
Career in Republican administrations
Chavez has held a number of appointed positions, among them White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
Director of Public Liaison
White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs
The Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States...
(1985), under President Ronald Reagan; Staff Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1983–1985) appointed by President Reagan; and Chairman of the National Commission on Migrant Education (1988–1992) under President George H.W. Bush. Concurrently with some of these positions she served as a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States
Administrative Conference of the United States
The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent agency of the United States government established by the Administrative Conference Act of 1964. It is also considered to be a federal advisory committee...
(1984–1986) under President Reagan.
In 1992, Chavez was selected by the United Nations Human Rights Commission to serve a four-year term as U.S. Expert to the U.N. Sub-commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities
Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was a think tank of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights...
. In August 1993, the sub-commission asked Chavez to study systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during wartime, including internal armed conflict. As Special Rapporteur, Chavez reported regularly for nearly four years to different sub-commission meetings. In May 1997, Chavez asked that the final report be finished and delivered by a colleague, and was granted permission to withdraw from the project. (On June 22, 1998, her successor, Gay McDougall
Gay McDougall
Gay J. McDougall was Executive Director of Global Rights, Partners for Justice . In August 2005, she was named the first United Nations Independent Expert on Minority Issues.- Early years :...
, released the final version of "Contemporary Forms of Slavery".)
Chavez was the head of Governor George W. Bush's taskforce on immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
when he ran for president in 2000, and she later met with him on a number of occasions while he was president to discuss immigration reform
Immigration reform
Immigration reform is a term used in political discussion regarding changes to current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, "reform " means to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses....
.
Secretary of Labor nomination
In 2001, President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
nominated Chavez for Secretary of Labor
United States Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies....
. She was the first Hispanic woman nominated to a United States cabinet position. However, she withdrew from consideration after it was revealed, through her neighbor Margaret "Peggy" Zwisler, that she had allegedly given money to Marta Mercado, a one-time illegal immigrant from Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
who lived in her home more than a decade earlier. Chavez withdrew as President Bush's nominee but stated she never felt pressure from Bush's political team to do so. Chavez has always maintained that she knew Mercado was in the United States illegally, stating "I think I always knew."
Run for U.S. Senate
In 1986, Chavez ran as a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
against Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...
in the state of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. Chavez left her post as the highest ranking woman in Ronald Reagan's White House in an attempt to win the open U.S. Senate seat in Maryland.
In the campaign, Chavez attacked Mikulski as a "San Francisco-style, George McGovern, liberal Democrat." Because of a possible interpretation of "San Francisco-style", Chavez was accused of making Mikulski's sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
a central issue of the political campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
. However, the term referred to Jeane Kirkpatrick
Jeane Kirkpatrick
Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick was an American ambassador and an ardent anticommunist. After serving as Ronald Reagan's foreign policy adviser in his 1980 campaign and later in his Cabinet, the longtime Democrat-turned-Republican was nominated as the U.S...
's 1984 Republican National Convention
1984 Republican National Convention
The 1984 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened on August 20 to August 23, 1984, at Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas, Texas. The convention nominated the incumbent Ronald Reagan of California for President of the United States and incumbent George H. W...
"Blame America First" speech, in which she coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal" in reference to the Democratic Convention in San Francisco.
Mikulski defeated Chavez with 61% of the vote.
Columnist and commentator
Chavez is a syndicated columnist and a Fox News political commentator. She frequently appears on a number of national news programs, including The O'Reilly FactorThe O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, the Glenn Beck show, Hannity and Colmes, The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks...
, Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, and The Newshour with Jim Lehrer
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
.
She quit PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
's To the Contrary after a May 12, 2000, incident when the host, Bonnie Erbé
Bonnie Erbe
Bonnie Erbé is an American journalist and television host based in the Washington, D.C. area who has covered national politics since 1975. She attended Barnard College where she received her bachelors degree. She later received her MSJ from Columbia University School of Journalism and her J.D...
, made the claim on air that, at her age, Chavez was more likely to be hit by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
than rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d. The comment was made during a discussion on gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
and whether it was necessary for Chavez to obtain a gun to defend herself against a potential rape. Chavez and Erbé argued on the opposite sides of the gun ownership issue. Chavez decided to leave the show after Erbé's controversial comment. After an absence of more than seven years, Chavez returned to the program on January 18, 2008 and is listed as a panelist on its website.
Political Action Committees and non-profit foundations
Chavez "sits at the helm of a political empire," according to the Washington Post. She is the chairman and founder of the Center for Equal OpportunityCenter for Equal Opportunity
The Center For Equal Opportunity is a conservative think tank, which focuses on three specific areas of concern: affirmative action, immigration and bilingual education....
, a conservative think tank devoted to issues of race and ethnicity. The Center is the leading conservative organization fighting against race-based public policies, known as "affirmative action" in contracting, employment, higher education, and K-12. Under Linda Chavez's leadership, the Center for Equal Opportunity has released dozens of studies documenting the extent to which race is a factor in college admissions, at over 60 colleges and universities.
Chavez is also the founder and Chairman of Stop Union Political Abuse (SUPA), a federally registered Political Action Committee. In August 2007, the Washington Post reported that Chavez and her immediate family members, through political action committees they had created, had raised $24.5 million from January 2003 to December 2006. The Republican Issues Committee, the Latino Alliance, Stop Union Political Abuse, and the Pro-Life Campaign Committee donated $242,000 to politicians. The Post also listed the salaries of her family members, who worked for the PACs. Chavez's family members earned a total of $261,237, each earning an average of approximately $10,000 per year for their part-time work with the PACs.
The Post also reported that over the previous two years, the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
has fined three of the PACs for a total of $262,500 for failing to file timely reports and for not promptly disclosing all the money raised and spent. However, the FEC found no intentional wrongdoing.
In addition to the income from the PACs, the Post reported that Chavez and her family had been paid as executives of four nonprofit foundations founded by Chavez and her family. Between 2003 and 2006, the four foundations, combined, raised about $350,000 per year.
In January 2008, Chavez and her husband said that they were continuing some of their fundraising operations, though they were closing down one of their PACs.
Affiliations
Chavez is a Director of two Fortune 1000 companies, Pilgrim's PridePilgrim's Pride
Pilgrim's Corp., previously Pilgrim's Pride , is a former U.S.-owned company with its U.S. headquarters relocated to Greeley, Colorado. As a subsidiary of the Brazilian food giant, JBS, it is the largest chicken producer in the United States and Puerto Rico and the second-largest chicken producer...
and ABM Industries. Pilgrims Pride is the largest poultry producer in the United States, and ABM Industries is the 2nd largest property management company in the United States. Chavez is a past Board member of Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
as well as the Foundation for Teaching Economics
Foundation for Teaching Economics
The Foundation for Teaching Economics is an organization founded in 1975 that promotes economics education by hosting free workshops for high school students and teachers, and by providing educational resources to teachers....
.
Chavez sits on the Boards of several non-profit organizations, including the Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, and was named to the advisory board of the Bruin Alumni Association
Bruin Alumni Association
The Bruin Alumni Association is a conservative group for alumni of University of California, Los Angeles. It has no official affiliation with the University of California or the official UCLA Alumni Association...
.
Family
Chavez is of SpanishSpanish American
A Spanish American is a citizen or resident of the United States whose ancestors originate from the southwestern European nation of Spain. Spanish Americans are the earliest European American group, with a continuous presence since 1565.-Immigration waves:...
(father's side) descent who emigrated to what is now New Mexico from Spain in the 17th century and Anglo-American (mother's side) ancestry. She is married to Christopher Gersten, former Bush Administration official, and is the mother of three adult sons, David, Pablo, and Rudy. She is a grandmother of nine and resides with her family in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
.
Writings
- Betrayal: how union bosses shake down their members and corrupt American politics, 2004 (ISBN 1-4000-5259-9)
- An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal (Or How I Became the Most Hated Hispanic in America), 2002 (ISBN 0-4650-8903-8)
- Out of the Barrio: toward a new politics of Hispanic assimilation , 1991 (ISBN 0-465-05431-5)
- Dumbing Down Higher Education Creators.com Opinion Column, January 11, 2008
- Hispanics and the American Dream