Robb Austin
Encyclopedia
Robb Austin was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
. He is now a political and media affairs consultant in the United States. He was born December 22, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio
and graduated from The George Washington University in Washington D. C. He is a former newspaper reporter for The McKeesport Daily News (Pa.) and currently heads Austin Communications, a political and media affairs consulting firm.
Prior to being elected to the state legislature, Austin had been a newspaper reporter for The McKeesport Daily News for five years. His election to the House of Representatives was Austin's first run for public office.
On March 28, 1979, Austin was one of a small group of freshman Democratic legislators who were invited to a budget breakfast briefing with Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh
at the Governor's Mansion. During the breakfast, Governor Thornburgh was first notified about the nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island.
As a legislator, Austin spoke out against an early attempt to increase legislators' salaries and later was one of only two legislators (193-2) to vote against increasing legislators' travel allowance from 15-17 cents per mile. He sponsored legislation for strict reporting requirements for lobbyists; criticized the leadership of his own party for the hiring practices of former legislators; and provided Governor Thornburgh with the deciding vote which defined the authority of the state's first elected Attorney General over the objections of the leadership in his party.
Austin sponsored a resolution adopted by the House to include the treatment of sickle cell anemia in the state Health Plan of 1979, and authored a provision to the state's No Fault Divorce
law which mandated that a spouse's pension be taken into account when the courts are determining property distribution. For his work on sickle cell anemia Austin was recognized by the Clairton Branch of the NAACP as its 1979 "Person of the Year."
Austin ran a campaign based on new ideas and change while Zemprelli relied on his experience as Majority Leader and the fact that he was "the most powerful voice in Harrisburg." In a hard fought, high profile campaign, Zemprelli's experience argument won out and Austin lost by a vote total of 27,960 to 18,019. The Pittsburgh Press wrote that Austin "ran a smart, high-stakes campaign that combined elements of populism and big money. It won the admiration of many political observers, who gave Austin an outside shot at an upset victory. Austin made campaign history by buying television time to promote his local race, but he also entered living rooms in a more conventional – and arduous way – going from door-to-door until, he said, he had visited 60 percent of the homes in the district."
The campaign wrap-up concluded, "His loss to Zemprelli means he will leave public office in December when his House term expires. Austin decided not to run for House re-election in order to devote full time to his Senate race."
(D-Pa.). In an effort to realign Congress, the Reagan White House undertook an effort to encourage conservative Democrats to switch parties. In October 1981, with President Reagan at his side, Atkinson became the first conservative Democrat to switch to the Republican Party
in a Rose Garden
ceremony at The White House. Austin became a Republican at that time also.
Austin was said to have played a pivotal role in the Atkinson switch and there was some speculation that Austin's connections to The White House might propel him in a future run for Congress. The Pittsburgh Press wrote, "Somehow, all of the television network commentators, the syndicated political columnists and the Capitol Hill pundits who rushed to analyze, dissect and expatiate upon the Atkinson political drama neglected to point out the McKeesport connection. He is Robb Austin, the man many people here think was the eminence grise behind Atkinson's defection. Austin is now Atkinson's top administrative aide, but back along the banks of the Monongahela he will be remembered as a former state legislator who was young, attractive, ambitious – and who nonetheless served only one term."
The report continues, "When Atkinson and President Reagan held a joint news conference in the Rose Garden to celebrate the congressman's new-found Republicanism, the former legislator from McKeesport figured prominently in the background tableau. He looked on from the Portico of the Oval Office
, flanked on either side by Reagan political advisors Ed Rollins
and Paul Russo. Austin got to know them when he was negotiating the terms of Atkinson’s political defection. Austin met Ronald Reagan
and three other famous Reagan confidantes: Michael Deaver
, James Baker
and Lyn Nofzinger. Reagan posed for a picture with Austin and Nofzinger gave him a cigar."
that Austin befriended during the switch process and Austin soon became a frequent visitor to Atwater's office in the White House
. Atwater introduced Austin to Reagan and included him in White House social functions and high level events, including the October 8, 1981, South Lawn departure ceremony of former Presidents Richard Nixon
, Gerald Ford
, and Jimmy Carter
who were leading the nation's delegation to the State funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
. Atwater would later dispatch Austin to consult on various Congressional campaigns that were important to Atwater.
Atkinson lost in the 1982 mid-term elections in what was a Democratic landslide that year. The Reagan Administration appointed Austin Director of Governmental Affairs, Food and Nutrition Service, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Two years later Lee Atwater was instrumental in sending Austin to Atlanta with less than eight weeks until the election to manage the long shot campaign of Republican Patrick L. Swindall against five-term incumbent and former Rhodes Scholar, Congressman Elliott Levitas (D-Ga). An August survey by pollster Arthur Finkelstein showed Levitas held a large lead over Swindall 52.5% to 24.4% prior to Austin's arrival to the campaign.
While Atwater later orchestrated the 1988 presidential election of President George H. W. Bush
, and became Chairman of the Republican National Committee
, he recognized the fact that the Atkinson party switch was one of his first coups as Reagan's White House political adviser and it was Austin who helped him succeed. They remained close friends right up to Atwater's death from a brain tumor on March 29, 1991. As RNC Chairman, Atwater called Austin "one of my oldest and dearest political pals."
: "September turned out to be a crucial month for the (Swindall) campaign since an experienced manager, Robb Austin, was hired. Austin shook up the organization and the campaign embarked on a strategy designed to 'smoke out' Levitas by presenting him as a big spender and too liberal for the district." Austin developed an attack-oriented strategy and began tying Levitas' liberal votes to those of New York Democratic Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro
(Vice Presidential running mate of Walter Mondale
). Austin produced and created the campaign's newspaper and radio advertising with media consultant Roger Ailes
, currently President of the Fox News Channel
, producing the campaign’s television spots.
One Austin-created ad featured the Brooklyn Bridge
in the background, along with a picture of Levitas under the heading, "Elliott Levitas: The Best Congressman Queens, New York, has ever had."
Another Austin newspaper ad attacked Levitas for taking 19 foreign trips at the taxpayers' expense. These trips were listed in an ad amid a backdrop of Levitas' picture, a snow-covered mountain labeled "somewhere in Europe", and a jet flying high in the sky. The ad reads, "Elliott Levitas. Our man in Washington. And France. And Switzerland. And Belgium. And England. And Spain. And Austria. And Luxemburg. And Iceland. And Finland. And The Netherlands. And Norway. And Portugal. And Germany. And Hungary. And... the list goes on."
Swindall won the election with 53% of the vote in what was a major upset victory for the National Republican Congressional Committee
(NRCC) in the 1984 elections. Levitas however blamed his defeat on "the lies and distortions and hooliganism of my opponent's campaign."
In a post-election book Oustings the Ins by the Institute for Government and Politics, Stuart Rothenberg
wrote, “{Austin} admitted that his plan was to 'gut' incumbent Levitas to 1) get media coverage and increase the saliency of the race and 2) shake up Levitas in the hope of forcing him to confront Swindall and possibly make a mistake. Had Swindall kept his gloves on and run what many would have called a "proper" and "positive" campaign, Levitas almost certainly would have been re-elected – and re-elected by a substantial margin."
Conservative weekly Human Events
said Swindall's election was "one of the genuine Cinderella stories of 1984" and called Austin "campaign manager par excellence, a former Democratic state legislator whose specialty is wooing conservative Democrats to the GOP fold." On the night of Swindall's election, he named Austin as his new Chief of Staff in Washington.
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two year terms from single member districts....
. He is now a political and media affairs consultant in the United States. He was born December 22, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and graduated from The George Washington University in Washington D. C. He is a former newspaper reporter for The McKeesport Daily News (Pa.) and currently heads Austin Communications, a political and media affairs consulting firm.
Legislative career
Austin was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In 1978, at the age of 26, he defeated a three-term incumbent in the 39th Legislative District primary election by over a 2-1 margin. Austin received 5,116 votes to Democrat incumbent George Miscevich's 2,428. Austin went on to win the November 1978 general election with 12,055 votes to his Republican opponent's 3,196, in one of the largest pluralities in state legislative races that year. The Austin campaign emphasized door-to-door campaigning, local volunteers, and creative media advertising. Austin was an effective campaigner and burst onto the Pittsburgh political scene quickly. He was the first full-time legislator in the 39th District and the first to open and staff a legislative office in the Mon Valley district.Prior to being elected to the state legislature, Austin had been a newspaper reporter for The McKeesport Daily News for five years. His election to the House of Representatives was Austin's first run for public office.
On March 28, 1979, Austin was one of a small group of freshman Democratic legislators who were invited to a budget breakfast briefing with Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh
Dick Thornburgh
Richard Lewis "Dick" Thornburgh is an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as the 41st Governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987, and then as the U.S...
at the Governor's Mansion. During the breakfast, Governor Thornburgh was first notified about the nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island.
As a legislator, Austin spoke out against an early attempt to increase legislators' salaries and later was one of only two legislators (193-2) to vote against increasing legislators' travel allowance from 15-17 cents per mile. He sponsored legislation for strict reporting requirements for lobbyists; criticized the leadership of his own party for the hiring practices of former legislators; and provided Governor Thornburgh with the deciding vote which defined the authority of the state's first elected Attorney General over the objections of the leadership in his party.
Austin sponsored a resolution adopted by the House to include the treatment of sickle cell anemia in the state Health Plan of 1979, and authored a provision to the state's No Fault Divorce
No-fault divorce
No-fault divorce is a divorce in which the dissolution of a marriage requires neither a showing of wrong-doing of either party nor any evidentiary proceedings at all...
law which mandated that a spouse's pension be taken into account when the courts are determining property distribution. For his work on sickle cell anemia Austin was recognized by the Clairton Branch of the NAACP as its 1979 "Person of the Year."
State Senate election
Austin was headed for re-election to the State House in 1980 but chose instead to run for the State Senate against an 18-year incumbent Edward Zemprelli, who was also the State Senate Majority Leader. Austin charged that Zemprelli had been in office too long and had not done enough for the district. His critics said Austin had only served one-term in the State House and should wait before trying to go too far too fast politically.Austin ran a campaign based on new ideas and change while Zemprelli relied on his experience as Majority Leader and the fact that he was "the most powerful voice in Harrisburg." In a hard fought, high profile campaign, Zemprelli's experience argument won out and Austin lost by a vote total of 27,960 to 18,019. The Pittsburgh Press wrote that Austin "ran a smart, high-stakes campaign that combined elements of populism and big money. It won the admiration of many political observers, who gave Austin an outside shot at an upset victory. Austin made campaign history by buying television time to promote his local race, but he also entered living rooms in a more conventional – and arduous way – going from door-to-door until, he said, he had visited 60 percent of the homes in the district."
The campaign wrap-up concluded, "His loss to Zemprelli means he will leave public office in December when his House term expires. Austin decided not to run for House re-election in order to devote full time to his Senate race."
Austin goes to Washington
When his term expired, Austin went to Washington where he became Chief of Staff to Congressman Eugene AtkinsonEugene Atkinson
Eugene Vincent Atkinson was a member of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Atkinson was born in the Pittsburgh Metro Area city of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania and he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. Atkinson was the director of customs for the port of Pittsburgh from 1962 to 1969...
(D-Pa.). In an effort to realign Congress, the Reagan White House undertook an effort to encourage conservative Democrats to switch parties. In October 1981, with President Reagan at his side, Atkinson became the first conservative Democrat to switch to the Republican Party
Republican 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...
in a Rose Garden
White House Rose Garden
The White House Rose Garden is a garden bordering the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House. The garden is approximately 125 feet long and 60 feet wide...
ceremony at The White House. Austin became a Republican at that time also.
Austin was said to have played a pivotal role in the Atkinson switch and there was some speculation that Austin's connections to The White House might propel him in a future run for Congress. The Pittsburgh Press wrote, "Somehow, all of the television network commentators, the syndicated political columnists and the Capitol Hill pundits who rushed to analyze, dissect and expatiate upon the Atkinson political drama neglected to point out the McKeesport connection. He is Robb Austin, the man many people here think was the eminence grise behind Atkinson's defection. Austin is now Atkinson's top administrative aide, but back along the banks of the Monongahela he will be remembered as a former state legislator who was young, attractive, ambitious – and who nonetheless served only one term."
The report continues, "When Atkinson and President Reagan held a joint news conference in the Rose Garden to celebrate the congressman's new-found Republicanism, the former legislator from McKeesport figured prominently in the background tableau. He looked on from the Portico of the Oval Office
Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
, flanked on either side by Reagan political advisors Ed Rollins
Ed Rollins
Edward John "Ed" Rollins is a Republican campaign consultant and advisor who has worked on several high-profile political campaigns in the United States. In 1983-84, he was National Campaign Director for the Reagan-Bush '84 campaign, winning 49 of 50 states...
and Paul Russo. Austin got to know them when he was negotiating the terms of Atkinson’s political defection. Austin met 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....
and three other famous Reagan confidantes: Michael Deaver
Michael Deaver
Michael Keith Deaver was a member of President Ronald Reagan's White House staff serving as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under James Baker III and Donald Regan from January 1981 until May 1985.-Early life:...
, James Baker
James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
and Lyn Nofzinger. Reagan posed for a picture with Austin and Nofzinger gave him a cigar."
Austin meets Lee Atwater
But it was Reagan political adviser Lee AtwaterLee Atwater
Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater was an American political consultant and strategist to the Republican Party. He was an advisor of U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and Chairman of the Republican National Committee.-Childhood and early life:...
that Austin befriended during the switch process and Austin soon became a frequent visitor to Atwater's office in the White House
White 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...
. Atwater introduced Austin to Reagan and included him in White House social functions and high level events, including the October 8, 1981, South Lawn departure ceremony of former Presidents Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, and Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
who were leading the nation's delegation to the State funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
. Atwater would later dispatch Austin to consult on various Congressional campaigns that were important to Atwater.
Atkinson lost in the 1982 mid-term elections in what was a Democratic landslide that year. The Reagan Administration appointed Austin Director of Governmental Affairs, Food and Nutrition Service, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Two years later Lee Atwater was instrumental in sending Austin to Atlanta with less than eight weeks until the election to manage the long shot campaign of Republican Patrick L. Swindall against five-term incumbent and former Rhodes Scholar, Congressman Elliott Levitas (D-Ga). An August survey by pollster Arthur Finkelstein showed Levitas held a large lead over Swindall 52.5% to 24.4% prior to Austin's arrival to the campaign.
While Atwater later orchestrated the 1988 presidential election of President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, and became Chairman of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
, he recognized the fact that the Atkinson party switch was one of his first coups as Reagan's White House political adviser and it was Austin who helped him succeed. They remained close friends right up to Atwater's death from a brain tumor on March 29, 1991. As RNC Chairman, Atwater called Austin "one of my oldest and dearest political pals."
Swindall campaign
In The Political Report of the Free Congress FoundationFree Congress Foundation
The Free Congress Foundation , is a conservative think tank founded by Paul Weyrich. It was based near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C...
: "September turned out to be a crucial month for the (Swindall) campaign since an experienced manager, Robb Austin, was hired. Austin shook up the organization and the campaign embarked on a strategy designed to 'smoke out' Levitas by presenting him as a big spender and too liberal for the district." Austin developed an attack-oriented strategy and began tying Levitas' liberal votes to those of New York Democratic Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Anne Ferraro was an American attorney, a Democratic Party politician, and a member of the United States House of Representatives. She was the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party....
(Vice Presidential running mate of Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
). Austin produced and created the campaign's newspaper and radio advertising with media consultant Roger Ailes
Roger Ailes
Roger Eugene Ailes is president of Fox News Channel, chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group. Ailes was a media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W...
, currently President of the Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, producing the campaign’s television spots.
One Austin-created ad featured the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
in the background, along with a picture of Levitas under the heading, "Elliott Levitas: The Best Congressman Queens, New York, has ever had."
Another Austin newspaper ad attacked Levitas for taking 19 foreign trips at the taxpayers' expense. These trips were listed in an ad amid a backdrop of Levitas' picture, a snow-covered mountain labeled "somewhere in Europe", and a jet flying high in the sky. The ad reads, "Elliott Levitas. Our man in Washington. And France. And Switzerland. And Belgium. And England. And Spain. And Austria. And Luxemburg. And Iceland. And Finland. And The Netherlands. And Norway. And Portugal. And Germany. And Hungary. And... the list goes on."
Swindall won the election with 53% of the vote in what was a major upset victory for the National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
(NRCC) in the 1984 elections. Levitas however blamed his defeat on "the lies and distortions and hooliganism of my opponent's campaign."
In a post-election book Oustings the Ins by the Institute for Government and Politics, Stuart Rothenberg
Stuart Rothenberg
Stuart Rothenberg is an American editor, publisher, and political analyst best known for his Washington-based, biweekly, self-proclaimed non-partisan political newsletter The Rothenberg Political Report...
wrote, “{Austin} admitted that his plan was to 'gut' incumbent Levitas to 1) get media coverage and increase the saliency of the race and 2) shake up Levitas in the hope of forcing him to confront Swindall and possibly make a mistake. Had Swindall kept his gloves on and run what many would have called a "proper" and "positive" campaign, Levitas almost certainly would have been re-elected – and re-elected by a substantial margin."
Conservative weekly Human Events
Human Events
Human Events is a weekly American conservative magazine. It takes its name from the first sentence of the United States Declaration of Independence...
said Swindall's election was "one of the genuine Cinderella stories of 1984" and called Austin "campaign manager par excellence, a former Democratic state legislator whose specialty is wooing conservative Democrats to the GOP fold." On the night of Swindall's election, he named Austin as his new Chief of Staff in Washington.