MEADVILLE, Pa. – Feb. 5, 2008 – Today’s primaries and caucuses may or may not reveal the identities of the Democratic and Republican nominees for the 2008 presidential race. While the events of this season’s contest have provided fascinating drama, political scholars, strategists, party leaders and public officials are also immersed in a debate about how to improve the current system of selecting candidates.
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, a week after “Super-Duper Tuesday,” Allegheny College and The New York Times Knowledge Network will host a national conversation focused on a constituency that has, so far, been largely silent in the dialogue about nomination process reform: American voters.
A robust exchange about possible reforms to the nomination system will be facilitated via a live panel discussion, titled, “What Is Possible? What Is Likely?,” in Allegheny’s Raymond P. Shafer Auditorium at 8 p.m. The event is open to the public and will be Webcast live via The New York Times Knowledge Network. It will be moderated by Daniel M. Shea, professor of political science and director of the Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College. The panelists include:
• Bay Buchanan, political strategist and author
• Pedro Cortés, Pennsylvania secretary of state
• Andrew Rosenthal, editorial page editor, The New York Times
“The process of selecting presidential party nominees has changed in numerous, important ways over the past two centuries,” said Daniel M. Shea. “By many accounts, the nomination process will not endure another election. Reform is inevitable.”
Shea also sees a parallel and equally significant issue: the lack of interest in voting among the nation’s youth. “The 2008 race has shown that when young voters believe they can influence the process, they get involved,” he said.
“Our Nomination Reform Initiative, a two-year project, will train a critical eye on the future of presidential nominations as a mechanism to engage young voters and explore innovative nomination models.”
The panel discussion will cap a daylong conference at Allegheny College, which is being held in conjunction with a four-week online course (Jan. 30–Feb. 20) offered via the New York Times Knowledge Network, to explore past, present and future changes in the presidential nomination process, focusing particular attention on reforms that could be in place before the 2012 election.
Up to 25 colleges from across the country will send student teams to the conference to present their best ideas for reform, the strongest of which will be thoroughly explored in the final week of the online course. Panels, discussion groups and a plenary dinner will allow students to dig into the ramifications of a wide range of innovative approaches to nomination system reform.
College teams may register to participate in the conference at www.nominationreform.org. For more information about the online course, the campus conference or the evening panel discussion, call Barb Steadman at 814-332-6202.
Additional Information: Speaker Profiles
Daniel M. Shea is a professor of political science at Allegheny College and director of the Allegheny College Center for Political Participation. Shea has a bachelor of arts in political science and American studies from the State University of New York at Oswego and a master of arts in campaign management/applied politics from the University of West Florida. He earned a Ph.D. in political science from the State University of New York at Albany.
Shea has written or edited 12 books on the American electoral process. His most recent project, “Living Democracy” (Prentice Hall, 2007), is a text on American government designed to inspire students and help them experience the impact of government in their daily lives. In 2007 Shea also edited, with John C. Green, “The Fountain of Youth: Strategies and Tactics for Mobilizing America's Young Voters” (Rowman and Littlefield).
Andrew M. Rosenthal was named editorial page editor of The New York Times effective January 2007. Rosenthal had been deputy editorial page editor of The Times since August 2003. Before that, he had been an assistant managing editor since September 2001 and foreign editor since May 1997. He also served as national editor of The Times for six months in 2000, supervising coverage of the presidential election and the post-election-day recount.
Previously he served as The Times’s Washington editor since November 1992 and as a Washington correspondent since joining the paper in March 1987. While in Washington, Rosenthal covered the Bush administration, the 1988 and 1992 presidential elections and the Persian Gulf war. He also supervised coverage of the 1994 and 1996 national elections.
Before joining The Times, Rosenthal worked at the Associated Press, where, since July 1986, he had been its Moscow bureau chief. His other assignments with the AP included correspondent in Moscow from June 1983 to July 1986, editor on the foreign desk in New York from April 1982 to June 1983 and reporter in the Denver bureau from October 1978 to April 1982.
Born in New Delhi, India, Rosenthal attended high school in New York. He graduated from the University of Denver with a B.A. degree in American history in 1978. While at college, Rosenthal was a sports stringer for the AP from January to April 1976 and a part-time police reporter for the Rocky Mountain News from October 1976 to June 1977.
Pedro A. Cortés was nominated as Secretary of the Commonwealth by Governor Edward G. Rendell on April 2, 2003, and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on May 13, 2003, making him the first confirmed Latino Cabinet member in Pennsylvania history.
By statute, the Secretary is a member of the Board of Property, the Board of Finance and Revenue, the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Board, the State Athletic Commission and the Navigation Commission for the Delaware River and its Navigable Tributaries. The Secretary is the keeper of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth and has the duty of authenticating government documents through the seal’s use. Cortés is also the Commonwealth’s chief election official.
Previously, Cortés was the executive director of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs. He has also served with the Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.
Cortés has been the recipient of numerous awards, including: Hispanic Business Magazine's 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States; the National Notary Association’s 50 Most Influential People in Notarization in the Last 50 Years and March Fong Eu Achievement Award; Multicultural Affairs Congress' Delaware Valley's Most Influential Latino; American Lawyer Media Lawyer on the Fast Track; Central Penn Business Journal's top Forty Under 40 business leaders in Central Pennsylvania; and the Pennsylvania State University Alumni Fellow, the most prestigious award given by the Penn State Alumni Association.
Cortés is active with many local, state and national organizations. He currently serves as president-elect of the National Association of Secretaries of State. In July 2008 he will become the association’s president, making him the first Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth to serve in that role in the organization’s 104-year history.
Cortés earned his bachelor of science in hotel, restaurant and travel administration from the University of Massachusetts, a master’s in public administration from Penn State University and a law degree from Penn State Dickinson School of Law. He also holds a certificate in public sector human resources management from Penn State University.
A native of Puerto Rico, Cortés has lived in Harrisburg since 1990. He is married to Lissette Lizardi-Cortés and they have a daughter, Gabriela.
Angela “Bay” Buchanan began her political career as the national treasurer of Ronald Reagan's presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1984. This position catapulted her into a distinguished career beginning in 1981 when President Reagan appointed her to be treasurer of the United States. At the age of 32, she was the youngest person to hold that position since it was established in 1775.
Buchanan served as the campaign chairman for all three of her brother Pat Buchanan's presidential campaigns. This election cycle, she served as chairman of Representative Tom Tancredo’s presidential campaign and is currently a senior advisor to Mitt Romney.
Before taking these positions, Bay was a political analyst for CNN. From September of 1996 through August of 1999, she co-anchored Equal Time, a political talk show initially on CNBC, then MSNBC. In addition, she worked as a political analyst for Good Morning America throughout the general election in 1992. From 1996 to 1997 Buchanan hosted a two-hour radio talk show program covering current events.
The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute named Bay Buchanan the 2007 Woman of the Year. Buchanan is president of the American Cause, an educational foundation dedicated to advancing traditional conservative issues. Her first book, “The Extreme Makeover of Hillary Rodham Clinton,” was published in 2007.
