Few in the antitrust bar would put Federal Trade Commission
member Pamela Jones
Harbour on their short list to be
agency chairman. But politics could put the former New
York state assistant attorney general in the FTC's top post. While Harbour might not
be a favorite among Washington's
antitrust community, tapping her would raise few eyebrows outside that insular
neighborhood.
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Harbour brought a credible resume when she was appointed to the
antitrust and consumer protection agency in 2003. Before joining the FTC, she
was a partner in Kaye Scholer LLP's litigation department. Before that she
served 11 years in the New York State Attorney General's Office, rising to
deputy attorney general and chief of the office's public advocacy division. While
working for the state, she argued (but lost) a landmark price-fixing case before
the Supreme Court. (She caused a bit of a stir in 2007 when she wrote an "open
letter" to the Supreme Court in a later price-fixing case.)
But it's her connection to former Senate Democratic leader
Tom Daschle of South Dakota that
could put her in contention to chair the five-member commission. Daschle is now
a key adviser to President-elect Barack Obama and is widely considered a
candidate for a Cabinet post. Harbour
won her FTC post at Daschle's insistence. On a day-to-day basis, Daschle wields
influence on the incoming administration through his long-time aide Pete Rouse,
who became Obama's Senate chief of staff after Daschle lost his seat in 2004.
Rouse is now co-chairman of Obama's transition team.
It also helps that Harbour, formally an
independent, has been a reliable vote with commission Democrats.
- Bill McConnell
