Names floated for next FCC chair

March 23, 2008 The spoils system might not be what it was when Sen. William Marcy, D-N.Y., inadvertently gave it its name in his 1832 "To the victor go the spoils" speech, but patronage still is an important power for the president as he or she places men and women in positions across the capital from the Pentagon to the FCC's offices in the Portals. While commission appointments might not be the plum posts for presidential job-seekers, the person selected has a wide latitude in setting the telecommunications agenda for what is one of the most important government positions in the "knowledge economy." Ness had a shot at taking over the commission when former chairman Reed Hundt left in 1997, but she was passed over when former FCC general counsel Bill Kennard was tapped as the first black chairman of the panel.

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