Anne Wexler, an Influential Political Operative and Lobbyist, Is Dead at 79
Anne Wexler, who did just about everything in politics except run for office — from licking envelopes to running Democratic campaigns to serving as a top aide in the Carter White House before becoming an influential Washington lobbyist — died on Friday. She was 79.
The cause was cancer, said Charles Kaiser, a family friend.
In 1978, with his administration reeling from a bad economy, Congressional contentiousness and internal disarray, President Jimmy Carter gave Ms. Wexler, a veteran political operative, the job of building coalitions to support his embattled agenda.
She brought hundreds of business, labor and community leaders to the White House for briefings with senior officials, sometimes including Mr. Carter, and pushed them to use their resources to further the administration’s agenda...
...The day after President Ronald Reagan succeeded Mr. Carter in January 1981, Ms. Wexler hung up her shingle as a lobbyist and soon recruited heavyweight clients like General Motors. Her firm, now called Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates, became known for organizing grass-roots campaigns for trade deals, regulatory matters and legislation.
Australia was so grateful for her help with successfully pushing freer trade with the United States that it honored her with its Order of Australia award in 2002.
In 1998, Washingtonian magazine said, “She is easily the most influential female lobbyist in a world still dominated by men.”
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The cause was cancer, said Charles Kaiser, a family friend.
In 1978, with his administration reeling from a bad economy, Congressional contentiousness and internal disarray, President Jimmy Carter gave Ms. Wexler, a veteran political operative, the job of building coalitions to support his embattled agenda.
She brought hundreds of business, labor and community leaders to the White House for briefings with senior officials, sometimes including Mr. Carter, and pushed them to use their resources to further the administration’s agenda...
...The day after President Ronald Reagan succeeded Mr. Carter in January 1981, Ms. Wexler hung up her shingle as a lobbyist and soon recruited heavyweight clients like General Motors. Her firm, now called Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates, became known for organizing grass-roots campaigns for trade deals, regulatory matters and legislation.
Australia was so grateful for her help with successfully pushing freer trade with the United States that it honored her with its Order of Australia award in 2002.
In 1998, Washingtonian magazine said, “She is easily the most influential female lobbyist in a world still dominated by men.”