Kevin Martin (FCC)

Kevin J. Martin
25th Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
In office March 18, 2005 – January 20, 2009
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Michael Powell
Succeeded by	Julius Genachowski
Personal details
Born	(1966-12-14) December 14, 1966 Charlotte, North Carolina
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Catherine Martin

Kevin Jeffrey Martin (born December 14, 1966) was the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He was nominated to be a commissioner by President George W. Bush on April 30, 2001, and was confirmed on May 25, 2001. On March 16, 2005, President Bush designated him as FCC chairman, to replace Michael K. Powell.^[1] President Bush renominated Martin to a new five-year term on the Commission on April 25, 2006, and he was reconfirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 17, 2006. In January 2009, Martin announced that he would step down from the FCC and join the Aspen Institute, as a senior fellow in the think tank's Communications and Society Program.^[2] He has since become a partner with the law firm Patton Boggs LLP.

Prior offices

Before becoming a commissioner, Martin was a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. He has also served as the Deputy General Counsel to Bush-Cheney 2000, on the Bush-Cheney recount team in Florida, and on the presidential transition team.

Before joining Bush-Cheney 2000, Martin served as legal advisor to FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth, in the Office of the Independent Counsel, and as an associate of Wiley Rein LLP. One of Wiley Rein's most important clients is Verizon (, , ).

Upon graduation from law school, Martin served as a judicial clerk for Judge William M. Hoeveler of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami.

Education

Martin went to Charlotte Catholic High School for four years. He earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where he was elected student body president), an M.P.P. from Duke University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Florida Bar, District of Columbia Bar and the Federal Communications Bar Association.

Chairman Martin married a Harvard law school classmate, Catherine J. Martin (Cathie). Following law school, Cathie practiced law as an associate of Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, and then held the following positions in public service: Counselor to then Texas Attorney General John Cornyn; Deputy Chief of Staff for Secretary Donald L. Evans at the U.S. Department of Commerce; Counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the National Economic Council, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Communications (Policy and Planning). Kevin and Cathie reside in Washington, D.C.

Legacy

On January 15, 2009 Kevin Martin announced his resignation as the new Administration takes over. In a statement he said his philosophy during his tenure at the FCC "has been to pursue deregulation while paying close attention to its impact on consumers and the particulars of a given market, to balance deregulation with consumer protection." The statement notes what Martin accomplished during his tenure, including one promoting broadband, and specifically wireless broadband, and protecting consumers from harm, by issuing $150 million in fines, or more than any other chairman.^[3]

Subsequent career

In 2013, Martin was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.^[4]

Beginning in September 2009, Martin began serving on the Board of Directors of the telecommunications hardware company, Xtera Communications. Xtera specializes in supplying network infrastructure for long-haul, submarine, metro and WAN applications.^[5]

References

External links

• Deception and Distrust: The Federal Communications Commission Under Chairman Kevin J. Martin, from Committee on Energy and Commerce
• Kevin Martin's Pro-Market FFC, from National Review
• FCC Commissioner Michael Copps on the FCC’s Vote to Rewrite the Nation’s Media Ownership Rules, from Democracy Now

v t e Current Federal Communication Commissioners Julius Genachowski (Chairman) Michael J. Copps Robert M. McDowell Meredith Attwell Baker Mignon Clyburn