Dear Member:
We wanted to update you on the current state of nominations to both the US Postal Service Board of Governors and the Postal Regulatory Commission. Here’s where things stand:
USPS Board Nominees: Ramon Martinez IV, Ron Bloom & John M. Barger
Messrs. Martinez and Bloom are on the Senate Executive calendar and are awaiting a Senate Floor vote; Mr. Barger’s nomination is pending before the Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC). Mr. Martinez, 70, has been an independent director at Cigna Corp. since July 2005. He was previously a partner of Lehman Brothers of New York, where he served for more than 30 years. Involved in a broad spectrum of U.S. and international investment banking activities, he headed a sector of Lehman’s investment banking division from 1986 to 1989, and currently serves as a member of Investment Advisory Council at Florida State Board of Administration.
Mr. Bloom was a senior official in the Obama Administration from February 2009 to August 2011. This included working as the assistant to the President for manufacturing policy between February 2011 and August 2011, in the Treasury Department as a senior advisor to the Treasury Secretary and a member of the President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry. He has been praised for his role in the auto industry restructurings and for his work as senior counselor for manufacturing policy. In April 2010, he was named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in the category of World Leaders.
Mr. Barger is an executive, advisor, attorney investor and is active in many areas and serves or previously served on several boards of directors. He is managing director/principal of NorthernCross Partners, LLC (New York/Los Angeles), and also a director at WineDirect (Napa, CA). He is past chairman of LACERA Board of Investments, a past director of LACERA Board of Retirement, and past director at SierraConstellation Partners, LLC (Los Angeles). A founding partner in XL/Latin America Reinsurance Company, he also spent several years working at Deutsche Bank/Bankers Trust and Citibank.
PRC Commissioner Nominees: Ashley Jay Elizabeth Poling & Ann Fisher
Both are currently before the HSGAC. Attendees of the 2018 National Catalog Forum may remember Ms. Poling, who discussed the prospects for postal reform legislation along with USPS Deputy PMG Ron Stroman and Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service Manager Art Sackler. She has been nominated for the PRC commissioner post with a remaining six-year term expiring November 22, 2024. Ms. Poling serves as the director of governmental affairs and senior counsel for Sen. Gary C. Peters, where she advises on policy issues, negotiates with stakeholders to advance bipartisan legislation, and crafts initiatives to advance governmental affairs priorities. Previously, she served as senior policy counsel to Sen. Heidi Heitkamp and as counsel to Sen. Jon Tester, where she focused on postal and federal workforce issues.
Ms. Fisher serves as the PRC’s public affairs and government relations director. Previously, she spent 12 years on Capitol Hill in roles including deputy staff director of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In this role she served as principal Senate Republican staff architect of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006 which modernized postal laws. She also served as a government relations manager at the U.S. Postal Service and as an economist on the Senate Small Business Committee.
Term Expirations:
Each individual for both the USPS and the PRC has been chosen to serve out existing terms as follows:
- Martinez: Dec. 8, 2024
- Bloom: Dec. 8, 2020
- Barger: Dec. 8, 2021
- Poling: Nov. 22, 2024
- Fisher: Oct. 14, 2024
We’ll keep you posted as each nominee is confirmed.