AIA Names Power Person To Lead Its PAC

AIA Names Power Person To Lead Its PAC

By Daniel Hays

NU Online News Service, March 28, 4 :35 p.m. EST?The Washington-based American Insurance Association said it has named Lisa Van Varick, a lobbyist for a power companies' trade group, to head its political action committee.[@@]

Ms. Van Varick as director of AIA-PAC, "will help us reinvigorate our federal PAC program, and also bring her considerable skills to bear helping us better maximize the AIA state PAC mechanisms," said Leigh Ann Pusey, AIA's senior vice president of government affairs."

AIAPAC in the 2004 federal electoral cycle gave $121,616, of which 67 percent went to Republicans and 32 percent to Democrats, according to figures from the Center for Responsive Politics.

That was far below the PAC activity of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, which doled out $410,000.

Ms. Van Varick was manager of political affairs for Edison Electric Institute, the principal trade association for U.S. shareholder-owned electrical power companies,

At EEI, Ms. Van Varick served as treasurer of the political action committee, POWER PAC, which donated $201,000 to federal campaigns in 2004, giving $142,000 to Republicans and $58,000 to Democrats, according to CRP.

AIA said in that post she also worked on EEI's 2000 and 2004 national party convention and inaugural programs, which focused on involving member companies in the political process.

Prior to joining EEI, Ms. Van Varick worked in the Washington D.C. office of New York Republican Gov. George Pataki handling federal legislation, including issues involving the military, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, agriculture, immigration and Native Americans.

"I am excited about joining AIA and look forward to expanding their strong political program," Ms. Van Varick said in a statement.

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