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Alan Keyes

Alan Keyes is essentially a one-issue candidate who believes that “the root of most of America’s problems lie in the decline of our nation’s moral identity.” Although he is by all accounts one of the most inspirational speakers among the Republican presidential candidates, campaign consultant Sydney Hoff-Hay, the only lobbyist advising the campaign, said that Keyes doesn’t have a chance of winning.

The Alan Keyes for President campaign has no advisory structure and few outside advisers. Most of Keyes’s campaign staff are “connected in the pro-family, pro-life circle,” according to Keyes chief of staff Mary Lewis. “No one advises him — he advises us,” Lewis said. “He doesn’t need anyone to tell him what to think or say.”

When asked how long Keyes will stay in the race, campaign chairman Dave Racer said, “As long as people come out [to see him speak], he’ll keep going.”

Advisers

Sydney Hoff-Hay is the campaign’s general consultant and works for Southwest Policy Group, a lobbying and political consulting firm. The firm’s clients include an Arizona schools group, a trade association, and political organizations and campaigns. Hoff-Hay and the firm have been paid $5,200 since the beginning of the campaign. Hoff-Hay is also president of the Lincoln Caucus, a conservative, anti-tax organization. In February 1994, Hoff-Hay and the Lincoln Caucus opposed an Arizona bill called Proposition 200 that was expected to generate $90 million a year from a tax of 40 cents on each pack of cigarettes. The Arizona House Health Committee heard testimony by various advocacy groups on how 70 percent of the tobacco revenue that is earmarked for health should be spent, as well as the 23 percent that is earmarked for education. The Lincoln Caucus supported a failed measure that would eliminate the earmarks and funnel the tax revenue into a general fund. Hoff-Hay said, “We believe this hearing to be a platform for special-interest groups to parade their wish lists for their particular slice of government.”

Hoff-Hay herself works for a special-interest group, the mining industry. AMIGOS — which stands for “Arizona Mining Industry Gets Our Support” — is a mining trade association that represents the interests of 175 mining companies. AMIGOS is also a client of the Southwest Policy Group and Hoff-Hay is the executive director of this mining interest. She lobbies the Arizona state legislature on issues that affect the mining industry, and on government regulation of small business.

Hoff-Hay has been called “the Iron Lady of Arizona’s right wing.” She met Keyes through her work at Citizens Against Government Waste, an organization that lobbies for reduced government spending. Keyes once served as president of the organization.

Mario Lewis, Jr., is an unpaid adviser to Keyes. Lewis, he said, is a “sounding board on public policy.” He has also been assigned the job of approaching people at various think tanks to write position papers for Keyes.

Lewis and Keyes are longtime friends who met as graduate students at Harvard. According to The Washington Times, Keyes and Lewis bonded watching Star Trek, after which they would discuss the political and philosophical issues involved in the episodes. The two worked together at Citizens Against Government Waste, where Lewis was director of research. Mary Lewis, Lewis’ wife, is Reyes’ campaign chief of staff.

Lewis is the executive director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, an advocacy group concerned with maintaining the principles of free trade and limited government. Lewis is a former staff consultant to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Trade and International Economic Policy. He also served as issues director in Keyes’ 1988 U.S. Senate campaign in Maryland.

Constantine Menges is an informal unpaid adviser and former National Security Council official in the Reagan administration. Menges advises on foreign policy matters, according to the campaign.

Michael Schwartz is an informal adviser and chief of staff for the House Family Caucus, chaired by Representative Tom Coburn, Republican from Oklahoma. He has been an activist in the pro-family movement for 25 years.

Doug Wead is national deputy campaign chairman charged with gaining endorsements, the campaign said. Wead works as a motivational speaker and salesman for Amway Corporation. Wead is a former Bush liaison to the evangelical movement. Wead was reportedly asked to resign that post after he protested the invitation of gay activists to the White House. After leaving the White House, Wead ran unsuccessfully for an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona.

Campaign Staff

Campaign Manager: Dave Racer
Deputy Campaign Chairman: Doug Wead
Chief of Staff: Mary Parker Lewis
National Political Director: George Uribe
National Communications Director: Edmund Peterson