McAuliffe, Terry 1957- (Terrence Richard McAuliffe)

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McAuliffe, Terry 1957- (Terrence Richard McAuliffe)

PERSONAL:

Born 1957, in Syracuse, NY; son of Jack (a real estate developer and Democratic fundraiser) and Millie McAuliffe; married Dorothy Swann; children: Dori, Jack, Mary, Sally, Peter. Education: Catholic University of America, B.A., 1979; Georgetown University, J.D., 1984. Politics: Democrat.

ADDRESSES:

Home—McLean, VA.

CAREER:

Politician, fundraiser, and lawyer. Carter-Mondale Reelection Committee, finance chairman, 1979-80; Gephardt for President Committee, national finance chairman; Clinton-Gore Reelection Committee, national cochairman, 1996; 53rd Presidential Inaugural Committee, chairman; White House Millennium Celebration, chairman; Democratic National Convention, chair, 2000; Korean International Exposition, Ambassador and Commissioner General; Democratic National Committee, chairman, 2001-05; Hilary Clinton for President Exploratory Committee, chairman. Admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia and the United States Supreme Court; William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Foundation, board member; Federal City National Bank, chairman; American Heritage Homes, owner and chairman; regular contributor to television talk shows and news programs.

WRITINGS:

(With Steve Kettmann) What a Party! My Life among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Member of editorial advisory board for Campaigns & Elections.

SIDELIGHTS:

Terry McAuliffe is a Democratic fundraiser and lawyer. McAuliffe gained early exposure to the political scene by accompanying his father, a real estate developer and Democratic fundraiser in New York, to Democratic fundraising events and campaigns when he was five years old. McAuliffe was most interested in the behind-the-scenes machinery of the political process. After finishing his undergraduate studies at the Catholic University of America, McAuliffe was able to secure a position on the Carter-Mondale Reelection Committee as the finance chairman through his father's connections. With this foothold, McAuliffe has remained a fixture in the Democratic Party, fundraising on the national, state, and local levels. He served as the chairman of the Democratic National Commission from 2001-05. Although he has officially retired, McAuliffe remains very active in the Democratic fundraising efforts and the presidential campaign of Hilary Clinton.

His thirty-year career of fundraising for the Democratic party on all levels was filled with success, disappointment, controversy, and many interesting stories along the way. In 2007, with the help of writer and collaborator Steve Kettmann, McAuliffe published his memoir, What a Party! My Life among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals. John M. Broder, writing in the New York Times, noted that "there are any number of humorous anecdotes sprinkled among the chest-deep pile of dropped names," but also found the memoir, like most political memoirs, "heavily varnished and blatantly self-serving." A contributor to the Economist agreed that McAuliffe is "addicted to patting himself on the back" in the book, but more pointedly added that he "does little to illuminate the process of which he was such an important part." Vanessa Bush, writing in Booklist, concluded that "McAuliffe's exuberance and insider status combine to make this a fascinating look at political campaigns."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

McAuliffe, Terry, What a Party! My Life among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2007.