Lead21
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Lead21 is a conservative-leaning political group based in San Francisco, California in the United States. Lead21 had previously been known as New Century Leadership Circle. The organization seeks to get entrepreneurial business leaders more actively involved in shaping public policy and electoral politics. It aims to promote entrepreneurship and innovation as a means of spreading prosperity.
Legal Status
Lead21 is a not-for-profit organization filed in California, and is registered as a political organization under section 527 of U.S. tax and election laws. Lead21 is reportedly not a fundraising organization that raises money for candidates, committees or campaigns, so it appears not to be registered as a federal PAC.
History
Lead21 was founded in 2001 as the New Century Leadership Circle (NCLC), a conservative-leaning group of mostly entrepreneurs, investors and senior executives from San Francisco and the surrounding Silicon Valley. The core founders included Auren Hoffman, Christopher Alden, Price Roe, F. John Duncan, and many others who were founding members. NCLC, as it was called at the time, launched the new organization at the home of Silicon Valley veteran Ellen Hancock, with former California Governor Pete Wilson as guest-of-honor. Additional early members and supporting leaders included E. Floyd Kvamme, Gregory Slayton (now an Ambassador to Bermuda under George W. Bush's administration), and others.
According to news and press reports from the time referenced from Lead21's Website, more than 150 people showed up for the event. NCLC was said to have started as a venue for conservatives and libertarians, whom the group claimed, were politically quiet in the San Francisco Bay Area--a region widely considered to be overtly liberal. It is perhaps curious that Lead21 has never called itself a "Republican" organization, choosing instead to bill itself as "conservative-leaning". The organization has claimed that its membership is mostly moderate to conservative Republicans, but with a lot of Independents and Libertarians as well; it cites that its focus is less about overtly partisan politics and more about supporting entrepreneurship and innovation. However, the organization is not believed to have ever supported Democrat candidates or campaigns, although some board members of the group have been appointeed to San Francisco city commissions under Democrat Mayor Gavin Newsom.
NCLC reportedly grew rapidly to several hundred members in the following couple of years, on a shoe-string budget funded by membership dues, and with no paid staff. The organization continued to host a number of senior elected and appointed government officials at receptions and parties in Silicon Valley with NCLC members. It is unclear precisely when, but it is estimated that NCLC changed its name to Lead21 (apparently in reference to leadership for the 21st century) at some point in 2003. About the same time, Lead21 hired a paid, part-time administrative person, to handle logistics and planning for its events, which numbered around 1 or 2 per month at the time. Lead21 began to host more events, and also setup policy trips for members to Sacramento and Washington, DC in which they would visit directly with members of Congress and senior administration and cabinet officials. During the ramp-up to the 2004 U.S. Presidential Elections, Lead21 started a second chapter in New York City, chaired by then-Lead21 board member Christian Bailey. The formal New York City chapter has reportedly become dormant since late 2005, though the organization claims many members are still politically active in that area.
Lead21's events became a hallmark of the organization's reputation as they have been widely considered to be fun, hip and more intimate than political events have traditionally been seen as. Their reputation is for events where one will not usually find podiums, canned or formal speeches or other traditional political formalities. Through their [website], Lead21 claims this approach is not only "intentional", but part of the "unique strategy" of getting Silicon Valley leaders more actively involved in policy and politics. Lead21 states that such formalities are "barriers" to relationship-building, which it claims as a fundamental cornerstone of what Lead21 does. Lead21 states it has several membership levels, with the events being a basic building block, but higher membership levels allowing more "one-on-one" relationship building in political circles.
In 2005, Lead21 hosted several hundred California and Bay Area tech leaders in an annual gala at which they bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award to former Secretary of State George Shultz.
Lead21 claims to also help its members build political relationships and opportunities. Under this approach, many Lead21 members are reportedly now serving in senior political appointments in the Bush Administration and Schwarzenegger Administration. Some are also known party or elected officials, such as Keen Butcher who is chairman of the Silicon Valley Republican Party and Charles Marsala, Mayor of the posh San Francisco peninsula town of Atherton, CA. Lead21 claims that more than a dozen "alumni" are now serving in the Bush White House and a broad range of other cabinet and departmental posts. Included among these is Price Roe, a Lead21 founder who is now a senior advisor to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff.
In February of 2006, Lead21 hired its first full-time Executive Director, Daniel Trimble, to run and build the organization's influence in policy, political and entrepreneurial communities. The organization reportedly raised money to cover the additional operating costs, and aims to become self-sufficient from membership and other revenues.
Lead21 is also working in government to create advisory boards of Lead21 members and alumni who provide expertise and insight to legislators and policymakers. It publically states it runs Lead21 advisory boards for U.S. Representatives Devin Nunes (R-CA), Cathy McMorris (R-WA) and Adam Putnam (R-WA), with many more in the works.
Lead21 as an organization is creating rising momentum and building pressure within government for support of entrepreneurship and innovation in the markets.
Key People
- Auren Hoffman, Chairman, Board of Directors, and Co-Founder
- Michael K. Kim, Vice Chairman, Board of Directors
- Daniel Trimble, Executive Director
- Christopher Alden, Board of Directors
- Sonia Arrison, Board of Directors
- Keen Butcher, Board of Directors
- Anurag Chandra, Board of Directors
- Jani Friedman, Board of Directors
- John Gable, Board of Directors
- Jefferson Lilly, Board of Directors
- Charles Marsala, Board of Directors
- Steve Mushero, Board of Directors
- Jim Obsitnik, Board of Directors
- Erik Rannala, Board of Directors
- Aydin Senkut, Board of Directors
- Patrick Shannon, Board of Directors
Candidates Supported
Lead21 has endorsed the following political candidates:- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California
- Steve Poizner, candidate for California Insurance Commissioner
Reference
[about Lead21]
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