Ralph Vinovich

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Ralph Vinovich was the Republican Liason (while Richard White was the Democratic Liason) at the Tobacco Institute in the mid 1980s.


Documents & Timeline

1928 June 23 Born

1984 July 2 He was at the Tobacco Institute

1986 Apr 17 The Tobacco Institute's Washington Working Group was convened by

[2]

1988 He was now a Vice President of TI 1988 (One of 19 + 4 Senior VPs)

1993 Sept Wayne Valis of Valis Associates report to the members of CURE. He has sent them a memo from Lewis R Freeman of the Society of Plastic Industries, re a Clinton-Gore White House meeting with CURE, over the "Pending Regulatory Executive Order." 

White House participants included:
  • Jack Quinn, Chief of Staff to Vice President Gore (who presided) [Quinn was also a lawyer-lobbyist for tobacco, before and after his White House/Gore service],
  • Sally Katzen, Administrator of the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget;
  • Robert Rubin, Assistant to President Clinton, for Economic Policy; and
  • Heather Ross (whose position, l do not recall being specified)
    [She was Special Assistant to the President]

Invitees to, the 2-hour meeting, in addition to me [Freeman], were representatives of the:

  • Business Roundtable (Deputy Executive Director Pat Engman and the BRTs General Counsel);
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Jeff Joseph, Vice President, Domestic Policy)
  • National Association of Manufacturers, Jim Carty, (Vice President,. Government Regulation and Competition);
  • National Federation of Independent Business (Wendy Lechner, Manager, Research and Policy Development);
  • National Small Business United (John Gailes, Exec. Vice President).
  • General Motors (Ronald Sykes, Sr, Washington Representative); and
  • lndustrial Biotechnology Association (two company representatives who are on the association's Board, one of whom, is with the agricultural busincss part of Monsanto).

Jack Quinn indicated that the proposed Executive Order was tentatively to be signed next Wednesday, Sep 29. We were permitted to review the draft, in considerable detail and take notes, but could not take a copy with us.

As I have briefed Wayne Valis and Thorne Auchter in some detail about the document and the meeting, they may be able to answer some questions if you can't reach, me. [3]

[The members of CURE may or may not have known that Thorne Auchter's IRP was a Philip Morris operation. Jack Quinn would have, but Gore and Clinton were probably not told. Clearly the Business group got most of what they were asking for in the Bush request for an Executive Order]

1993 Oct /E Towards the end of this year there was a reorganisation of the Tobacco Institute where:

  • The overall TI budget was proposed to be cut by 61%, from $38,925,000 down to $15,000,000
  • 38 staff positions were to be eliminated.
  • 34 staff were to be fired (15 professional and 19 support staff) -- $2m in termination costs.
  • Close all field offices -- terminate 5 Regional VPs
  • Freeze all salary reviews
  • Eliminate the Public Affairs and Federal Relations divisions and merge the remaining staff into Issues Management

Vinovich's position was not terminated, but many others were fired in November [4]

1993 Oct 4 Helen Sanders of Valis Associates (tobacco lobby firm) was sending this memo on a forthcoming Legislative Strategy Meeting to:

  • Ad Hoc Committee on Comparative Risk, and
  • Coalition for Uniform Risk Evaluation (CURE)

The list is a mixture of representatives, mainly from the energy and chemical industries (poisoning or polluting problems) + alcohol, the Business Roundtable, and Koch industries. Vinovich was representing the Tobacco Institute This organisation was nominally run by Lewis R Freeman Jr, VP Government Affairs for the Society of the Plastics Industry. However:

* Auchter used CURE letterhead,
* Auchter was a key contact man for the members.


Ralph Vinovich, President: Tobacco Institute Vice 12/13/84

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