President Obama Nominates John Sullivan for Federal Election Commission

President Barack Obama nominated John J. Sullivan to serve as Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission. Sullivan is a leader in the labor community and has been a staunch advocate for election reform and voter protection. Since 1997, Sullivan has served as the Associate General Counsel at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), where he advises one of the largest independent political programs in the country. From 1994 to 1997, Sullivan worked as Associate General Counsel for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), where he was responsible for union governance issues and the administration of the election provisions of the federal consent decree with the Teamsters Union. Prior to that, Sullivan worked as an associate and partner at the law firm of Guerrieri, Edmond & James, where he was involved in the firm's representation of railway and airline unions in federal court litigation, bankruptcy proceedings and before federal administrative agencies. From 1990 to 1992, Sullivan worked in the Office of the Election Officer at the IBT as the election protest coordinator and counsel to the court-appointed Election Officer. Sullivan has also represented the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in public employee organizing campaigns. Sullivan has extensive additional election experience. He contributed to the Florida recount efforts in the 2000 presidential election; helped coordinate union voter protection activities in the 2004 general election; was a member of the team that directed the successful recount in the 2004 Washington gubernatorial election; worked as an observer for elections in Ukraine; served on Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's Transition Team on Election Reform; served as the Vice President of the Montgomery County Board of Elections; and volunteered for voter protection efforts in Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania for the 2008 presidential primaries. Sullivan received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts-Boston and graduated with a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.