Election-year politics rile FCC members: Chairman Martin refuses to leave top post

The future makeup of the Federal Communications Commission has become ensnarled in election-year politics, with sources saying Republican Chairman Kevin Martin has refused to commit to leaving the agency in January if a Democratic wins the White House as part of a deal that would clear the way for the Senate to confirm Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Deborah Taylor Tate to new terms on the agency.
The controversy could put the reappointments of Adelstein, a Democrat, and Tate, a Republican who has been a close Martin ally, at risk if Democrats who control Congress decide not to move on the nominations this year.
Tate was nominated to a new term by President Bush last June, when her current term expired. She can continue to serve until Congress adjourns. Adelstein, whose term is up this June, was appointed by Bush to a new term in November.
There are conflicting stories on how the deal was choreographed and the roles of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Adelstein in how the proposal played out at the FCC.
An FCC source said “the chairman is not prepared to step down on a certain date. He is not willing to say that he will automatically resign at a certain time. He is not willing to say he will do it.” The source asserted Adelstein went to Martin to try to get the chairman to agree in a letter to Reid to leave by a date certain, adding it would be premature for Martin to make such a commitment because a Republican — Sen. John McCain of Arizona — could be the next occupant of the White House.
A Reid spokesman declined to comment.
The political wrangling over FCC nominations was first reported by Multichannel News.