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Richard LaFollette Wright (born January 18, 1943) is an American political leader who held a number of positions at both the state and national level. He served as
chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
to the
governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...
in the Cabinet of Governor Jim Florio. He was National Finance Director in the presidential campaign of Senator
Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was a United States Senate, United States senator from New ...
. He worked on the energy task force of President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
and as a senior advisor in the
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...
. Prior to joining the government, he was Executive Director of
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
After living in
Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
in the 1990s he currently lives in the Belle Mead section of Montgomery Township, New Jersey, where he operates the LaFollette Vineyard and Winery.


Early life and education

He was born in
Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...
where his father was serving in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. He grew up in
Menlo Park, California Menlo Park ( ) is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, California, Eas ...
where he attended
Menlo-Atherton High School Menlo-Atherton High School (known as M-A to locals) is a four-year public high school secondary school located in Atherton, California. Menlo-Atherton is part of the Sequoia Union High School District.
. He received his B.A. from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
and his J.D. from the
University of California, Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was never the official name. This cam ...
(Boalt Hall). At Princeton, "Rick" Wright was a basketball teammate of All-American
Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was a United States Senate, United States senator from New ...
. He studied languages at the University in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. He is a distant member, on his mother's side, of the La Follette Wisconsin political family.


Federal service


Carter administration

After completing his work on the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
energy task force, he joined the staff of the newly created Department of Energy and Secretary James R. Schlesinger, working on the
National Energy Act The National Energy Act of 1978 (NEA78) was a legislative response by the U.S. Congress to the 1973 energy crisis. It includes the following statutes: * Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) () * Energy Tax Act () * National Energy ...
legislative package that the President had sent to Congress. He was appointed Director of Congressional Affairs. When Charles Duncan, Jr. became Secretary he was named Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, a position he held until the end the Carter presidency. In June, 1980 President Carter signed the Energy Security Act into law.


Clinton administration

He was appointed to consecutive terms on the National Advisory Council of the United States
Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and str ...
, first by Administrator Phillip Lader and in the second term by Administrator Aida Alvarez.


State government


Florio administration

He was named to the transition team to work on auto insurance reform. He joined the administration as Associate State Treasurer. He became the governor's lead on large economic development projects. He was named Chief of Staff.


Corzine administration

He was named the co-chair of the transition team Energy Policy Transition Group. He joined the Office of Economic Growth and worked with a team to coordinate the drafting of the New Jersey Energy Master Plan.


Politics


Bradley presidential campaign

During the presidential campaign of Bill Bradley he served as both National Finance Director and Chairman of the Finance Committee. His team matched Vice President
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
's fund raising dollar for dollar. The Bradley campaign initially relied on a loyal group of donors developed over many years which included long time New Jersey political supporters, friends from Princeton, professional athletes, and corporate leaders. Fundraising events were organized around enthusiastic new supporters all over the country, many of whom had never participated in the political process before. An internet site for fundraising was developed for the first time and it produced a steady stream of revenue. The effort greatly expanded the national democratic donor lists. Prior to this campaign he had worked in various capacities for a number of candidates. He was a volunteer for Bobby Kennedy in California in 1968 and served as Carol Bellamy's campaign manager in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
in 1972. He worked in a number of
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and national campaigns as an organizer, fund raiser, policy person and campaign manager.


Non-profit

* Amnesty International: directed the Washington Office from 1975 to 1977. *
Union of Concerned Scientists The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a nonprofit science advocacy organization based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. Anne Kapuscinski, Professor of Environment ...
: board member in the 1980s and 1990s. * Fund for New Jersey: board member since 1996.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Richard L. 1943 births Living people UC Berkeley School of Law alumni State cabinet secretaries of New Jersey Chiefs of staff to the governor of New Jersey People from Menlo Park, California Princeton Tigers men's basketball players People from Corpus Christi, Texas People from Montgomery Township, New Jersey Politicians from Princeton, New Jersey New Jersey Democrats La Follette family American men's basketball players