JOHN T. CALKINS FILES, 1975-76

The John T. Calkins Files consist primarily of correspondence prepared by him during his one year tenure as executive assistant to presidential counsellor Robert T. Hartmann. The files document his numerous contacts with local, state, and national Republican Party officials and members of the general public. The files are arranged as subject and general correspondence series.

Calkins, formerly executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, joined the White House staff in January 1975 to help Hartmann develop wider contacts with Republican Party officials. Calkins brought with him 25 years of experience assisting various Republican congressmen and coordinating Republican Party financial support for congressional candidates. During 1975 Calkins worked with Hartmann assistant Gwen Anderson as White House contact for Republican Party officials. He answered letters on behalf of Hartmann or President Ford, prepared schedule proposals, drafted presidential letters to groups, and recommended appointments to federal boards and commissions.

President Ford's reluctance to involve his staff heavily in local Republican politics limited the effectiveness of Calkins' White House work. Calkins left the White House in January 1976 to run for Congress in a special primary election in New York's 39th congressional district. He lost. Following his departure Gwen Anderson assumed most of his duties, assisted by Douglas Smith.

The Calkins files primarily document his efforts to explain Ford administration policies to local Republican Party officials, and help make preparations for President Ford's presidential campaign prior to and immediately following the establishment of the President Ford Committee. Calkins also attempted to infuse various White House staff with a greater appreciation of the concerns of Republican politicians and the Republican National Committee. The files only indirectly document Calkins' difficulties on the job. The general absence of incoming correspondence and lack of substantive memoranda or notes from Hartmann or other senior presidential aides complicates a full assessment of Calkins' role in the White House.

Related Materials (March 1985)
The files of Gwen Anderson contain extensive materials on White House relations with state and local Republican Party officials and the Republican National Committee. Additional materials on President Ford's efforts on behalf of the Republican Party may be located in various subcategories of the White House Central Files category Political Affairs (PL). White House contacts with non-government organizations, including political party officials, are documented in the files of Domestic Council staff member James Falk.