STEPHEN G. McCONAHEY FILES, 1975-77

Stephen McConahey joined the White House staff on September 7, 1975 as the Domestic Council's Associate Director for Transportation. He later was named Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs on January 28, 1976, inheriting the responsibilities of Associate Director James H. Falk, who had resigned at the end of 1975. The McConahey files consist of materials accumulated by him during his tenure in both positions; they also include files of Margo Boyle, who served as one of his assistants, March to May 1976. The majority of the material concerns intergovernmental affairs.

Drawing on his past experiences as director of the Department of Transportation's Office of Transit Management, McConahey worked both with government officials, especially Transportation Secretary William Coleman, and industry representatives in developing and evaluating federal transportation policies. He conducted analyses of transportation problems, developed and presented policy positions to White House staff and outside groups, and participated in the development of transportation legislation. Areas of concern included highway and airport development, urban mass transit, railroad reorganization, highway safety, no fault automobile insurance, and regulatory reform. McConahey's files include a small amount of material compiled by his predecessor, Michael Raoul-Duval; the files of Judith Hope, who succeeded McConahey as Associate Director, include materials passed on by both of her predecessors.

McConahey's appointment as Special Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs, a newly created position, reflected the President's desire to improve the intergovernmental relations capabilities of the Executive branch. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, in a memo to the President of December 15, 1975, on his review of the nation's domestic programs (See WHCF-OA 5789), had recommended the creation of an Executive Office of Intergovernmental Coordination in the White House. As part of his new responsibilities, McConahey prepared an analysis (sent to the President by the Domestic Council's Executive Director James Cannon in May 1976) of the White House intergovernmental function, also suggesting an expanded Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Although Cannon and McConahey requested a meeting with Ford to discuss the matter, such a conference does not appear to have ever taken place. Intergovernmental affairs continued to be a Domestic Council concern throughout the Ford presidency.

As special assistant with responsibility for liaison with state, county, and local officials, intergovernmental organizations, and public interest groups, McConahey sought to monitor and respond to important intergovernmental matters such as community development, block grants, and agricultural, environmental, and welfare policies. His major objectives were: 1.) to comment on program and policy decisions made by White House staff; 2.) to maintain a consultation process with state and local officials; 3.) to improve Executive Branch support of intergovernmental activities by meeting with agency and department representatives; 4.) to undertake substantive analyses of specific issues such as public employee bargaining and state and local financial problems; and 5.) to provide staff support for the president by preparing briefing material and arranging and attending meetings with state and local officials as well as handling day-to-day communications with such officials and public interest groups.

McConahey thus had routine contacts with the Office of Management and Budget, the Domestic Council, and other White House staff. He also frequently corresponded or met with state governors, mayors and other local official and representatives of intergovernmental organizations such as the Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs, the National Association of Counties, the National Governors' Conference, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

McConahey's files include correspondence, memoranda, background material, meeting notes and schedule proposals, material prepared for the President's briefing book for the 1976 campaign, and comments on enrolled bills. A small amount of material is addressed to McConahey's predecessor James Falk; a few items were handled by McConahey's assistant Patrick Delaney.

Related Materials (May 1982)
Related material can be found in a number of other Domestic Council files, particularly those of Michael Raoul-Duval and Judith Hope (Transportation); and James H. Falk, Rayburn D. Hanzlik, and James M. Cannon (Intergovernmental Affairs). White House Central Files categories TR (Transportation) and FG 69 (Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Affairs) also contain additional material.