LA TIMES, 2005 - At least 17 senators and 11 members of the House have children, spouses or other close relatives who lobby or work as consultants, most in Washington, according to lobbyist reports, financial-disclosure forms and other state and federal records. Many are paid by clients who count on the related lawmaker for support.

But Harry Reid is in a class by himself. One of his sons and his son-in-law lobby in Washington for companies, trade groups and municipalities seeking Reid's help in the Senate. A second son has lobbied in Nevada for some of those same interests, and a third has represented a couple of them as a litigator.

In the last four years alone, their firms have collected more than $2 million in lobbying fees from special interests that were represented by the kids and helped by the senator in Washington. So pervasive are the ties among Reid, members of his family and Nevada's leading industries and institutions that it's difficult to find a significant field in which such a relationship does not exist. 7/03

Rep John Boozman (R-Ark.) hired Sen. Tim Hutchinson's (R-Ark.) ex-wife as a top aide. The senator obtained an uncontested divorce in August of 1999 after nearly 29 years of marriage. A year later, he married one of his former staffers.

Robert Kennedy's brother Ted is in the Senate

Ted Kennedy's son Patrick is in the House

Alan Lowenthal is in the state senate of California. His ex-wife Bonnie is on the Long Beach city council. Alan's son Daniel has announced for a Los Angeles Superior Court judgeship, Daniel's wife Suja is president of the Long Beach school district, and Alan and Bonnie's other son, Josh, is considering a run for the Long Beach city council

LA TIMES, 2005 - At least 39 members of Congress have engaged in the controversial practice of paying their spouses, children or other relatives out of campaign funds, or have hired companies in which a family member had a financial interest, records and interviews show. House campaign funds have paid more than $3 million to lawmakers' relatives over the last two election cycles, records show. . .

- Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), whose wife, Rhonda, is now paid $40,000 a year to run his campaign. Over the last four years, she has received $114,894, records show.

- Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R) paid his wife and brother $357,325 from his political fund over the last four years for duties listed as bookkeeping, fundraising, consulting and other unspecified services, records show. The amount paid to Pombo's family members in the last election cycle was more than his opponent spent on his entire campaign. Pombo declined to be interviewed.

- The campaign fund of Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) paid $251,853 to her husband's firm, according to the candidate's campaign filings. She was followed by Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-North Hollywood), $205,500; Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego), $154,504; and Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), $152,362.

- Altogether, at least 10 lawmakers in the 53-member California House delegation have hired family members, according to records and interviews.

- Rep. Pete Stark (D-Hayward) paid his wife, Deborah, $119,000 from his campaign fund over the last four years to serve as his campaign manager, records show. In the last election, she earned $2,400 a month as campaign manager and was awarded a $2,400 bonus.

- In addition, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) paid her son, a lawyer, $130,000 over four years to run her political action committee, according to her campaign filings. . .

Rep. Nancy Pelosi is the daughter of former Baltimore mayor Thomas D'Alexandro Jr. and the sister of former Baltimore mayor Thomas D'Alexandro III

Linda Sanchez and Loretta Sanchez are both members of the House effective 2003.

Jerry Brown, mayor of Oakland and a former governor, is the son of the late governor, Pat Brown.

- Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif.: Cousin Ken Costa made about $45,000 for serving as a co-campaign manager last year.

- Connecticut Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman: Son Matthew received about $34,000 and daughter Rebecca about $36,000 for working on the senator's 2004 presidential campaign.

- Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash.: Nephew Todd Reichert was paid $3,000 in 2004, plus several hundred dollars for mileage, for serving as driver.

ARKANSAS SECRETARY OF STATE CHARLIE Daniels' "son works for him, as does his son's wife. The architect for the Capitol dome restoration project is the husband of a veteran employee of the secretary of state's office. A contractor on the promenade project of 2004 was related to Daniels' chief deputy." - John Brummett, Arkansas News

Arkansas Lt. Governor candidate, Drew Pritt, a Democrat, is the son of Reverend Doctor Troy L. Pritt a prominent former City Councilman and retired Presbyterian pastor in Arkansas. Pritt is also the cousin of former West Virginia State Senator Charlotte Pritt, who was the nominee for governor in 1996 in West Virginia. Her brother, who was her campaign manager, became head of the DMV in 2000 and was a candidate for Secretary of State in 2004

The brother of Rep, Silvestre Reyes, a Democrat is Chuy Reyes, head of the El Paso County Water Improvement District.

Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn.: Sister-in-law Sharon Davis has been his campaign treasurer since 1994,and daughter Libby Davis was his campaign coordinator in the last half of 2004. Libby Davis was paid about $2,334 a month; Sharon Davis was paid about $1,000 a month for bookkeeping last year.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, employs his wife, Kathy, as his campaign manager. She was paid $21,791 over four months, including a $7,500 bonus in 2004 [San Francisco Chronicle].

- Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Ky.), whose wife, Kayi, receives $40,000 a year from the congressman's campaign fund to serve as his campaign manager [LA Times, 2005]

Tom DeLay's wife, Christine DeLay, and daughter, Dani DeLay Ferro, received more than $500,000 from DeLay's national political action committee, AMPAC, his House campaign committees, and the closely aligned Texans for a Republican Majority. DeLay's wife made over $4,000 a month from AMPAC. His daughter also got a sweet chunk of the pie. Since 2003, she received over $3,500 each month from DeLay's national political action committee, AMPAC. Through her consulting firm, she also raked in $222,000 in fees from DeLay's House campaign committees. - Progress Report 2/05

U.S.Representative Hale Boggs died in a plane crash over the Alaskan wilderness. His wife Corinne "Lindy" Boggs took over his seat and served numerous terms. There daughter is ABC and NPR correspondent Cokie Roberts whose deceased sister was mayor of Princeton NJ. Roberts's brother is Thomas Boggs, a powerful Washington lobbyist with close connections to the Clinton machine.

Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.), daughter of former Georgia state representative Billy McKinney.

Kendrick Meek won the Florida House seat of his mother, Carrie Meek.

Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-Tex.), is the son of former Rep. Henry Gonzalez.

Elizabeth Dole is the wife of Bob Dole, is Senator-elect from North Carolina.

There will be two Diaz-Balarts brothers in the House in 2003, both representing Florida as Republicans.

Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) succeeded his father in the 1996 election.

The the sons of Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn became Bush's press secretary and Medicare director

Strom Thurmond Jr. is the U.S. Attorney for South Carolina. He is 29. His father retired as the oldest member of the Senate.

In Virginia, State Delegate Bryan Moran is the brother of US Representative James Moran.

A sister of a former top adviser to Gov. Jeb Bush was hired to a $77,000 a year job overseeing Florida's public schools. The state also hired the wife of one of Bush's agency heads as an education policy analyst at more than $33 an hour.

In Arkansas, Lt. Governor Win Paul Rockefeller is the son of the late Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.

Senator Al Gore's son Al became a senator and then ran unsuccessfully for president.

Arkansas Senator Tim Hutchinson's brother Asa was named DEA director by Bush.

Alabama governor Jim Folsom's son Jim became governor of Alabama. Little Jim's wife ran unsuccessfully for Congress.

Mary Landrieu (D-La.), is the daughter of a New Orleans mayor.

CARL HULSE, NY TIMES, 2005 - With a pierced tongue, a goatee and previous employment as the owner of a record store and label called Seven Dead Arson, the young man is not a typical buttoned-down Washington lobbyist. But Joshua Hastert, 27, does have something increasingly common in lobbying circles - family ties to a Congressional leader. Mr. Hastert is the eldest son of J. Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House. Chester T. Lott Jr., the son of Senator Trent Lott, is a registered lobbyist. Linda Daschle, the wife of Senator Tom Daschle, is a senior public policy adviser at one of Washington's premier lobbying firms, serving aviation interests.

HOWARD KURTZ, WASHINGTON POST - Los Angeles Times reporter Ron Brownstein told readers that he didn't intend to treat John McCain any differently, despite the fact that Brownstein's wife, former CNN producer Eileen McMenamin, has become the Arizona senator's communications director. "I am confident that her new job will not affect my judgments," he wrote.

The daughter of Tom Oliphant of the Boston Globe worked on the Kerry campaign.

Fox News has named Greg Kelly, con of the NYPD Commissioner, Raymond Kelly as its White House correspondent.

Julie Meyers, nominated to be head of customs and immigration enforcement is the wife of the chief of staff of Homeland Security and tne neice of Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The chair of the FCC, Kevin Martin, is married to Catherine Martin, who is a special assistant to the president on economic policy and has worked as an adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney.

George Herbert Bert Walker III, a cousin of the Bush presidents, is U.S. ambassador to Hungary.

ELIZABETH CHENEY, daughter of the vice president is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Of State For Near Eastern Affairs And Coordinator For Broader Middle East And North Africa Initiatives. Her husband, Philip Perry, is chief counsel for the Office of Management and Budget.

Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. is OMB Director and his sister, Deborah Daniels, is an assistant attorney general.

Bush named the wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) as his labor secretary

Chuck James works at the Justice Department. His wife, Kay Coles James, is the director of the Office of Personnel Management, and his father, Charles Sr., is a top Labor Department official.

Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao is married to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

Labor Department Solicitor Eugene Scalia is the son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

George Bush's son George W. is president

George W.'s brother Jeb is governor of Florida

George H.W.'s nephew, John M. Walker Jr, is a judge on the US Court of Appeals.

Bush Secretary of State Powell's son Michael was named chair of the Federal Communications Commission.

Democratic Rep. Daniel Lipinski is the son of Rep. William O. Lipinski (D)

Democratic state representative candidate Kevin Joyce is the son of former state senator Jeremiah Joyce.

Chicago alderman Ike Carrothers is the son of former Alderman Bll Carrothers.

Chicago Alderman Ed Burke is married to state appellate judge Ann Burke

Chicago Alderman Todd Stroger is the son of Cook County Board President John Stroger

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is the son of former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley

Illinois Govrenor Rod Blagojavich is the son-in-law of 33rd ward alderman Richard Mell

Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes is the son of former Cook County Democratic Party chair Tom Hynes

Illinois State Senator Lisa Madigan is the daughter of Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Michael Madigan.

Illinois State Representative Todd Stroger is the son of Cook County Board President John Stroger

Illinois State Representative Harry Osterman is the son of former State Representative Kathy Osterman

Illinois State Representative Daniel Burke is the brother of Chicago alderman and Chair of the Finance Committee Ed Burke

Illinois State Representative Michael McAuliffe is the son of former State Representative Michael McAuliffe

NY city council speaker Peter Vallone's son Peter Vallone Jr. won a city council seat in 2001. Councilwoman Una Clarke's daughter, Yvette Clarke, was elected in Flatbush. And Erik Martin Dilán, the son of Councilman Martin Malavé-Dilán, won the Council seat in Bushwick.

NYC Comptroller Alan Hevesi's son is in the state senate.

JOHN KERRY, the 2004 Democratic candidate for president, is a Skull & Bones brother of George W. Bush and is married to the widow of a Republican senator.

John Sununu, 1st district congressman and newly elected senator, is son of John Sununu, former governor and White House chief of staff.

Charlie Bass, 2nd district congressman is the son of Perkins Bass, former congressman.

Senator Judd Gregg is the son of Hugh Gregg, former governor.

Bill Clinton's wife Hillary is in the Senate and is now running for President. Interesting article on this nepotism

Bill Clinton's half-brother Roger got a presidential pardon

Webster Hubbell had to leave his post as deputy attorney general in order to serve a little jail time, but his wife held on to her job at Interior.

Clinton trade representative Barshefsky's husband, Ed Cohen, got a job at the Solicitor's Office

Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt's Chief of Staff was Ann Shields, wife of former Democratic campaign strategist Mark Shields who was also a CNN and PBS political commentator and Washington Post columnist

According to the National Wilderness Institute, Rep. Congressman Gerry Studd's companion was given a job at the Minerals Management Service while Studds was Chairman of the Committee that had jurisdiction over Interior.