Lyn Nofziger

Franklyn Curran "Lyn" Nofziger (June 8, 1924 – March 27, 2006) was an American journalist, conservative Republican political consultant and author. He served as press secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration as Governor of California, and as a White House advisor during the Richard Nixon administration and again during the Reagan presidency.

Early years

Nofziger was born and reared in Bakersfield, California. Politically conservative by the time he attended high school, he worked on the school newspaper. He served in the United States Army and then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from San Jose State College in San Jose, California, and later worked for sixteen years as a reporter, editor and Washington, D.C., correspondent for Copley Newspapers and Copley News Service.

In 1966, Nofziger was named press secretary for Ronald Reagan's successful gubernatorial campaign in California, and served two years as Governor Reagan's Director of Communications.

Nixon years

After Richard Nixon's election as U.S. President in 1968, Nofziger served the Nixon White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations and the Republican National Committee as its Deputy chairman for Communications. Nofziger worked for Nixon's presidential re-election campaign in 1972 as executive director of the California Committee for the Re-Election of the President. John Dean, Nixon's White House counsel, wrote that Nofziger had helped compile the Nixon White House's enemies list.

As Governor Reagan set his sights on the Republican presidential nomination in 1976, Nofziger served his campaign as Press Secretary, Convention Director and Director of the California campaign. When Gerald Ford won the Republican nomination, Nofziger assisted with the Ford-Dole campaign, which lost the election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Nofziger went back to work for Governor Reagan as he began laying the groundwork for the 1980 campaign, serving as executive vice-chairman of Citizens for the Republic, a political action committee founded by Reagan. With the run at the White House in full gear in 1979, Mr. Nofziger served as deputy chairman for finance for the Reagan for President organization. Reagan won the election, defeating Carter's campaign for a second term.

Nofziger never sought to be Press Secretary in the White House, this being in his words "a young man's job". James Brady was named Press Secretary. Nofziger was instead named to the post of Assistant to the President for Political Affairs at the White House, and was employed there for about a year. Mr. Nofziger was a senior consultant for the 1984 Reagan-Bush Re-Election Campaign and a member of the 1985 Inaugural Committee.

Nofziger also ran political campaigns for Pat Buchanan and Steve Forbes.

Wedtech scandal

In 1987, Nofziger was investigated for allegedly violating the Ethics in Government Act when he lobbied in behalf of Wedtech Corporation, a defense contractor. Under this law, former government officials could not lobby their former office for a period of two years. Nofziger knew this, and for two years, he did not lobby the Office of Political Affairs at the White House. Federal prosecutors claimed the law made it illegal for Nofziger to contact any office at the White House. In spite of the ambiguity, Nofziger was indicted and later convicted of violating the law. Nofziger vigorously fought the indictment and conviction, which was eventually overturned on appeal. The government pressed its case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which refused to reinstate the conviction.

Memoir

Nofziger's political memoir, titled Nofziger, was published in October 1992 by Regnery Publishing. He wrote four Western novels with a hero named Tackett, a drifter who falls into situations that compel him to rescue women in distress. The Tackett series was an homage to Nofziger's friend, Louis L'Amour, famed author of "The Sacketts" and scores of other Westerns.

Death

Nofziger died at his home in Falls Church, Virginia of cancer at the age of 81.

Anti-metrication

Nofziger and Frank Mankiewicz were major players in halting the 1970s metrication effort in the United States, largely by convincing President Ronald Reagan to shut down the United States Metric Board.

Works

Autobiography

• Nofziger; Lyn Nofziger; Regnery Publishing (September 1992); ISBN 0-89526-513-3

Other works

• The Tacketts; Lyn Nofziger; Jameson Books (May 2004); ISBN 0-915463-85-7
• Unbridled Joy: The Verse of Joy Skilmer; Lyn Nofziger; MND Books (April 10, 2000); ISBN 0-940847-13-2

Quotes

I sometimes lie awake at night trying to think of something funny that Richard Nixon said.

I think the American people have become more reliant upon government and less reliant upon themselves and that they now tend to put security ahead of freedom, but I think freedom is the most important aspect of our lives.

One of the things that bothers me most is the growing belief in the country that security is more important than freedom. It ain't.