Avianna Panetta

**Avianna Moreno Panetta** (born September 10, 1962) is an American politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2013, a U.S. Representative from Michigan from 1999 to 2007, and a senior White House staffer in the Clinton Administration.

Panetta was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is a graduate of Pioneer High School and the University of Michigan. She began her career as a legislative assistant to future Senate Majority Leader Steny Engel, working her way up to senior advisor. In 1993, she was appointed White House Director of Political Affairs under President Bill Clinton. She served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for operations from 1994 to 1997 and Counselor to the President from 1997 to 1999.

In 1998, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She served in the leadership, first as Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee from 1999 to 2001 and then as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus from 2001 to 2005.

In 2005, she succeeded Terry McAuliffe as Chair of the Democratic National Committee and held the position until 2013. She was the longest serving Chair of the DNC since 1940.

Panetta was elected governor in the 2014 gubernatorial election, defeating incumbent Republican Andrew Barnes. She has served as the Chair of the Democratic Governors Association since January 2015.

## Early life and education

Panetta was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Both of her parents, Michael Panetta and Julia Panetta, were high school teachers. She graduated from Pioneer High School (then known as Ann Arbor High School) in 1980. During the summer of that year, she worked as an intern on President Jimmy Carter's re-election campaign in Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan and graduated with a Bachelor of Public Administration in 1984.

## Congressional Staffer (1984-1993)

Immediately after graduating college, Panetta was hired as a legislative assistant in the Office of U.S. Senator Steny Engel. She also worked as a policy aide on his 1984 re-election campaign. After two years as a legislative assistant Panetta was promoted to executive assistant. In her new position, she became a close confidant to Engel and acted as liaison for the him with the office staff, committee staff, other members of Congress, Capitol Hill staff, and the public. Panetta was appointed by Engel as his senior advisor in 1988. In this capacity, Panetta was one of Engel's closest policy and political advisors. On several occasions, she negotiated legislative deals on behalf of Engel.

Panetta remained Engel's Senior Advisor until 1993, when she joined the Clinton Administration. She remains a close friend and political ally of Engel to this day.

## Clinton White House (1993-1999)

When Bill Clinton's administration took office in 1993, Panetta was appointed Director of the White House Office of Political Affairs.

In mid-1994, Panetta was promoted to Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Operations by incoming Chief of Staff Leon Panetta (no relation). She served in this role until 1997, helping manage the day to day operations of the White House and negotiating the passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which included the Violence Against Women Act and a ban on assault weapons. She persuaded President Clinton to sign Executive Order 12958, which led to an unprecedented effort to declassify millions of pages from the U.S. diplomatic and national security history. She also urged Clinton to intervene militarily in the Rwandan Genocide but was unable to convince him.

Panetta worked closely with the office of First Lady Hillary Clinton to attempt the passage of major healthcare reform, but was ultimately unsuccessful. However, she was successful in helping pass the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Children's Health Insurance Program. Panetta urged Clinton to veto the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which she believed would hurt Americans living in poverty by cutting welfare.

In 1996, Chris Dodd, the General Chair of the Democratic National Committee, appointed Panetta as an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee, a position which she has continuously occupied since.

At the beginning of Clinton's second term in 1997, Panetta was appointed Counselor to the President. She became a close advisor to President Clinton and successfully convinced him to commit U.S. military forces to an intervention in the Balkans to stop atrocities being committed by forces led by Serbian nationalist Slobodan Milošević.

## U.S. House of Representatives (1999-2007)

In 1998, Panetta announced that she was running for Congress in the 16th District of Michigan, which included her home town of Ann Arbor, to succeed longtime incumbent John Dingell. Clinton allowed Panetta to stay on as Counselor to the President in a reduced capacity. She handily won the Democratic primary after obtaining the endorsements of Clinton, Dingell, and other Democrats. She won the general election with 67% of the vote. She was re-elected in 2000 with 71% of the vote, in 2002 with 72% of the vote, and in 2004 with 71% of the vote.

Upon being sworn in, Panetta already enjoyed strong relationships with members of Congress due to her work in the Clinton Administration and as a staffer on Capitol Hill. She was chosen to serve as Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. During her second term, she became Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, a post she retained until 2005.

During her tenure, Panetta established herself as a strongly liberal member of Congress. She voted against legislation authorizing the Iraq War and received an F rating from the National Rifle Association. In 2005, govtrack.us ranked her as the 31st most liberal member of the House of Representatives.

## Chair of the Democratic National Committee (2005-2013)

After poor Democratic results in the 2004 elections, Panetta was encouraged to seek the Chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee to revitalize the party's electoral prospects. In January 2005, she was elected Chair of the DNC, narrowly defeating former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. In order to fully focus on her new job, she did not run for re-election to the House of Representatives in 2006.

During her tenure, she promoted a "fifty-state strategy" and developed innovative fund-raising strategies that helped propel Democrats to major national victories in the 2006 and 2008 elections.

Following the 2008 elections, as President Corning prepared to take office, Panetta was mentioned in media reports as a possible pick for White House Chief of Staff. It was reported that Corning had initially selected Panetta and then later changed her mind, appointing Virginia Governor Caroline Molloy to the position instead.

In early 2012, Panetta announced that she would step down as DNC Chair following the 2012 elections.

From 2003 to 2014, Panetta was a member of the board of directors of the Center for American Progress.

Panetta was the longest serving Chair of the DNC since 1940.

## Governor of Michigan (2015-2017)

Panetta defeated incumbent Republican governor Andrew Barnes in the 2014 Michigan gubernatorial election.