Coleen Rowley

Coleen Rowley (born December 20, 1954) is a former FBI agent and whistleblower, and was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota in 2006. She lost the general election to Republican incumbent John Kline.^[1]

Background

Rowley grew up in New Hampton, Iowa and graduated valedictorian of her high school class in 1973. Her father was a letter carrier for 31 years. She attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, graduating in 1977 with a degree in French. In 1980, she received her Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law and passed the Iowa Bar Exam. She is married and has four children.

Shortly after she became a Special Agent with the FBI, Rowley was assigned to the Omaha, Nebraska and Jackson, Mississippi Divisions. Beginning in 1984, she spent six years working in the New York Office on investigations involving organized crime. She also served in the U.S. embassy in Paris, and the consulate in Montreal. In 1990, she was assigned to the FBI's Minneapolis office where she became the chief legal adviser to the office.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Rowley wrote a paper for FBI Director Robert Mueller documenting how FBI HQ personnel in Washington, D.C., had mishandled and failed to take action on information provided by the Minneapolis, Minnesota Field Office regarding its investigation of suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. This individual had been suspected of being involved in preparations for a suicide-hijacking similar to the December, 1994, "Eiffel Tower" hijacking of Air France 8969. Failures identified by Rowley may have left the U.S. vulnerable to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Rowley testified in front of the Senate and for the 9/11 Commission about the FBI's internal organization and mishandling of information related to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Director Mueller and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) pushed hard and got a major reorganization, focused on creation of the new Office of Intelligence at the FBI. This reorganization was supported with a significant expansion of FBI personnel with counter terrorism and language skills.

Rowley retired from the FBI in 2004 after 24 years with the agency.

Mrs. Rowley jointly held the TIME "Person of the Year" award in 2002 with two other women credited as whistleblowers: Sherron Watkins from Enron and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom.

Political career

In May 2005, Rowley announced that she was considering running against incumbent Representative John Kline for Minnesota's 2nd District seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2006. At the time of her announcement, she had been living in Apple Valley, Minnesota for 15 years. Previously she had voted and identified as a Republican, but on June 27, 2005, Rowley announced that she was entering the race as a DFLer, and officially kicked off her campaign at her home on July 6.

On August 18, 2005 she attended a vigil in Crawford, TX outside President George W. Bush's ranch requesting that the president meet with Cindy Sheehan to answer Sheehan's questions regarding the War in Iraq and the death of Sheehan's son.

On January 3, 2006, a professionally retouched image appeared without authorization on the Rowley campaign website. This image depicted Kline as Colonel Klink from Hogan's Heroes. Representative Kline objected to the photo. The campaign removed the image the same day and initiated an investigation. Rowley apologized quickly.^[2] The Kline campaign also accused a Rowley supporter, David Bailey, of attempting to make a cash contribution to Kline’s campaign. A cash contribution is not legal and Kline subsequently asserted that this constituted an effort to undermine his campaign apparatus.^[3]

Representative John Murtha (D-PA) endorsed Rowley. He visited the district during the campaign and held a rally for Rowley at the local VFW, while veterans protested against them outside.^[3] The Rowley campaign subsequently focused efforts on veterans' groups and others with experience that relates directly to the war in Iraq. Obtaining financing for her campaign proved difficult. Opposing an incumbent conservative such as Kline in a conservative district did not attract money from the most robust of Democratic resources such as the DNC.^[4]

Kline's campaign achieved a 2-1 advantage in raising funds ^[5] and he retained his seat.

References

1. ^ "Results from Congressional District 02". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
2. ^ Gordon, Greg (2006-01-30), "Rowley issues apology to Rep. John Kline over his depiction on website", Star Tribune 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Campaign staffer for Rep. Kline caught on tape using racial slur". News Sentinel (2006-09-20). Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
4. ^ Melo, Frederick (2006-12-19). "What's a Rowley lawn sign go for?". TwinCities.com. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
5. ^ Meggen, Lindsay (2006-11-03). "KLINE LEADS ROWLEY IN FUNDRAISING, 2-1", St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved on 22 February 2007. 

External links

• Coleen Rowley's website
• PBS NOW biography
• Rowley's Website depicting Representative Kline as Colonel Klink
• Pioneer Press article on Rowley campaigns apology
• The Purity of Coleen Rowley, Mother Jones, March/April 2006 issue
• Coleen Rowley's Memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller, May 21, 2002