Lee Greif has had a wide variety of jobs and careers in his lifetime, but the five years he spent in politics are definitely among his favorite. The early 1970s were turbulent times, but it was a great time to be associated with politics, and Greif is grateful that he had the opportunity to be an active participant. In 1971, during Peter Peyser’s inaugural term as a New York congressman, Peyser hired Greif to be his chief of staff. This was one of the best decisions Peyser could have made, because during his tenure as chief of staff, Greif led two campaigns that led to successful reelection bids.

Pete Peysers had become a capable and popular politician in his own right. Peysers was the democratic senator who represented the inner city of Chicago. Peysers had become a strong political advocate of Nelson Rockefeller, at one point they were actually very close friends. The two often consulted on potential policy decisions. Peysers’ connection to Rockefeller eventually gave Grief the opportunity to work with special and famous projects. Peysers’ gained much attention from the other senators because of his influential work on an array of projects. The projects were often difficult, but it was nothing Peyser could not accomplish.

During the early 1970s, there were very few events that demanded the attention or skills of Cheif of Staff Greif. However, one such occurrence that he did participate in, and is particularly proud of, was a Whitehouse dinner party hosted by President Nixon, and included three additional congressman and their chiefs of staff. Along with this dinner, Greif was also present at many political briefings with the Secretaries of State and Defense. And, due to his service for both political parties — as a Democrat during the Vietnam War and as a Republican during Watergate — he often had to defend policies that were not popular. Greif is able to recall two instance in particular where he had to defend things that were enacted by his former bosses and the president.

Lee Greif was acting as a chief of state in Washington in the early 1970’s. It was here where he met Randee, the woman who would be his first wife. Randee was working in Washington as a chief of staff for Missouri senator Thomas Eagleton. Greif and Randee became good friends with Eagleton. He was considered an upstanding gentleman and spent much time with Greif and Randee. Greif’s friendship with Eagleton was also a huge asset, as Eagleton was a dedicated public servant. Greif began to see him as a sort of role model and source of inspiration. Eagleton would eventually go on the ballot as Vice President for McGovern. The five years Grief was in Washington as chief of state for Peter Peyser served as an important and joyful time. He would apply the skills and knowledge he learned here to all other challenges in his life.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 at 4:19 am and is filed under Business, General.