CEA Chairman Darrell Issa Elected To Congress, Believed To Be First Sitting Trade Association Chairman Elected To House Of Representatives

13-Nov-00

Darrel Issa, chairman of the Board of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and President and CEO of CEA member Directed Electronics, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 48th congressional district in California. Issa won his seat as the Republican nominee with 61 percent of the vote. This is believed to be the first time that a sitting chairman of a major trade association chair has been elected to Congress.""It is exciting and an incredible precedent to have a sitting chairman of our association elected to Congress,"" said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. ""We are thrilled that Congress will benefit from Darrell's business, trade association and trade show experience. His expertise will be extremely helpful as Congress continues to debate key public policy issues related to technology.""Issa is finishing the second term as CEA Chairman. Previously, he served as Vice Chairman (1997-98) and as Chairman of CEA's Mobile Electronics Division (1995-96). As a volunteer leader, Issa helped merge the Custom Auto Sound Association into CEA in 1993, initiate the Mobile Electronics Certification Program, and create a strong independent CEA. In addition, Issa helped grow the International CES - owned, managed and produced by CEA - which this year attracted more than 126,000 trade attendees and more than 1,500 exhibitors in over 1.1 million of net square feet of exhibit space.""Darrell understands business. He understands the importance of consensus building. And he understands the vast opportunities and challenges presented by the new economy,"" Shapiro said. ""All of these skills will serve him well as he enters his new position and gives our industry another friend in the Congress."" Source: CEA

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