Pocket Profile: Frank Maisano

Maisano: I was really an ace in politics when I was in college, and I was a really good government student when I was in high school. So, I really wanted to get involved in politics … and [eventually] be a congressman.

I started working for Sen. [Dick] Lugar [of Indiana who] was a real champion of politics and policy, and was highly respected around the world. And then I went to work for … Bill Schuette, who was a [Republican] congressman [from Michigan] at the time.

But I really got the buzz when I worked for [Republican Rep.] Toby Roth [of Wisconsin]. And that’s when I really learned how … relationship[s] meant a lot with reporters. And you could be a helping hand, and that it would benefit you or your principal in the end, if you were seen as a reliable resource with valuable information.

So, that was really the start of it.

When I was working with Toby Roth I used to do a million, out-of-the-box things to get coverage, to get people to report on what the boss was doing in Washington, and to get them to put it in their newspapers and on radio stations back in Wisconsin.

So, I did really crazy, creative stuff that was … a very aggressive media approach. So that’s really where I got the bug. At the same time though, I traveled a lot with him and I saw the life that the congressman was living.

But it really kind of cured me of any kind of notion that I wanted to be a congressman. Because … it was just a lot. People were always asking you questions, and … Toby Roth, he wanted to help everybody. He viewed everybody as somebody that he could help, and somebody who would eventually be a potential voter.

It was an eye-opening experience for me from a tactical standpoint. I learned all kinds of creative ways that [make for a] good [public relations] person. I learned the fundamental principle of relationship-building. And at the same time I learned I didn’t want to be a congressman because of the challenges and the nature of the business.

Examiner: What do you do on your down time?

Maisano: I can do this job pretty aggressively and still have a personal life. I can still go out and referee sports that I like to referee. I can still catch my kids’ sports games. In the summer we travel to their tournaments and things like that. So, I like the fact that I can do that, but at the same time it’s the kind of a job where … no matter where you are, or what you do, you have to be ready to help reporters and speak on behalf of your clients. Because you never know when the Obama administration is going to roll out something on a Friday afternoon.

Examiner: When did you start refereeing sporting events?

Maisano: When I was younger and working on Capitol Hill, I was a college basketball referee. But the travel got to be so much and as I moved up into the ranks … I couldn’t travel the way I used to travel. So I kind of had to back out of that.

But I wanted to stay in stuff. And I was an ice hockey player and skater. So, I started reffing ice hockey just because I could skate and I was a good referee. And so it was local to my house and I didn’t have to travel far.

Since then, I have always done football, which was always a Friday evening thing for me. And just recently my daughter, as she got old enough to start officiating herself, she wanted to referee her sports, which are lacrosse and field hockey. So, I kind of just jumped in with her … I started refereeing with her, and I actually love those other sports. So, I referee those sports as well, field hockey and lacrosse, and I get to do it with my kids, which is a thrill in itself.

This article appears in the Sept. 28 edition of the Washington Examiner magazine.