COLLECTION FINDING AID



ROBERT QUARTEL PAPERS, 1975-76

Presidential Clemency Board Staff;
President Ford Committee Answer Desk Coordinator;




SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

This collection consists primarily of correspondence, memoranda, briefing material, quotes, newspaper articles, fact sheets, polling research, and newsletters related to the 1976 Presidential Campaign. Much of the material consists of letters from the public requesting information on President Ford’s positions on issues, and the responses of the President Ford Committee Answer Desk to those letters. Also included is a series of Presidential Clemency Board reports documenting performance measurement and analyzing the process of deciding cases of individuals who applied for clemency.

QUANTITY
3.8 linear feet (ca. 7,600 pages)

DONOR
Robert Quartel (2010-NLF-017)

ACCESS
Open. Some items may be temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
Robert Quartel donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Jerry Marshall, December 2012
[s:\bin\findaid\quartel, Donald Robert – files.doc]


BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION


Donald Robert "Rob" Quartel


April 19, 1950 - Born in Richmond, Virginia

1973 - B.A., Biology, Rice University

1973 - Member of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Staff

1973-74 - Member of U.S. Federal Energy Office Staff

1974-75 - Senior Management Staff, Presidential Clemency Board

1975-76 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Coordinator

1978 - M.A., Public and Private Management, Yale University

1979-80 - Issue Director, George H.W. Bush Presidential Campaign

1984 - Republican Nominee for 11th Congressional District, Florida

1988 - Senior Domestic Policy Advisor, George H.W. Bush Campaign

1990-92 - Member of U.S. Federal Maritime Commission

1992 - Republican Candidate for U.S. Senate, Florida

1992-94 - President of U.S. Shipbuilding Consortium

1999-Present - Chairman, CEO, and principal Founder of NTEL X, Inc. (formerly FreightDesk Technologies)


INTRODUCTION

While working as a Presidential Clemency Board (PCB) staff member and volunteering for the President Ford Committee (PFC), Fred Slight, Research Director of the PFC, offered Robert Quartel the position of Answer Desk Coordinator in the Research Office. Quartel accepted the position and held it until the end of the campaign. Quartel’s responsibilities involved vetting all policy statements for the campaign. When Fred Slight left his position after the 1976 Republican National Convention and was replaced by Bob Teeter, Quartel took on a larger role within the Research Office. Quartel and his group of approximately 100 volunteers compiled polling data, gathered information for the debates, and acquired and analyzed political intelligence. They used this research to create talking points for surrogates, write position statements, provide information to the electorate, and compile issue books for delegates to the 1976 Republican National Convention.

The collection offers insight into the operations of the PFC Research Office by illustrating the types of information gathered and used to draft public messages. These materials included clippings from mainstream newspapers, specialized political news digests, and White House documents, including press releases and briefing materials. Some of the materials illustrate the development of campaign strategy and internal operations and decision-making of the Research Office. This small amount of materials is found primarily in the subject file, but is also scattered throughout the chronological file.

The presence of extensive correspondence from the public inquiring about President Ford’s stance on particular issues, as well as his goals and achievements, illustrates public interest in particular foreign and domestic policy issues. The public frequently inquired about: the economy, energy, crime, agriculture, civil rights, abortion, gun control, the Panama Canal treaty, and foreign relations with Israel and Rhodesia.

Related Materials (December 2012)
The Ford Library’s most closely related collection is the President Ford Committee Records. Consult the Library’s Core Collections on the 1976 Presidential Campaign for other related records. For additional materials on the Presidential Clemency Board, consult the papers of PCB Chairman Charles Goodell and PCB Director Robert Horn, and White House Central Files file code JL-1 (Judicial – Legal Matters: Amnesties – Clemencies – Pardons).


SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Presidential Clemency Board File, 1975.  (Box 1, 0.3 linear feet)
Primarily memoranda and reports analyzing performance measurement and work flow of the clemency review process.

Arranged numerically by binder tab number.

President Ford Committee Answer Desk Chronological File, 1976. (Boxes 1‑6, 2.1 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, newspaper clippings, and fact sheets regarding campaign issues, fundraising, voter and media requests for information, and campaign events and analysis.

Arranged chronologically.

President Ford Committee Answer Desk Subject File, 1975-76. (Boxes 7‑10, 1.4 linear feet)
Briefing materials, issue papers, speech drafts, newspaper clippings, meeting notes, and quotes pertaining to the 1976 Republican National Convention, Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter, and the 1976 Presidential Campaign.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.


CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Presidential Clemency Board File

  • Index
  • Tab 1 – Team Production Reports
  • Tab 2 – Quality Control and Reports
  • Tab 3 – Pipeline Analysis
  • Tab 4 – Docketing
  • Tab 5 – New Quality Control Reports
  • Tab 6 – Responses to OMB Plan
  • Tab 7 – OMB Draft Plan
  • Tab 8 – PCB Approach – Production Analysis Tabs A-L
  • Tab 8a – MIS Forms
  • Tab 8b – Learning Curves – May 2
  • Tab 8c – Learning Curves – May 9
  • Tab 8d – Case Process
  • Tab 8e – Goals Process
  • Tab 8f – Team Management
  • Tab 8g – Summary Format
  • Tab 8h – Quality Control
  • Tab 8i – Org. Charts, Personnel
  • Tab 8j – Weekly Management Report
  • Tab 8k – Timeline
  • Tab 8l – Analysis of Board Dispositions
  • Tab 9 – Post Disposition
  • Tab 10 – Staff Memoranda
  • Tab 11 – Final Report
  • Tab 12 – Miscellaneous
  • Intake Process
  • Legal Memos

Box 1 (Continued) - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Chronological File

  • January 1, 1976 – February 19, 1976
  • February 20, 1976 – February 29, 1976

Box 2 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Chronological File

  • March 1, 1976 – March 4, 1976
  • March 5, 1976 – March 14, 1976
  • March 15, 1976 – March 22, 1976
  • March 23, 1976 – March 26, 1976
  • March 29, 1976 – March 31, 1976
  • April 1, 1976 – April 2, 1976
  • April 3, 1976 – April 7, 1976
  • April 8, 1976
  • April 12, 1976 – April 16, 1976
  • April 17, 1976 – April 19, 1976
  • April 20, 1976 – April 21, 1976
  • April 22, 1976 – April 23, 1976
  • April 24, 1976 – April 28, 1976

Box 3 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Chronological File

  • April 29, 1976
  • May 1, 1976 – May 3, 1976
  • May 4, 1976 – May 7, 1976
  • May 10, 1976
  • May 11, 1976
  • May 12, 1976
  • May 13, 1976 – May 14, 1976
  • May 17, 1976 – May 21, 1976
  • May 24, 1976 – May 29, 1976
  • May 31, 1976
  • June 1, 1976
  • June 2, 1976
  • June 4, 1976 – June 9, 1976
  • June 10, 1976 – June 13, 1976
  • June 14, 1976 – June 15, 1976

Box 4 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Chronological File

  • June 16, 1976 – June 18, 1976
  • June 20, 1976 – June 30, 1976
  • July 1, 1976 – July 2, 1976
  • July 6, 1976 – July 7, 1976
  • July 7, 1976
  • July 8, 1976 – July 9, 1976
  • July 12, 1976 – July 13, 1976
  • July 14, 1976
  • July 15, 1976
  • July 16, 1976 – July 19, 1976
  • July 20, 1976 – July 21, 1976
  • July 22, 1976 (1)
  • July 22, 1976 (2)
  • July 22, 1976 (3)

Box 5 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Chronological File

  • July 23, 1976
  • July 26, 1976 – July 28, 1976
  • July 29, 1976 – July 30, 1976
  • August 2, 1976 – August 3, 1976
  • August 4, 1976 – August 10, 1976
  • August 11, 1976 – August 14, 1976
  • August 16, 1976 – August 17, 1976
  • August 18, 1976
  • August 23, 1976 – August 31, 1976
  • September 1, 1976 – September 3, 1976
  • September 4, 1976 – September 7, 1976
  • September 8, 1976 – September 9, 1976
  • September 10, 1976 – September 14, 1976
  • September 15, 1976 – September 16, 1976

Box 6 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Chronological File

  • September 17, 1976 – September 18, 1976
  • September 19, 1976 – September 21, 1976
  • September 22, 1976
  • September 23, 1976 – September 26, 1976
  • September 27, 1976 – September 28, 1976
  • September 29, 1976 – October 3, 1976
  • October 4, 1976 – October 7, 1976
  • October 8, 1976 – October 11, 1976
  • October 12, 1976 – October 13, 1976
  • October 14, 1976 – October 17, 1976
  • October 18, 1976
  • October 19, 1976 – October 28, 1976

Box 7 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Subject File

  • American Political Report (Newsletter) (1)-(4)
  • Campaign Advertising – Anti-Carter Strategy
  • Campaign Memoranda and Ford Issue Briefing Material (1)-(4)
  • Carter, Jimmy – Newspaper Articles on his Presidential Candidacy
  • Carter, Jimmy – Newspaper Articles on his Term as Georgia Governor
  • Carter Quote Book (1)

Box 8 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Subject File

  • Carter Quote Book (2)-(4)
  • Debate – Newspaper Clippings and Photocopies from Published Presidential Documents
  • Delegate Materials (1)-(4)
  • Demographics – Strategy
  • Domestic Council Briefing Book, Fall 1976 (1)-(4)

Box 9 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Subject File

  • Domestic Council Briefing Book, fall 1976 (5)-(8)
  • Editorials on VP Selection Process
  • The Ford Presidency – The First Two Years
  • Fourth of July 1976
  • Memoranda and Editorials (1)-(2)
  • Memoranda to Answer Desk Personnel
  • News and Comment – President’s Daily News Summary
  • Organization – Research
  • Political Animal (Newsletter) (1)-(3)

Box 10 - President Ford Committee Answer Desk Subject File

  • Polling Research
  • Quartel Notes
  • Reagan, Ronald – Administration Response to Reagan Speech
  • Right Report (Newsletter) January 26, 1976 – August 6, 1976
  • Special Mailings (1)-(3)
  • State of the Union Address, 1976 – Working Draft