Meghan Madison

Meghan Michelle Madison (born March 8, 1964) is an American politician and lawyer currently serving as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2001. She has served as the United States Senator from the Northeast since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, Madison has been the Chair of the Democratic National Commitee since 2001. She was previously the Junior Vice Chair of the Democratic National Commitee from 1994 to 2001.

Early life and education
Ben Walker was born on October 17, 1942, in San Francisco, California, as the oldest of three children. In 1948, Walker's father died of lung cancer, leaving his family in poverty for many years.

After finishing high school, Walker was accepted at Stanford University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1964. Walker continued his higher education, earning a Master of Public Policy in 1966 and a Juris Doctor in 1969, both from Stanford University.

In 1974, Walker completed his academic studies, earning a Doctor of Philosophy in public policy from Stanford University.

Early career
After obtaining his Juris Doctor in 1969, Walker began working as a law clerk to a federal district judge in San Francisco. He worked for this judge until 1974, when he began practicing law at a private law firm.

In 1978, Walker co-founded a private law firm in San Francisco and named it Walker, Benson, and Barnes. Walker quit his job at the law firm in 1982.

Local and party politics
In 1981, Walker became involved in local politics when he launched his campaign for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He decided to run in the 1982 election, after being reminded of the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone.

Walker was a member of the Board of Supervisors from 1983 to 1992, and served as the board's president during his last two years as a supervisor.

In 1991, Walker ran for Mayor of San Francisco on a progressive platform. He won the election by over thirty thousand votes and was sworn in on January 8, 1992.

Walker announced that, despite a 63% approval rating, he would not run for re-election in 1995. He served as mayor for only four years, focusing on cleaning up the city, getting the homeless off of the streets, and fixing the city's roads.

Walker was elected as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1995. During his tenure as chairman, he focused on recruitment to the party and achieving a majority in both houses of Congress. Walker also worked hard to ensure that a Democrat would be succeeding Bill Clinton in 2001.

Walker resigned as party chairman in 2001 and was succeeded in a chairmanship election by Meghan Madison.