Harold McEwen Ickes (; born September 4, 1939) is the former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton. He was a leading figure in the Clinton administration's healthcare reform initiative. Ickes is the son of Harold L. Ickes, who was Secretary of the Interior under Franklin D. Roosevelt. Background Ickes was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Harold L. Ickes and Jane Dahlman. Ickes is a graduate of Stanford University (1964, AB, Economics) and Columbia Law School. Ickes was a student civil rights activist in the 1960s and took part in Freedom Summer. He has practiced labor law for many years in New York City. He is founder and president emeritus of civic data firm Catalist. He was the model for the Primary Colors character "Howard Ferguson". Career Ickes has been active in Democratic politics for over forty years, working in the presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy, Birch Bayh, Morris Udall, Ted Kennedy and Jesse Jackson. In 1989, he was a senior advisor to David Dinkins's successful campaign for mayor of New York City. Ickes is a registered lobbyist with the Ickes and Enright Group. Ickes is currently co-chair of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C.’s Labor and Government Relations practice groups, and manages the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. In his government relations practice, Mr. Ickes provides counsel and representation to business and union clients on legislative, governmental regulation and procurement matters. This includes providing strategic advice, planning and representation for business, labor, governmental and non-profit organizations. Along with Basil Paterson, the former New York Secretary of State, State Senator, and the New York City Deputy Mayor for Labor Relations and Personnel, Mr. Ickes co-chairs the firm’s extensive labor practice, providing counsel to dozens of local and international unions in the health care, transportation, package delivery, hotel, construction, communications, distribution, manufacturing, retail food, and other industries in the private and public sectors. In 2005, Ickes founded progressive data collection and voter file company Catalist. As of 2019, he serves on the board of directors of Catalist and as its president emeritus. Martindale-Hubbell had given Ickes an "AV Preeminent" rating, which is the highest level of professional excellence among lawyers. When he became the political strategist for Hillary Clinton's Democratic presidential nomination campaign in February 2008, Ickes was featured in a prominent article in the New York Times, detailing his approach to this political campaign and his "sassy" and