Lee Greif - Peter Peyser was an interesting and successful politician

November 2, 2008

Out of the many different careers Lee Greif has experimented in in the course of his life, the one he enjoyed the most was the five years he spent as a politician. Even though those years were heavily conflicted and highly stressful, the early 1970s were an extremely exciting and historically significant time to be working in politics, and Greif is grateful that he had the chance to participate. He originally got to Washington thanks to being hired by Peter Peyser in 1971. Peyser was a recently elected congressman representing New York State, and had hired Greif as his chief of staff. He would find himself extremely glad of this decision, since ultimately Greif would successfuly run campaigns that would get Peyser reelected twice.

Peter Peyser was an interesting and successful politician in his own right. Peyser was the republican congressman who represented the suburban Westchester County. Peyser was a close political associate of Nelson Rockefeller and the two were actually good friends. Many were the times that the two would develop policies together. Peyser’s connections with Rockefeller would give Grief the chance to work on many special and prestigious projects. He drew much attention from his superiors due to the excellent job he performed on them. The assignments may have been difficult, but it was nothing that Grief wasn’t able to accomplish.

Serving as chief of staff during the early 1970s meant there was a lot going on at the time that Lee Greif could be a part of. One such event that he is particularly proud of was the dinner party held at the Whitehouse with President Nixon that he and three other congressman and their chiefs of staff took part in. Besides this were the many political briefings with Secretaries Of State and Secretaries Of Defense. Having worked during such a period of political conflict, he often had to defend some unpopular policies, especially since he served a Democrat during the war in Vietnam and a Republican during the Watergate scandal. There were two times specifically where he recalls having to defend some very unpopular policies put forth by his bosses and the president.

Lee Greif was acting as a chief of state in Washington in the early 1970’s. It was here where he met Randee, the woman who would be his first wife. Randee was working in Washington as a chief of staff for Missouri senator Thomas Eagleton. Greif and Randee became good friends with Eagleton. He was considered an upstanding gentleman and spent much time with Greif and Randee. Greif’s friendship with Eagleton was also a huge asset, as Eagleton was a dedicated public servant. Greif began to see him as a sort of role model and source of inspiration. Eagleton would eventually go on the ballot as Vice President for McGovern. The five years Grief was in Washington as chief of state for Peter Peyser served as an important and joyful time. He would apply the skills and knowledge he learned here to all other challenges in his life.

Tags: Lee Greif