Insider politics riles contractors

An endorsement by a government official of private-sector members running for committee offices has sparked an uproar in the Industry Advisory Council.

Dozens of IAC members complained that an endorsement Mark Emery, deputy CIO of the Homeland Security Department, gave to William Errico of Lexmark Federal Systems and Bob Golas of Oracle Corp. jeopardizes IAC's status as an independent voice in the federal IT arena.

Errico and Golas are running for the positions of chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of IAC's Homeland Protection Special Interest Group.

IAC officials subsequently concluded that using a government leader's endorsement was inappropriate.

IAC is the industry affiliate of the American Council for Technology, which promotes education, communication and collaboration across government.