McDowell Shows Independence

McDowell said that his criticism was not aimed at Martin and that they had discussed it -- though not the exact phrasing -- in advance. Both men said that they have a good working relationship and that some policy differences were inevitable.

"I have known and worked with Rob for years. . . . Rob's energetic, he knows the telecommunications industry extremely well, so he is knowledgeable about the issues. I think that he is someone who adds a lot of value here at the commission," Martin said in an interview. He said he didn't know McDowell would be confirmed when he floated the cable proposal.

"Kevin Martin and I have been friends for close to a decade and have a strong, durable and resilient friendship. We have a similar conservative philosophy that helps guide our decisions, and the vast majority of the time, we will be in agreement but, perhaps, every now and then, we will disagree," McDowell said. "That's why there is a five-member commission."

"I am not consciously trying to signal anything other than I am trying to do the best possible job that I can do and be thoughtful," he added. "This isn't part of some plan; it is more happenstance."

Whether by accident or design, soon after McDowell differed with Martin on the cable issue, Martin threw him another hot potato.

The next week, McDowell was told by FCC General Counsel Sam Feder that he was expected to vote on a second controversial matter.

The general counsel's office had previously recused McDowell from voting on a request by smaller companies that the FCC restore their access to parts of the big phone companies' networks. McDowell's former employer had lobbied the agency on the matter.

Under government ethics rules, new commissioners are exempted from voting on such matters for a year after joining the FCC to avoid an appearance of impropriety.

The decision to reverse a recusal rarely occurs at the FCC. It put McDowellin a difficult position, where any vote could have exposed him to criticism for bias or inconsistency.

The new commissioner also could have abstained, which would have amounted to publicly differing with Martin twice in his first month at the FCC.

"There were very real legal and policy reasons given as to why I should be 'unrecused' from that proceeding, and I took all of those at face value," McDowell said, adding that he did not believe Martin deliberately put him in a difficult position.

Martin said the decision to withdraw McDowell's recusal reflected a desire to break the commission's 2-2 deadlock. In the end, the companies that brought the matter to the FCC withdrew it, sparing McDowell from a vote.

"At the end of the day, the withdrawal was as much as anything an agreement not to put the newly confirmed commissioner, McDowell, in a very difficult position. The chairman's office had put him in that position and we took him out of it," said Brad E. Mutschelknaus, who represents the smaller telecom companies.