Patricia Duff

Patricia Duff has spent most of her professional career in politics, working as a consultant in Washington D.C. for two of the top political strategy firms, as a political organizer and as an activist.

Duff spearheads the The Common Good, a non-profit, non-partisan network that encourages political participation and increased understanding of critical national issues across party lines.  The group meets regularly with national leaders and experts on headline topics. Here’s a sampling of our speakers: Governors Bill Richardson, Tom Vilsack, Kathleen Sibelius; Senators Amy Klobuchar, Mark Warner, Maria Cantwell and Chuck Hagel; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Barney Frank, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of Commerce Peter Peterson, environmentalist Bobby Kennedy, Jr., New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Mayor Cory Booker, Arianna Huffington of Huffington Post; Jon Meacham of Newsweek, political strategists Paul Begala, Robert Shrum, Doug Schoen, Matthew Dowd, Ed Rollins, Joel Benenson, Kelly Ann Conway; Katrina Vanden Heuvel of the Nation, authors Carl Bernstein, Ken Auletta, Tim Weiner and Michael Hirsh; screenings, including Restreppo with Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington; Ahead of Time with documentary subject Ruth Gruber; Desert Flower with star Liya Kebede; Client 9 with filmmaker Alex Gibney, Daniel Ellsberg and the film The Most Dangerous Man in America, just to name a few of our many and varied events. 

Duff has also hosted a political talk show, Duff Talk, which aired on the groundbreaking PlumTV network in resort markets throughout the United States. Guests included Senator Bob Kerrey, Rev. Al Sharpton, Al Franken, historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., publisher Mortimer Zuckerman, Tucker Carlson, Monica Crowley, Ron Silver, among others. The informal, sleeves-rolled up atmosphere of the show invited a fresh approach to hot button political discussion. She has also made appearances as a guest or guest host on politics and issues on CNN, ABC Fox and other programs.

Ms Duff has also taken on the issue of judicial reform in New York and nationwide. Ms. Duff
co-founded the Coalition for Judicial Justice along with District Attorney Joe Hynes of Brooklyn, representatives from New York bar associations, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Council for Economic Development, Fund for the Modern Courts and several other public interest groups. The Coalition is constituted to study reform of the judicial selection process in New York State and reform of the matrimonial courts. Ms Duff also founded Families for Justice, a grass roots advocacy organization, and has formed alignments with the National Coalition for Family Justice and other grass roots organizations seeking reform in family courts. These efforts have garnered numerous press reports and editorials for greater integrity and sensitivity of the courts to family issues.

Ms Duff founded and chaired Show Coalition, the precursor to The Common Good.  This entertainment industry organization helped fuse Washington politics and the Hollywood community by informing and involving its members in many critically important political issues. While leading Show Coalition, Ms Duff also became a tireless advocate for Colors United/Living Literature, whose school programs served at-risk teens from Watts/South Central Los Angeles to Venice. The group was established to encourage learning, responsibility and good citizenship in youngsters by exposure to the written works of great leaders, thinkers and authors. A documentary about Colors United, “Colors Straight Up,” was nominated for an Academy Award in 1998.

Ms Duff was appointed by Republican Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan to serve as Commissioner for the Los Angeles Commission for Women and Ms Duff also served as Chair of the Teen Age Pregnancy Task Force under New York Governor Mario Cuomo. In 1995, President Clinton awarded Ms Duff a Presidential Commission to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board.

Ms Duff’s achievements have been frequently recognized. She received the “Woman of Vision” award from Women in Film: a “Golden Bear” award from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party; “Democrat of the Year” award by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party; and the “Citizen’s Achievement Award” from New Democratic Dimensions in New York City

Born in California, Ms. Duff moved to Europe as a child, and was educated in Belgium where she graduated from the International School of Brussels. She returned to the United States during her college years, earning a degree in International Economics from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She has one child, Caleigh.

“Patricia Duff was the most high profile entertainment industry-related female political figure in Los Angeles….She quickly established herself as an independent and forceful individual in the forums she participated in.”
David Patrick Columbier, Quest Magazine

Cover Story, “Women We Love,” “Political Hotshot - Patricia Duff” - “As a mogul’s wife, she could just as easily take lunch at Le Dome and perfect her workout. Instead, she hot-wires L.A. to Washington, driving the entertainment community to support the homeless, the hungry, and the environment. If Hollywood has a conscience, she’s it.” Esquire Magazine

I’ve long admired the work of Ken Burns. For years he has been the documentary filmmaker that so many others measure themselves when one thinks about presenting our history in a way that makes it immediate and compelling. He approaches his subjects with the utmost integrity and respect. Perhaps best known for his remarkable documentary on the Civil War, his subjects have been wide and varied. His work on Prohibition is to be released soon. I can’t wait for his documentary on the Vietnam War, which won’t be finished until 2016. I’ll just have to be patient. In the meantime, on Tuesday, June 14th, The Common Good brings Ken to speak on this moment in our history and about civility in our political discourse. What does our history teach us? It’s at the Paley Center for Media and is open to non members. Please join us.

His name is certainly apropos. Congressman Barney Frank is candid and brilliant. He spoke to The Common Good about reducing the deficit and building the economy. Frank says the biggest savings must come form reductions in defense spending.

Senator Maria Cantwell paid a visit to The Common Good. She sounded a bit frustrated with the lack of bipartisan progress on many of her issues, such as alternative energy and the environment, but she is working hard to get more accomplished in these areas.

The recent bitter protests and heightened tensions between Governor Scott Walker and Wisconsin state workers, many whom are unionized, prompted The Common Good to sponsor a debate on the subject of worker’s rights and needs, including collective bargaining, and the realities of managing unsustainable state deficits and pension obligations. Along with Charles Myers of Evercore Partners, The Common Good hosted California Congressman George Miller and pension expert Steve Malanga of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. The discussion was extremely spirited, with some of the best give and take we’ve had — not only from the very persuasive guests — but from the audience. Great discussion, definitely with passion, but also with civility and facts.