For one thing, the Postal Service has a big government-relations staff--a 50-person team that has grown by roughly 16 employees during Willhite's tenure. It includes 20 "liaison officers" who meet with members of Congress.
Willhite is deeply familiar with both politics and K Street. A Navy enlistee in her youth, she later worked on five Democratic presidential campaigns, most recently for President Clinton in 1996. In between, she served as policy director for the speaker of the Connecticut House and as a lobbyist for the firm formerly known as Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly.
At Black, Manafort, Willhite handled lobbying work for such blue-chip clients as American Airlines Inc., AT&T Corp., and--ironically--UPS, which is considered the Postal Service's most bare-knuckled rival. She moved over to the Postal Service in early 1998 when William J. Henderson-the now-retired postmaster general and longtime Willhite family friend-recruited her to beef up the USPS's government-relations effort.
Postal employees can attend fundraisers as private citizens, but Willhite said she refrains from going. She acknowledged, however, that some of her staffers--in their capacity as private citizens--have attended political fundraisers.