Report: NHLPA exec Marty Walsh helped pick Kamala Harris’ running mate

NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh was one of five people on a Zoom call who helped choose U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, CNN reported Tuesday.

Harris chose Tim Walz, 60, the governor of Minnesota, to be her running mate as she gears up her campaign to become the next President of the United States.

Along with lead vetting officials Eric Holder, a former attorney general, and former White House counsel Dana Remus, the three-person assigned committee of Walsh, White House adviser Cedric Richmond and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto were on the Zoom call, CNN reported.

Walsh, a long-time politician and union executive, has connections to the administration through his previous work as mayor of Boston and as labour secretary for President Joe Biden, where he grew close to Harris, CNN reported.

CNN also reported that Walsh was chosen because he was trusted by Harris and prepared to ask such questions as to how Walz would transition to vice president after being a school principal and government official.

Walsh, 57, was announced as the NHLPA’s new executive director on Feb. 16, 2023. The union had enlisted an outside firm to search for a new leader after the resignation of long-time director Donald Fehr in April 2022.