About – Case for Consumers

CASE is Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, the nation's foremost non-profit, non-partisan organization devoted to the singular cause of promoting consumer interests through the advancement of free-market principles.

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Our Mission.

CASE is committed to serving as the voice of American consumers and wage-earners by advocating strongly for free-markets, fiscal responsibility and reasonable consumer protections. Through these time-tested principles, CASE aims to create more prosperity and opportunity for every American.

CASE is further working to fill the void of consumer advocacy organizations who largely ignore free-market solutions and lean heavily toward more government regulation and control over our national, state and local economies. As an aggressive and vocal advocate for less government interference with American enterprise and industry, CASE seeks to serve the interests of U.S. consumers through common-sense policies that allow our economy to innovate and expand, giving consumers more freedom, greater choice, more purchasing options, at less cost.

What We Do.

CASE advocates on the behalf of consumers, both on the state level and federal level. We analyze economic trends, research public policy, and weigh demographic information in order to best promote the free-market policies that lead to a stronger economy benefiting all consumers. CASE’s major initiatives also include engaging and educating the public both online and through traditional media, and aggressively informing lawmakers and opinion leaders of vital pro-consumer policies. CASE further provides several forums, with more to come, for consumers to share and exchange ideas.

Consumers profit when American business and industry is free to compete and innovate in the marketplace to serve the needs of our diverse nation. To further an agenda of economic strength for our nation, and for prosperity and opportunity for every American, we will diligently and tirelessly make the CASE for more economic freedom, less government, and empowering consumers at every avenue.

Where We Rank Consumers

Consumer Issues Advocated

Consumer Contacts

Leadership

Fighting for Free Markets

Matthew Kandrach
President

After a successful ten-year career as a small business owner in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, Mr. Kandrach moved to the Washington, DC area in 2003 to pursue his life-long goal of working in the nation’s political arena. In addition to running his own consulting agency, he has worked on numerous state and federal campaigns and has served as Executive Director for a nationwide property rights group focusing on 5th Amendment takings and Intellectual Property. Most recently, Mr. Kandrach served as the Executive Vice President for the nation’s largest center-right seniors organization, managing state and federal projects affecting the elderly.

Mr. Kandrach has lobbied and testified before Congress and dozens of state legislatures. He assembled a national infrastructure of grassroots activists in all 50 states and created numerous grassroots rallies as well as managed several national bus tours. He has been the subject of quotes or interviews in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and published op-eds in over two dozen state and nationally known newspapers and online publications. Mr. Kandrach has associate produced over 20 political commercials and several nationally televised events viewed by millions.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Florida State University.

Gerard Daniel Scimeca, Esq.
Vice President

Gerard Scimeca got his start in politics working as a media analyst, tracking and analyzing network news programs. He soon noticed the overwhelming bias of network programming pushing big government policies over personal empowerment, prompting him to focus his energies on helping candidates committed to individual liberty win office. Mr. Scimeca has since consulted or managed over three dozen winning campaigns on the local, state and federal level, including working as part of the creative direct-mail team for a winning presidential campaign.

Specializing in campaign strategy, messaging and communications, Mr. Scimeca has produced more than fifty broadcast radio and TV ads for his clients, and roughly the equivalent number of comprehensive direct mail and fundraising plans. He has served stints as Political Director and Communications Director for a state party, headed Media Relations with a national non-profit organization, and written numerous opinion pieces and speeches for public figures as a free-lance writer.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, which he also attended as a visiting law student, before earning a J.D. from the Catholic University Columbus School of Law with honors.

Gene Guilford
Director of Policy and Development

Mr. Guilford is a former appointee of the Reagan Administration with vast experience in politics and public policy. In the Administration, Mr. Guilford served in the International Trade Administration at the Department of Commerce, working on anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases under U.S. trade laws, then as Chief of Staff to the General Counsel at the Department of Energy. At Energy, Mr. Guilford successfully worked to reduc the size of the agency and worked on issues ranging from oil and natural gas deregulation, nuclear waste storage and materials procurement, and eliminating crude oil price control regulation.

After serving our nation in Washington, Mr. Guilford returned home to Connecticut to head two energy trade associations as President. From there he lead government relations and grassroots efforts to deregulate oil and natural gas, efforts which involved analysis and policy-making for every state and federal energy bill dating to 1992. Mr. Guilford’s private-sector work also involved curbing unnecessary and expensive environmental laws; shaping transportation legislation as well as federal business and energy-related tax policies. Mr. Guilford has advised five Governors and two Presidents on energy matters, testified before legislatures in five states and before numerous committees of the United States Congress. His regulatory work includes EPA, DOT, DOE, DOD, Interior, Commerce, Office of the International Trade Representative, HHS/CMS, Treasury, and DHS. Mr. Guilford led efforts to promote consumer interests in the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act, as well as the 2010 Dodd-Frank law in titles 7 and 10.

Mr. Guilford is an Honors Graduate from Bates College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Pre-Law. He and his wife Toni are the proud parents of three daughters.