A sophomore Republican representative's latest staff search has taken a Hollywood turn.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) has hired Alec Jay "AJ" Sugarman, the son of TV personality and beauty pageant winner Mary Hart and TV producer Burt Sugarman, as a legislative assistant. Sugarman's mother hosted "Entertainment Tonight" for nearly three decades after being a co-host with Regis Philbin on NBC. She also was Miss South Dakota in the 1971 Miss America pageant, placing in the top 10. Sugarman's father, Burt, produced "The Midnight Special", "Celebrity Sweepstakes" and "The Newlywed Game," among others to his credit.
His parents made news last year by setting a record for spending $8 million for a 3,500-square-foot condo in a West Hollywood high-rise. Mary Hart played a role in supporting Republican Mitt Romney in the last presidential campaign.
The young Sugarman handles a wide variety of issues for the Ohio Republican, including commerce, energy and tax policy. He previously worked for the Marco Rubio for President campaign. He has a bachelor's degree from Stanford University, where he was involved with the conservative newspaper, the Stanford Review, and Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Wenstrup currently chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Committee's Economic Opportunity Subcommittee.
