Campaigns & Elections articles from April 2005

Campaigns & Elections archives from April 2005

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2005... The March 2005 issue (The Political Pages), incorrectly listed various parts of certain firms listings. The correct information follows: * Dixon/Davis Media Group/D 1028 33rd St., Ste. 300 Washington, DC 20007 * Compass Media...

2008: GOP starting gate.(ON THE RECORD)
April 1, 2005... The 2008 Republican presidential race is unusually fluid. While there are plenty of possibilities with big names and broad public acceptance, many of them are unlikely nominees. Historically, that is atypical for the GOP, which for decades has...

Musical chairs: powerful chairman pushes congressional seat for D.C.(INSIDE POLITICS)
April 1, 2005... The irony of putting U.S. troops on the line to give Iraqis a voice in government, while not giving Washington, D.C., residents the same vexes Tom Davis. So, the fifth-term Republican congressman from Virginia is doing something about...

Electoral College math.(INSIDE POLITICS)
April 1, 2005... Since Congress has opposed constitutional amendments that would abolish the Electoral College, critics of the system are instead looking at making changes state by state. Last year in Colorado, voters rejected Amendment 36 that would have...

New jobs.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(John Edwards)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... NEW JOBS: Harvard University's Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, welcomes former U.S. Senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards, D-N.C., and former Reagan Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver as...

Sabine Romero.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(election law firm Sandler, Reiff & Young)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Sabine Romero joined the Washington D.C., election law firm Sandler, Reiff & Young, to run its office in Austin. Romero counsels clients on state and local campaign finance, election law and ethics, with an emphasis on people who deal with the...

Brent Seaborn.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(appointed as deputy director Republican National Committee)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Brent Seaborn took a leave from TargetPoint Consulting, in Alexandria, Va., to work for the Republican National Committee (RNC), as deputy director of the its new strategy offices, which provide research to GOP campaigns throughout the country....

Christine Aghassi.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(appointed as a senior consultant Goddard Claussen Strategic Advocacy )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Christine Aghassi joined the public affairs firm Goddard Claussen Strategic Advocacy as a senior consultant to work on ballot issue campaigns in California and other states. Aghassi is working closely with firm principal Rick Claussen to...

John Hishta.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Mercury Public Affairs)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Veteran Republican political operative John Hishta returns to politics, joining Mercury Public Affairs as a managing director, after a brief tenure at ACS lobbying firm. Hishta opened Mercury's office in Washington, D.C., where he will be doing...

Rebecca Kirszner.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Senate Democratic Communications Center )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Rebecca Kirszner joined the Senate Democratic Communications Center as communications director in the leadership office of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) "I like a job that can keep me on my toes, and this is it," she...

Kirszner comes to the office having worked on three straight campaigns in the last election cycle.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Rebecca Kirszner)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Kirszner comes to the office having worked on three straight campaigns in the last election cycle. She served as Pennsylvania's communications director for America Coming Together during the 2004 general election. Before that, she was deputy...

Mary Nemick.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(communications director for the Earth Day Network)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Mary Nemick, who worked on advance and press for U.S. Sen. John Kerry's, D-Mass., presidential campaign, signed on as communications director for the Earth Day Network in Washington, D.C. In the short-term post, she will help the group mark the...

Party lines.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Chris Devaney )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... PARTY LINES: The Tennessee Republican Party named Chris Devaney executive director. He was an aide to former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn. and also served as state director to U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas.

The New York Democratic party.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(hired Rodney Capel as executive director)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The New York Democratic Party hired Rodney Capel as executive director. Capel had been the party's political director and previously worked for U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

New firms.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Corallo Media Strategies)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... NEW FIRMS: Mark Corallo, former chief spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice and press secretary to former U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., formed Corallo Media Strategies, a public relations firm, in Alexandria, Va. The firm specializes...

Phillip Stutts.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Philip Stutts & Company, LLC.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Phillip Stutts, the Republican National Committee's 2004 national director for the 72-Hour Task Force's get-out-the-vote operations, opened his own political and public affairs grass-roots consulting firm, Philip Stutts & Company, LLC. It...

Urquhart Media.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(public affairs company )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Urquhart Media (pronounced "Err-kit") is a new public affairs company in Chicago, founded by Dan Proft, Brian Timpone, Jeff Davis and Bill Pascoe, that specializes in crisis communication. Proft and Pascoe first met last year while working...

Gone Lobbying.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Pete Jeffries join the public affairs firm Hill & Knowlton as senior vice president )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... GONE LOBBYING: Pete Jeffries left his post as communications director for U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., to join the public affairs firm Hill & Knowlton as senior vice president for public policy. Having worked for Hastert for...

Paige Ralston.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Recording Industry Association of America )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Hastert's deputy press secretary Paige Ralston, joined the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as director of strategic communications and special projects. Ralston had organized events for Hastert, and was previously a TV news...

Kori Bernards.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Motion Picture Association of America)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Kori Bernards also joined the MPAA as the new vice president of corporate communications, based in Los Angeles. Most recently she was communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and previously worked for...

Leader of the PAC.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Public Affairs Council: Jim Dean )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... LEADER OF THE PAC: Jim Dean took the reins of Democracy for America, the PAC founded last year by his brother, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the presidential candidate and now chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Jim Dean...

U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Steve Bouchard: Democratic consultant )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) hired Democratic consultant Steve Bouchard to be director for the senator's All America PAC. Bouchard is a veteran of presidential campaigns in New Hampshire.

Two GOP consultants from the Bush re-election campaign are moving to the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Akerman Senterfitt, based in Florida.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)
April 1, 2005... Two GOP consultants from the Bush re-election campaign are moving to the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Akerman Senterfitt, based in Florida. Former Bush-Cheney '04 deputy campaign manager Mark Wallace will be counsel and former...

Campaign movements.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Matt Brown )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CAMPAIGN MOVEMENTS: Rhode Island Secretary of State Matt Brown (D), seeking to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R) in 2006, tapped veteran Democratic political operative Eli Segal as honorary national campaign chair. Segal served as...

Nicole Landset.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Nicole Landset left her position as research director of the League of Conservation Voters. She moved to New York to run the research operation for former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, a Democratic candidate for mayor.

Jonathan Epstein.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Jonathan Epstein joined the campaign staff of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D), who is expected to run for Maryland governor in 2006. Epstein was Iowa field director for Sen. John F. Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004. In that role, he...

MoveOn.org, the leftist national political organization, hired 50 organizers to launch a full-time, field-organizing program in 1,000 communities.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... MoveOn.org, the leftist national political organization, hired 50 organizers to launch a full-time, field-organizing program in 1,000 communities. An additional 250,000 people have joined the Democratic online fund-raising network. Many...

Stephen Moore.(PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS)(politiical aspects)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Free Enterprise Fund founder and president Stephen Moore has brought three honorary co-chairs to his lobbying group for Social Security changes, tax cuts and other issues. They are former Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, Laffer...

Campaign consultant sign-ups.(Directory)
April 1, 2005... A.B. Data Ltd./D--direct mail Phil Angelides, CA, Gov. '06 Bob Casey, PA, U.S. Sen. '06 CampaignOffice/N--Internet Jim Davis, FL, Gov. '06 Archie Goodbee, NY, Albany Mayor '05 Chris Coleman, MN, St. Paul Mayor '05 ...

Markos Moulitsas Zuniga.(MOVERS & SHAKERS)(Interview)
April 1, 2005... Founder and editor, Daily Kos, a liberal blog. Moulitsas is also the co-founder and board member of BlogPAC, a blog-driven political action committee and founder and CEO of SportsBLOGS--a sports-themed blog network. He is a former U.S. Army...

Hugh Hewitt.(MOVERS & SHAKERS)(Interview)
April 1, 2005... Host, The Hugh Hewitt Show, and a conservative blogger at www.HughHewitt.com. He worked in the Reagan Administration for six years in a variety of jobs, ending up as deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management. Currently, Hewitt is a...

The RNC keeps on rollin': the new chairman's plans to grow the vote for '08.(FEATURE)(Republican National Committee )(Cover Story)
April 1, 2005... Like their pimped-out semi-truck named Reggie, the Republican National Committee (RNC) looks to keep on rolling with new driver Ken Mehlman behind the wheel. For those who have not heard of Reggie the Registration Rig, he is a 56-foot...

More than survive, parties thrive under new campaign finance rules.(FEATURE)
April 1, 2005... When the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) became law in 2002, predicting a decline in political parties' strength and volume of campaign activity seemed a no-brainer. Sure, the contribution limit for individual donors was raised. But gone...

Ask, and you shall receive: seven fundamentals of candidate fund raising.(FEATURE)
April 1, 2005... Most candidates detest asking for money. In fact, some dislike it so much they simply do not do it. But if you do not raise money, you are forced to do one of two things: either fund your campaign out of your own pocket or run without money....

22nd annual Campaign Training Seminar.(The Art of Political Campaigning)(Calendar)
April 1, 2005... For 22 years, our Campaign Training Seminars and Trade Shows have been the best in the business. Seminars sponsored by Campaigns & Elections magazine have attracted people from across the world who want to know more about the strategies,...

Populace, audience, citizenry, activists.(CAMPAIGNLAND)(Pew Internet and American Life Project )
April 1, 2005... The recent Pew Internet and American Life Project report on the Internet and campaign 2004 (of which I am co-author with Lee Rainie and John Horrigan) has a big story about American politics to tell. A survey of 2,200 American adults taken...

Provisional vote counting widely varied: lack of uniformity offers challenges.(VOTING MATTERS)
April 1, 2005... Provisional ballots did not play as significant a role in the 2004 election as some analysts (including me) predicted. Still, they certainly caused enough controversy over their distributing and counting to trigger lawsuits, protests by civil...

A good radio jingle goes a long way: matching the candidate's message with the radio station.(OPINION)
April 1, 2005... You are driving down the street listening to the radio, when you hear talking rather than music. Your finger automatically goes to the "seek" button. For candidates trying to get out their message during election season on the radio, this...

Targeting the individual voter.(OPINION)
April 1, 2005... The proliferation of cable television channels has changed the dynamics of political advertising. Consumers--and voters--have more options of what to watch and where to get their information. So advertisers, including political candidates, have...

Dialing for dollars: how to face your fears and pick up that phone.(OPINION)
April 1, 2005... What is the campaign task candidates fear most? Not public speaking, although some choke up at the thought of facing their opponents in a one on one debate. Not knocking on doors of complete strangers and asking for their vote. No, the one...

Pack your bags: a guide to international political consulting.(INTERNATIONAL POLITICS)
April 1, 2005... Detailed knowledge of managing campaigns is becoming a major American export. Beginning in the 1960s and accelerating in the 1990s, candidates in many of the 120 democratic nations of the world have contracted the expertise of U.S. consultants...

RON'S PICKS.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... The Enduring Revolution: How the Contract with America Continues to Shape the Nation, by Major Garrett, Crown Forum, 336 pages, $25.95. Looks at the 1994 midterm elections when Republicans ran the electoral table and wrested control of...

RON'S PICKS.(BOOK)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York, by Kenneth D. Ackerman, Carrol & Graf, 400 pages, $27.00. Profiles one of the best known political bosses in American history, a complex and...

A LONELY MODERATE REPUBLICAN.
April 1, 2005... In her new book, "It's My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America," Christine Todd Whitman details the deep fissure within the Republican Party and articulates ways to make it more inclusive. The former...

THE FORGOTTEN CAMPAIGN.
April 1, 2005... The Republican Party was in bad shape after the 1974 midterm elections. The GOP's congressional minorities dwindled further in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal and resignation of President Richard M. Nixon. Fund raising had come to a...

Fund raising.(BUYER'S GUIDE)(Directory)
April 1, 2005... A.B. DATA LTD. 8050 N. Port Washington Road Milwaukee, WI 53217 PHONE: 414-352-4404 FAX: 414-352-3994 CONTACT: Charles Pruitt E-MAIL: www.abdata.com WEB SITE: www.abdata.com YEARS IN BUSINESS: 22 PARTY...

Maximizing resources for a congressional campaign.(CAMPAIGN DOCTOR)
April 1, 2005... What expenses should we anticipate for consultants next year in a congressional race? We want to save money for the campaign rather than waste it on expensive reimbursements. Put the following ground rules into every consultant's contract:...