Shop Talk: Habla GOP?
Longtime GOP operatives Jason Roe and Duane Dichiara have founded Revolvis Consulting, a new general consulting and direct-mail firm aimed at helping Republicans use technology better and also connect them with Hispanic voters.
[IMGCAP(1)]Most recently a partner at Coronado Communications, Dichiara was the California state director for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s (R) presidential campaign. Roe recently returned to the Golden State after serving as managing partner of Federal Strategy Group and as then-Rep. Tom Feeney’s (R-Fla.) chief of staff.
“We also need to understand that the way voters are getting their information is changing dramatically and candidates can no longer devote 95 percent of voter contact budgets to television and mail and expect similar outcomes,— Roe said in a statement from the new firm.
Roe’s wife, Patty Roe, a former chief of staff to then-Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), as well as former California Republican Party Communications Director Hector Barajas and former Century Strategies account executive Valerie Dichiara, are also involved in the firm.
The Dodd Squad. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has tapped Saul Shorr of Shorr Johnson Magnus to take the lead in handling media strategy for his re-election campaign, and Democratic strategists Jim Jordan and Adam Magnus are also involved in the effort.
Ed Peavy of Mission Control will do Dodd’s direct mail and Al Quinlan of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner will do polling, according to the Senator’s top campaign adviser, Jay Howser.
In related news, Colleen Flanagan is leaving her job as Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D-N.C.) communications director to become the communications director for the Connecticut Democratic Party starting next week.
Flanagan isn’t a stranger to Nutmeg State politics or to Dodd, who is already facing his most difficult re-election campaign of his career. Flanagan worked for the state Senate caucus, and served as Dodd’s press secretary during his presidential campaign.
Big Bucks Chuck. Connell Donatelli has tapped Republican online strategy guru Chuck DeFeo to be their new president and CEO. DeFeo will join the 19-person firm, where he will manage communications for political, corporate and public affairs clients.
Connell Donatelli and sister company Campaign Solutions are premier online strategy, fundraising and advertising firms for Republicans and boast a roster of clients that includes the Republican National Committee and Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign.
DeFeo comes from the Washington Times, where he most recently was the general manager for interactive and social media. DeFeo also served as vice president and general manager of Townhall.com and Salem News-Talk Online from 2005 to 2008, plus was the eCampaign Manager for President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign.
The Town Crider. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has tapped Jennifer Crider as her political director, in addition to her new duties as deputy executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
As political director, Crider will handle Pelosi’s communications and strategy for Members and House candidates. She succeeds Brian Wolff, who left his job as the executive director of the DCCC earlier this year to be the Edison Electric Institute’s senior vice president.
Sweet Home, Alabama. David Mowery and Patrick Cagle have opened up a new political shop, Mowery Consulting Group. In a press release, Mowery described his new venture as a “full-service campaign consulting company.—
Mowery successfully managed Rep. Bobby Bright’s (D-Ala.) bid for Congress in 2008 in one of the most Republican districts in the country, plus guided Montgomery, Ala., Mayor Todd Strange to victory earlier this year.
Also a veteran of the Bright and Strange campaigns, Cagle will head up the firm’s new media division.
A Windle Road. Capitol Hill GOP flack Travis Windle has joined the public affairs team at Financial Dynamics, formerly known as FD Dittus Communications.
Windle most recently was communications director for Republicans at the House Financial Services Committee and also worked under Rep. Adam Putnam (Fla.) when he was chairman of the House Republican Conference. A native of the Pittsburgh area, Windle also served as former Rep. John Peterson’s (R-Pa.) communications director.
Party Time. Several state parties announced new staff hires over Congressional recess:
At the Florida Republican Party, John Davis has been promoted to deputy executive director, Bret Prater will be the new political director, Amanda Wheeler has been promoted to finance director, while Brad Herold will be the deputy director of field operations. Both Prater and Herold are former aides to Gov. Charlie Crist (R), who is running for Senate in 2010.
Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer has also revamped the communications department at the party, promoting Katie Gordon — also a former Crist aide — to communications director, with Jennifer McMillan and Carla Rivera as her two deputy staffers.
The North Carolina Democratic Party announced that its new executive director is Andrew Whalen, who most recently served as a senior adviser and communications director to Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.). C. Payne Lucas Jr., a former field director for President Barack Obama’s campaign in Franklin County, is the party’s new director of party affairs and development.
Ohio Democrats have named Seth Bringman as their new communications director. A native of the Buckeye State, Bringman worked on Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-Ohio) 2006 Senate race and then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) 2008 presidential campaign in Ohio. Most recently, he worked on now-Rep. Scott Murphy’s (D-N.Y.) special election campaign.
Crank It Up. The new state director of Americans for Prosperity’s Colorado chapter is Jeff Crank, who used to be a top aide to then-Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.).
A former radio host and businessman, Crank lost the open-seat primary in 2006 to succeed Hefley to now-Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.). He ran again in 2008 and lost against Lamborn.
Back To School. EMILY’s List Communications Manager Allison Muehlenbeck has left the organization after three years to pursue a master’s degree in public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government later this year. Political tracker Matt Burgess will serve as acting communications director in her stead.
National Republican Congressional Committee Deputy Press Secretary Kara Sidone is departing the committee at the end of June for the Florida Coastal School of Law. Sidone has been with the NRCC for more than two years, following her work for Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.).
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