The duo behind the Democratic media firm Devine Mulvey is working with three Independent candidates running for governor in 2010.

[IMGCAP(1)]Tad Devine and Julian Mulvey have signed state Treasurer Tim Cahill in Massachusetts, attorney Eliot Cutler in Maine and former Sen. Lincoln Chafee in Rhode Island ‘ all of whom are waging competitive gubernatorial campaigns. Cahill and Cutler are former Democrats, but Chafee is a former Republican ‘ and signing him is particularly noteworthy because Devine Mulvey worked for now-Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) in 2006, when he defeated Chafee.

‘I think it’s a good testament to Sen. Chafee, but it led to an interesting pitch,’ Mulvey said. ‘Like I said, he’s an Independent and I think he wanted to have a really bipartisan team.’

The firm, however, still works for Democrats in Congress, although Reps. Christopher Carney (Pa.), Kathy Dahlkemper (Pa.) and Zack Space (Ohio) are considered to be some of the more conservative Democratic Members in their respective House classes.

Rookie of the Year. When the Progressive Change Campaign Committee started its amateur consultant database, Next Generation of Talent, it probably didn’t envision this result. The liberal action group sought to build an online directory of talent from which its preferred candidates could seek cheap but skilled labor across the country ‘ without the often expensive price tag of some top-flight consultants.

Now one of the group’s talents, 24-year-old Drew McConville, reports that he has won a Pollie Award for the best full-page print ad from the American Association of Political Consultants. According to the AAPC Web site, Pollie Award winners are recognized ‘by the brightest in the industry as the best’ in their respective categories.

McConville designed the September 2009 advertisement, which featured a petition of President Barack Obama’s former campaign staffers advocating for the public insurance option. The spot only cost the PCCC $3,000 to make with McConville, who works by day as an aide in the Massachusetts state Legislature.

Tales of Hoffman. Dave Hoffman, press secretary for Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), has left Capitol Hill to serve

in the same role for New Castle County Executive Chris Coons’ (D) Senate bid in Delaware against Rep. Mike Castle (R). Before joining Hagan’s office, Hoffman worked on her Senate campaign in the 2008 cycle and as deputy press secretary for Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

Coons’ campaign has also picked up Kate Magsamen as finance director, as well as national fundraiser Tracey Buckman.

The Real McCray. Democratic direct-mail firm Mack Crounse Group has hired Chirlane McCray to serve as its new senior vice president.

McCray is a former speechwriter for former New York Mayor David Dinkins, and she worked for former New York City Comptroller William Thompson and former New York State Comptroller Carl McCall. But perhaps her most immediate campaign experience comes with her husband, Bill de Blasio, the public advocate for the Big Apple.

Mack Crounse is one of the premiere Democratic mail firms and has advised several top national and Congressional candidates, including President Barack Obama and Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.), Bob Casey (Pa.) and Mark Warner (Va.).

The Conston Gardener. Daniel Conston is leaving Rep. Peter Roskam’s (R-Ill.) office to serve as communications director for Rep. Jerry Moran’s (R-Kan.) Senate bid. Moran is running against Rep. Todd Tiahrt for the GOP nomination in August, and the winner is expected to be the next Senator from the Sunflower State.

Prior to Roskam’s office, Conston worked in the national press shops for former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) and Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaigns. At the McCain campaign, the suburban Philadelphia native worked with surrogates and national TV outlets in the media affairs department.

When There’s a Will. Attorney Ovide Lamontagne (R) announced that Will Wrobleski will serve as his campaign manager in his bid for the open Senate seat in New Hampshire. Lamontagne, who won his party’s nod in the 1996 gubernatorial race but lost the general election, is in a crowded primary for retiring Sen. Judd Gregg’s (R) seat.

Wrobleski comes from the grass-roots organization STEWARD of Prosperity, where he has served as political director and executive director. A former longtime staffer to then-Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.), Wrobleski also served as coalitions director for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s (R) presidential campaign in the state.

The Powell of One. The American Federation of Teachers announced that Michael Powell will serve as their new assistant to the president for communications. A former chief of staff to both Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and former Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), Powell recently was the campaign manager for former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman’s (D) unsuccessful Senate primary bid in Illinois.

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