Shop Talk: Booker Aide Says Finance Director Leaving Campaign, Politics
Newark Mayor Cory Booker‘s Senate campaign fundraiser has suddenly left her position with his nascent Senate campaign to seek a gig outside of politics, his aide confirmed.
Samantha Maltzman left the campaign after less than two weeks on the job, although a Booker aide characterized the departure as amicable.
Maltzman came to the Booker campaign as one of her party’s most prominent finance directors in New Jersey. Her résumé, which CQ Roll Call profiled as part of Booker’s team, includes stints with Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Booker is challenging Lautenberg for the Democratic nomination in 2014, although the five-term senator has not said yet whether he will seek re-election.
Maltzman did not return a request for comment.
Her departure comes as questions about Menendez’s campaign finances percolate throughout the political world. A Booker aide said Maltzman’s departure had “absolutely” nothing to do with Menendez.
Maltzman had accepted an offer from the campaign as finance director. But after a few days on the job, she indicated a reluctance to return to political fundraising, instead preferring to work in the nonprofit sector.
PolitickerNJ first reported the news of Maltzman’s departure. The Newark Star-Ledger reported that Maltzman would continue work with the campaign in a scaled-back capacity.
Correction: Feb. 12, 3:30 p.m.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated which news outlet first reported Maltzman’s departure. It was PolitickerNJ.