Richardson Expands Iowa Organization

Senior staff additions, more field organizers and new Iowa field offices have been announced by the Richardson for President campaign.

“The Richardson for President campaign in Iowa is growing stronger from top to bottom,” said Jim Farrell, new deputy state director. “If Americans want to end the war in Iraq, we must get all of the troops out of Iraq — in months, not in years. Bill Richardson is the only candidate who will do it.”

Farrell previously served as Bill Bradley’s Iowa communications director in 2000. He was the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone’s communications director, worked on the Clinton 1992 and 1996 campaigns and served in the press office of former Veterans Administration Secretary Jesse Brown. Most recently he served as executive director of the Montana Democratic Party during the successful campaign of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

David Rogers, newly named political director, is a native Iowan and left a position as field organizer for Iowans for Sensible Priorities to join the campaign. In 2004, Rogers served as Iowa state director for Dennis Kucinich’s Presidential campaign and later served as Kucinich’s national advance director. He recently ran two congressional campaigns in western Iowa.

Richardson’s new caucus director, Shari Fitzgerald, is a seasoned Iowa political operative who has been involved in every caucus since 1972. She was part of Dick Gephardt’s 2004 and 1988 presidential campaigns, Bill Bradley’s 2000 presidential campaign, President Carter’s 1976 and 1980 campaigns and has served on the Democratic State Central Committee.

T.K. Anderson, newly announced deputy political director for eastern Iowa, has served as president of the Davenport NAACP for two terms and also as its political action chair. Anderson served two terms on the Davenport Civil Rights Commission, has been a candidate for the Scott County Board of Supervisors and has worked with the Tom Harkin, Tom Vilsack and Chet Culver campaigns. He is a Vietnam veteran and an experienced community and grassroots organizer.

Lauren Rose will take over as Iowa communications director. She replaces Tom Reynolds, who was promoted within the campaign to serve at a national level. Rose most recently worked for a national Democratic direct mail firm. In 2004, she worked in the South Carolina press operation of Gen. Wes Clark’s presidential campaign, as well as on numerous campaigns in Texas.

Scheduling and advance will be handled by Valerie Herold. She served on the Virginia Coordinated Campaign in 2006 during Sen. Jim Webb’s successful campaign and for Kerry-Edwards 2004 in Florida. Herold was a field director for Clinton-Gore 1996 in Florida, and worked for Treasury Secretaries Rubin and Summers.

The staff will join existing State Director Robert Becker, who was Bill Bradley’s Polk County field director in 2000, Brad Frevert, and Phoebe Silag. Frevert serves as Iowa field director and is a native Iowan. He is also a veteran of the Tom Harkin and Tom Vilsack campaigns in 2002 and Kerry-Edwards 2004 in Iowa, and was previously the Iowa Democratic Party’s field director.

Silag continues to serve as deputy Iowa communications director and is also a native Iowan. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law, a veteran of the Culver-Judge 2006 gubernatorial campaign and ACT in Iowa 2004.

The campaign is now operating 15 field offices in the state: Des Moines, Ames, Marshalltown, Davenport, Burlington, Ottumwa, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Dubuque, Waterloo, Mason City, Fort Dodge, Council Bluffs, Sioux City, and Storm Lake. Currently, more than 70 organizers are employed in Iowa.