Published August 25, 2009 at 6:37 p.m.
UPDATED BELOW.
As I noted in this week's "Fair Game" column, Secretary of State Deb Markowitz is conducting a national search for a campaign manager.
Well, now the guy who's been doing much of the heavy lifting to date has announced he's moving on as of September 30.
Markowitz said hiring a polished campaign pro was not a criticism of the campaign work to date of her dynamic duo — Jason Powell and Reid DeWolfe. DeWolfe worked on Andy Montroll's mayoral campaign in Burlington, while Powell was candidate Barack Obama's Vermont organizer. DeWolfe is also the stepson of Kathy DeWolfe, the state elections director.
“They have done a stellar job for me so far,” said Markowitz of thepair. “We need to build and expand on that good work because it’s goingto take a strong team with experience to beat a politician like JimDouglas.”
Powell late Tuesday sent out a note saying he's transitioning out of the campaign.
"Having fulfilled my commitment through the summer, it is now time for me to move on and explore other opportunities," he said in his note.
Hmm, "explore other opportunities" is right up there with "spending time with my family" as the reason folks give for moving on from politics.
Powell and DeWolfe proved formidable for sure. Markowitz raised nearly $200,000 as of July in her bid to unseat Republican incumbent Gov. Jim Douglas. She is squaring off in a three-way Democratic primary against State Sens. Doug Racine and Susan Bartlett.
She raised more money than all of her challengers combined, and almost twice as much as her nearest challenger — Racine.
UPDATE:
Well, it appears as if commenter Haik Bedrosian knew something all along. In fact, the headline should be made plural.
I heard from Reid DeWolfe this afternoon that he will also be leavingthe Markowitz campaign at some point this year. The exact date has yetto be determined.
That means Markowitz will be losing two young, energetic campaign workers who she claims were a large part of her early success.
I'm sure this pair won't have a hard time finding a place to land, butI am surprised Markowitz is letting them go after she put together suchan impressive early show in fundraising numbers — both in terms ofdonors and dollars.
Showing 1-5 of 5
Comments are closed.
From 2014-2020, Seven Days allowed readers to comment on all stories posted on our website. While we've appreciated the suggestions and insights, right now Seven Days is prioritizing our core mission — producing high-quality, responsible local journalism — over moderating online debates between readers.
To criticize, correct or praise our reporting, please send us a letter to the editor or send us a tip. We’ll check it out and report the results.
Online comments may return when we have better tech tools for managing them. Thanks for reading.