Gephardt for President, Inc.
On January 6, 2003, Rep. Gephardt filed papers with the FEC establishing
Gephardt for President Exploratory Committee. The campaign opened
its headquarters in a downtown Washington, DC office building in the first
part of February 2003. Gephardt formally announced his campaign on
February 19, 2003 in St. Louis, MO. Steve Murphy is the national
campaign manager.
Iowa will be very important
to a Gephardt candidacy. In 1988, Rep. Gephardt won the Iowa precinct
caucuses (31.3 percent of delegates to 26.7 percent for Sen. Paul Simon
and 22.2 percent for Gov. Michael Dukakis), after campaigning in all of
the state's 99 counties. Gephardt's 2004 campaign has a number of
people who worked on that effort. Hailing from the neighboring state
of Missouri, Gephardt can relate to Iowa's Midwestern values. In
the 2002 election cycle, Gephardt's leadership PAC poured a bit more than
$300,000 into the state. Des Moines Register political
columnist David Yepsen observed of Gephardt, "He's got a lot of friends
here in Iowa. He never really quit working the state after '88." |
Gephardt for President, Inc. Iowa
Leadership
Campaign Headquarters: 105 Grand Ave, West Des Moines
Lapp ran Gov. Tom Vilsack's
2002 re-election campaign and also served briefly as Vilsack's communications
director after the election. He joined Vilsack in Oct. 2001 as deputy
chief of staff, after serving chief of staff for Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)
and Rep. Ken Lucas (D-KY). He has a B.A. from the University of Virginia
and a M.P.A. from the George Washington University.
Labor Director |
Chuck Rocha |
On leave from position as national
political director for USWA.
Field Director |
Travis Lowe |
Worked on Iowa Democrats' Coordinated
Campaign in 2002.
Regional Field Directors: Becky
Pearcey (East), BJ Neidardt (Southwest), Emily Parcell (Northwest), Brendan
Greiner (Central), Debbie Rhebergen (Central), Andy Lavigne (Northeast),
Preston Elliott (Southeast)
F I E L D
Ames -- 116 Main Street
Cedar Rapids -- 222 Prospect
Place
Council Bluffs -- 25 S. 15th Street,
Suite 7
Davenport -- 230 W. 15th Street
Dubuque -- 1111 Bluff Street
Fort Dodge --110 North 12th Street
Iowa City -- 1927 Broadway Street
Mason City -- 219 N Jackson Street
Ottumwa --1010 E Williams
Sioux City --1711 Pierce Street
Storm Lake -- 112 West 5th Street
Waterloo -- 306 Jefferson Street
West Burlington -- 16282 Hwy 34
Press Secretary |
Bill Burton |
(started May 1, 2003) Press
secretary to Sen. Tom Harkin, 2001-03.
Deputy Press Secretary |
Kathleen Strand |
Office Manager/Scheduler |
Sue Monahan |
Worked on a state senate race
in Carroll, Iowa and is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa in
Waterloo.
College Outreach Coordinator |
Nate Boulton |
Iowa Names from Third
Quarter FEC Report Include (Alpha): Kathleen D. Cerniglia, Preston
Elliot, Tyler Epstein, Brendan Greiner, Peter Kaval, Andrew LaVigne, Leslie
A. Martes, Emily R. Parcell, Rebecca Pearcey, Amber Pringnitz, Amy Sholis,
Elizabeth A. Schilling, Carissa L. Swanstrom, Vijay Uppal, Jessica Walls.
On January 6, 2004 the campaign announced Iowa Campaign
Chairs and Co-Chairs:
Chairs
Jerry Fitzgerald, Fort Dodge
- former Iowa House Majority Leader; gubernatorial candidate; Democratic
activist; chair of the 1988 Gephardt presidential campaign.
Shari Fitzgerald, Fort Dodge
- state chair for Bill Bradley for President in 2000; statewide Democratic
activist; chair of the 1988 Gephardt presidential campaign.
Co-Chairs
Dan Avenson, Oelwein - former
Majority Leader and former Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives;
former gubernatorial candidate;
statewide Democratic activist
Connie Clark, Cedar Rapids
- retired labor representative for AFSCME; statewide Democratic activist
Bill Dotzler, Waterloo -
Iowa State Senator; former member of the Iowa House of Representatives;
retired UAW member
Jean Haugland, Des Moines
- former member of the Democratic National Committee; former State Party
Vice Chair; statewide Democratic activist
Wally Horn, Cedar Rapids
- State Senator and Former Senate Majority Leader; teacher
Gary Lamb, Chelsea - membership
director of the Iowa Farmers Union; former President of the Iowa Farmers
Union; fourth generation Iowa farmer; former member of the executive board
of the Iowa farm Unity Coalition; Democratic activist
Duane McAninch, Des Moines
- founder of the McAninch Corporation, one of the largest contracting companies
in the Midwest; Democratic activist
Emil Pavich, Council Bluffs
- former member of the Iowa House of Representatives; retired Council Bluffs
City Council member; Democratic activist
Rebecca Reynolds, Bonaparte
- former member of the Iowa House of Representatives; statewide Democratic
activist
Betty Strong, Sioux City
- Democratic activist
On January 15, 2004 the campaign announced Iowa District
Chairs, 50 prominent and politically active Iowans assisting organization
efforts in counties around the state:
Iowa
District Chairs
State Legislators
Sen. Thomas
Courtney (District 44-Burlington) - currently serving his first term
in the Iowa Senate. A member of UAW local 807, Courtney retired from
Case/New Holland after 30 years of service. He has been a member
of the Iowa Workforce Development and Southeast Iowa Health Center Boards.
Courtney served eight years on the Burlington School Board, including six
years as president. ...announced Sept. 29, 2003
Sen. Bill
Dotzler (District 11-Waterloo) - ranking member on the Iowa Senate
Economic Growth Appropriations Subcommittee, in his first term in the Iowa
Senate (elected 2002). Previously served three terms in the Iowa
House. UAW member. ...announced
Sept. 16, 2003
Sen. Bob
Dvorsky (District 15-Coralville) - ranking member of the Appropriations
Committee in the Iowa Senate and a job developer with the Sixth Judicial
District Department of Correctional Services. also Sue Dvorsky -
taught in public school for 25 years. ...announced
July 28, 2003
Sen. Dick
Dearden (34-Des Moines)
Rep. Helen
Miller (District 49-Fort Dodge) - serving her first term Iowa House
of Representatives. Miller is a practicing attorney in Fort Dodge
where she also runs "Young at Art" an arts education non-profit for kids.
She has served as a teacher and a librarian. ...announced
Nov. 20, 2003
Rep. John
Connors (District 68-Des Moines)
Rep. Mark
Kuhn (District 14-Charles City)
Rep. John
Whitaker (District 90-Hillsboro)
Rep. Wesley
Whitead (District 1-Sioux City)
More
On Dec. 12, 2003, the campaign
announced the endorsement of Gary Lamb of Chelsea, a former president of
the Iowa Farmers Union and fourth generation Iowa farmer.
Tom Schmitt, publisher of
The Daily Nonpareil (Council Bluffs), penned an editorial "Dems should
pick Gephardt, not Dean" that ran in the paper on Dec. 14, 2003.
Early Endorsement Announcements
Note: The St.
Louis Post Dispatch reported on August 1, 2003 that 11 of the 34 listed
below are undecided or supporting other candidates.
On July 1, 2003 the campaign
announced its Western Iowa Leadership Team:
-
Bill Biede Council
Bluffs, Ironworker, Democratic Activist.....(Pottawattamie)
-
Gerald Bissen, Mayor
of Earling.....(Shelby)
-
Leland Carmichael Villisca,
Montgomery County Supervisor.....(Montgomery)
-
Gregg Connell, Mayor
of Shenandoah.....(Page)
-
Vivian Ehlers Council
Bluffs, Former Pottawattamie County Supervisor.....(Pottawattamie)
-
Steve Gorman Council
Bluffs, Democratic Activist.....(Pottawattamie)
-
Bob Holstein Persia,
Harrison County Chair.....(Harrison)
-
Ivan Leonard Logan,
Former Harrison County Supervisor.....(Harrison)
-
Donald Linduski Sioux
City, Former Woodbury County Auditor.....(Woodbury)
-
Richard Merritt Onawa,
Monona County Supervisor.....(Monona)
-
Lester NordakerSoldier,
Monona County Supervisor.....(Monona)
-
Brian Shepard Council
Bluffs, Former Pottawattamie County Supervisor.....(Pottawattamie)
-
Stanley Skow Mapleton,
Monona County Supervisor.....(Monona)
-
Greg Steensland Council
Bluffs, Former State Party 1st Vice Chair.....(Pottawattamie)
-
Eldon Teut, Mayor of
Ute.....(Monona)
-
Doug Walish Sioux
City, Chair, Woodbury County Board of Supervisors.....(Woodbury)
-
Kim Walish Sioux City,
Woodbury County Democratic Party Secretary.....(Woodbury)
-
Iowa State Representative Wes
Whitead Sioux City.....(Woodbury)
On June 24, 2003 the
campaign announced its Eastern Iowa Leadership Team:
-
William Brockert, Mayor
of Fruitland.....(Muscatine)
-
Douglas Dewitt, Mayor
of Stockton.....(Muscatine)
-
Rosemary Gordy, Bettendorf
City Council Member.....(Scott)
-
Gary Kampe, Mayor of
Camanche.....(Clinton)
-
Walt Knapper, McCausland
Democratic activist.....(Scott)
-
Linda Kresser, Davenport
Democratic activist.....(Scott)
-
Dick Kuebler, Bettendorf
Democratic activist.....(Scott)
-
Joe McCasland, Mayor
of Calmar.....(Winneshiek)
-
Betty McMahon, Muscatine
County Democratic Party Co-Chair.....(Muscatine)
-
Gerald Pregler, Dubuque
County Democratic Party Vice Chair.....(Dubuque)
-
Paul Scherrman, former
state Rep. from Farley.....(Dubuque)
-
Dennis Starling, Calamus
Democratic activist.....(Clinton)
-
Betty Walters, Buffalo
City Council Member.....(Scott)
-
James Weydert, Mayor
of Peosta.....(Dubuque)
-
Sonya Wilson, Mayor of
Nichols.....(Muscatine)
-
Patt Zamora, Davenport
School Board Member.....(Scott)
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