Dick Gephardt-Campaign Organization, Iowa
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." 
See also: Gephardt Iowa Page
Iowa Travel
Gephardt for President, Inc. Iowa Leadership
Campaign Headquarters: 105 Grand Ave, West Des Moines
State Director John Lapp
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)

Copyright © 2003, 2004  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action