Photo courtesy Mike Dec/4president.org
Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc Minnesota headquarters on the occasion of the grand opening, July 21, 2004
Kerry and Allies-Organization, Minnesota
Caucus Campaign
Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc.  | 2341 University Avenue West  |  St.Paul (effective July 15, 2004) -the former Wellstone headquarters
State Director Roy Temple
(August 2004)  Veteran of Missouri politics.  Campaign manager for Missouri Gov. Bob Holden's unsuccessful bid for the 2004 Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the Aug. 3 state primary.  Kerry campaign state director in the March 3, 2004 Missouri presidential primary.  Washington chief of staff to Sen. Jean Carnahan.  Executive director of the Missouri Democratic Party, 1998-2000. Ran Gov. Carnahan's 1996 re-election campaign.  Served in the Carnahan administration as deputy chief of staff and as chief of staff.  Political director on Mel Carnahan's successful 1992 campaign for governor in Missouri. [note: Ken Robinson had been announced on June 10, 2004 as State Director to start after the Convention, but he went to Florida to head the Coordinated Campaign]. 
 
 
Communications Director Stacie Paxton
(announced June 10, 2004)  Paxton served as Sen. Lieberman's South Carolina press secretary for the Feb. 3, 2004 primary campaign.  Previously she served as the CNN senior publicist where she managed publicity for the network's anchors, correspondents and programs including Crossfire, Wolf Blitzer Reports and Inside Politics.  Prior to that, she served as the press secretary to U.S. Representative Lois Capps on Capps' campaign and in her congressional office. 

Minnesotans for John Kerry "Volunteer Kitchen Cabinet"
 

Coordinated Campaign  | 2341 University Avenue West  |  St.Paul  Field Organization
Political Director Ken Martin
(announced June 10, 2004)  Campaign Director for Kerry's Minnesota caucus campaign.  Campaign manager of Buck Humphrey's campaign for Minnesota Secretary of
State in 2002.  Deputy state director of Al Gore's presidential campaign in Minnesota in 2000.  State field director for the Minnesota DFL Party, 1997-1999.  Kansas Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign 1996.  Graduate of the University of Kansas with a B.A. in political science and history.
 
 
Press Secretary Jennifer Porter Gore
Press secretary for the House Financial Services Committee, Democratic staff.  Spokesman for Congressman John LaFalce (D-NY).  Public and congressional affairs manager for the Credit Union National Association, Inc.  B.A. in International Studies from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. in Communications from American University. A native of Hartford, CT.
 
 
Field Director Corey Day
Director of Operations in Congressman Martin Sabo's district office, 2003.  Statewide field director on Roger Moe's gubernatorial campaign, 2002.  Political director for Congresswoman Betty McCollum, 2000.  Graduate of Illinois State University with a B.S. in political science.
 
Deputy Field Director Shantha Susman
Graduate of Cornell University, 2004, with a B.A. in English.  Worked on the North Carolina Fund for Public Interest Community Voter Project and the New York Public Interest Research Group's Straphangers Campaign.
 

Regional Field Directors
Steve Barrows CD5 +[1]        Pat McQuillan CD4 +[2]        Sara Stephenson CD6 +[7]       Dave Gringer CD3 +[8]
Field Organization
 
 
 
Research Ted Irgens
Graduate of St. Olaf College, 1991.
 
 
Base Vote Organizer Melvin Carter
Native of Minnesota.  Attended college at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
 
 
Native American Community Coordinator Peggy Flanagan
Degree in child psychology and American Indian studies from the University of Minnesota.  Member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. 
 
 
Surrogate Coordinator Heidi Kraus

 
 
GOTV Director Ben Goldfarb
Executive director of Progressive Minnesota, a community-based political organization that runs grassroots campaigns on issues and elections.   Ran the electoral program for a public employee union in 2002.  Managed the Benanav for Saint Paul mayoral campaign in 2001.  An organizer with Progressive Minnesota on the successful Vote No Stadium Tax! campaign in 1999 in Saint Paul.  Started organizing with the Sierra Club in 1998.

 
Advisor Jeff Blodgett
Took a one month leave of absence from position as executive director of Wellstone Action.  Worked for 13 years as a senior aide, advisor and campaign manager to Wellstone, running all three of his election campaigns.  Began his career as a community organizer working with family farmers during the farm crisis of the 1980s. M.P.A. from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
 
 
Office Manager Katie Tilley
Deputy Office Manager Brendon Fox

 

Minnesota DFL  |  255 E Plato Blvd  |  St. Paul 
State Chair Mike Erlandson
Elected chair of the DFL on April 24, 1999 and re-elected to two more two-year terms.  Has worked for U.S. Congressman Martin Olav Sabo (MN-5) starting in 1987 and became chief of staff in 1993.  Completed Harvard's Kennedy School Program for Senior Managers in Government, 1997. Graduate of St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, with a B.S. in business management, 1986.  Native Minnesotan; grew up in Fridley. 
 
Associate Chair Tarryl Clark

 
Executive Director/Director of the Coordinated Campaign Jennifer Siems Ford
Executive director of the Minnesota DFL since March 2004.  Served as an aide to State Senator John Hottinger and as Committee administrator for the Minnesota Senate Health and Family Security Committee for five years.  Deputy director and GOTV director for the DFL Coordinated Campaign in 2000.   B.A. in political science from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in education from the University of St. Thomas.
 
 
UDF Political Director Adam Prock 
includes IT
 
 
Volunteer/Field Coordinator Erin Frautschy 

 
Field/Volunteer Organizer Taylor Pettis

 
Comptroller Mary Bonk

 
Managing Director of Communications Tonya Tennessen

 
Communications and Research Director Bill Amberg
Amberg helped elect Erlandson party chair in 1999. 
 
 
Director of Party Affairs Amy Beckes

 
Administrative Secretary Jan Rein

 
 

Allies
America Coming Together   |  1919 University Ave W, Suite 3  |  St. Paul  >>
ACT MN's efforts were concentrated in Minn./St. Paul and Duluth.  ACT MN set a goal of knocking on 700,000 doors, and started in March.  The organization made significant efforts to maximize the immigrant vote. 
Offices: Eveleth - 24 Grant Avenue  Duluth - 314 W Superior St, Suite 50
State Director Robert Richman
Richman served National Field Director for the Bill Bradley for President campaign.  He has worked on numerous campaigns including Midwest coordinator for AFL-CIO's Labor '98; Campaign Manager for Lee Fisher for Governor in Ohio for the first half of 1998; Campaign Manager for Darlene Hooley for U.S. House (OR-5) in 1996; Deputy Campaign Manager for Ann Wynia in her U.S. Senate race in Minnesota in 1994; and Field Director for fellow Minnesotan David Minge’s upset victory for the U.S. House in 1992.  He was an early field organizer for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone on his 1990 U.S. Senate campaign, and is credited with finding Wellstone’s famous Green Bus. 
 
 
Field Director Ken Sanguin
Worked on Howard Dean's Iowa caucus campaign, first as Field Director (announced May 15, 2003) and then as coordinator of the Iowa Perfect Storm.  Has worked on campaigns across the country, including on Sen. Wellstone's re-election campaign in 2002 (ran GOTV for the Wellstone/ Mondale campaign) and for the Service Employees International Union. 
 
Deputy Field Director Kris Fredson
Worked on Sen. Wellstone's 2002 campaign (4th CD).  Graduate of Hamline University, 2001.
 
 
Communications Director Meighan Stone
Served as South Carolina Communications Director for Wesley Clark's campaign. 
 
Press Secretary Kelly Schwinghammer
Worked in communications for Families USA in Washington, DC; previously worked for the Minnesota Dental Association through Nov. 2002.
 
 
Director of Constituency Outreach Pamela Twiss
Previously, Twiss worked for 12 years as Co-Director of ISAIAH, a faith-based organization of 80 congregations in the greater Twin Cities area and St. Cloud, Minnesota.  Prior to that, she was Executive Director of Ocean State Action, a progressive political coalition in Rhode Island.  She also directed the Coalition of Consumer Self-Advocates, a group of people with chronic mental illnesses who won improvements in Rhode Island's mental health system. Twiss started organizing in 1986 on health care issues with New Hampshire Citizen Action, a grassroots, direct-action justice organization. 
 
 
Latino Organizing Ana Vazquez
From SEIU 1199 (NY)...one of that union's more than 2004 "Heroes" deployed to battleground states.  Among other activities Vazquez helped organize a "Latino Election Action Summit."
 
African-American Organizing Quincy Gamble
Another SEIU "Hero."  Taking a year off from law school.  Worked for Howard Dean in South Carolina. See Samantha M. Shapiro. "The New Ward Heelers."  Mother Jones, Sept./Oct. 2004. 
 
African Immigrant (Somali) Henry Ongeri
Kenyan American tax lawyer with ABC Group, LLC.  Executive director of Coalition for Pan-African Minnesotans   With SEIU "Hero" Abdirizak Bihi, Ongeri organized a "African Election Action Summit."
 
 
Volunteer Coordinator Michelle Vidovic
Worked on Sen. Wellstone's 2002 campaign (6th CD-North Metro and Central MN).  Aug. 2000 graduate of the University of North Dakota with a BSSW.
 
 
Canvass Director Zach Rodvold
Graduate of the University of Minnesota, 2001.
 
 
IT/Voter File Ed Coleman

 
Administrative Director Jennifer Bakkom
Volunteer on Paul Wellstone’s 2002 re-election campaign.

some of the canvassing was contracted out to Citizen Campaigns Inc.
Director Brian Wilcox
Oversaw 100 staff, which knocked over 375,000 doors, and made more than 180,000 phone calls.  Wilcox previously worked for four years at Clean Water Action.

America Votes  St. Paul
Minnesota Organizing Director Donald McFarland
(started March 2004)  As field director McFarland ran Ben Chandler's campaign in the Feb. 2004 special election in Kentucky's 6th CD; this was the first congressional race after BCRA went into effect and was a Democratic gain.  He has worked on campaigns throughout the country often with a labor connection, including with the AFL-CIO in Oklahoma, SEIU in Washington State, and on a casino initiative in Maine.  In 2000 he was a coordinated campaign staffer in Central Florida and then represented the Democratic Party during the first recount in Volusia County. 
 

MoveOn PAC
Campaign Director Ed Johnson

>On Election Day, MoveOn PAC set up hospitality tents near hundreds of polling places.  Citing reports of MoveOn activists operating within 100 feet of polling places, the Minnesota Republican Party sought unsuccessfully to obtain a temporary restraining order against the group.  MoveOn PAC's Eli Pariser issued this statement from Washington, DC: 

A Hennepin County, Minnesota court this afternoon threw out a Republican request for a temporary restraining order against MoveOn PAC for lack of evidence.

Republican witnesses were unable to testify under oath that any of the volunteers involved in an alleged incident within 100 feet of the polls were associated with MoveOn PAC. Both witnesses, it turned out, were volunteers for the Minnesota Republican Party. The judge found that they were not credible.

"This supports our contention that this was a harassment lawsuit, not based on facts," explained Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn PAC.  "It's purpose was to make news today to suppress voter turnout, and build a false record to use for any possible voter challenges."

"Republicans have been smearing MoveOn all year," Pariser continued. "This is nothing new. It's their modus operandi. Early results today tend to suggest that the American public is not falling for lies and smears."
 

Young Voter Project (21st Century Democrats)
Minnesota was one of four states (OH, MN, OR, NV) where 21st Century Democrats enacted their Young Voter Project to turn out 18-35 year olds.  (Theme: "Vote Mob: Knocking the Doors Off Traditional Politics.")  According to 21st Century Democrats, "Democratic turnout in our 21 targeted precincts increased 80.7%, while Republican turnout increased by only 17%. In St. Paul, we targeted five "swing precints" that split evenly between Bush and Gore in 2000. This year, Kerry won all five precincts by 2% to 14%."
Director Emma Greenman
A field coordinator on Sen. Paul Wellstone’s 2002 campaign

Offices:
1919 University Avenue West, Suite LL6, St. Paul - Patrick
314 West Superior, Suite 50, Duluth - Tony Cuneo
1623 32nd Ave North, St. Cloud - Katie O'Malley

Note: House Minority Leader Matt Entenza and wife Lois Quam made contributions totaling $300,000 to 21st Century Democrats, a 527 organization, in the months leading up to the election, prompting state Republicans to raise questions.  In mid-October St.Paul Pioneer Press political reporter Patrick Sweeney reported that 21st Century Democrats spent at east $210,000 in Minnesota. 
 
 

Minnesota AFL-CIO  | 175 Aurora Ave.  |  St. Paul
President:  Ray Waldron (Roofers)
Secretary-Treasurer:  Steve Hunter (AFSCME)
Battleground Desk/State Director: Jon Youngdahl

Copyright © 2004, 2005  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action