John Kerry for President Inc.
On December 4, 2002, Sen. Kerry filed papers with the FEC establishing
John Kerry for President Inc., an exploratory committee. James M.
Jordan served as the national campaign manager through November 9, 2003;
he was replaced by Mary Beth Cahill, who previously served as chief of
staff to Sen. Edward Kennedy.
John Kerry for President Inc. Iowa Leadership
Campaign Headquarters: 1500 Locust Street, Des Moines
The campaign opened its Iowa headquarters at 1500 Locust
St. in downtown Des Moines in the last week of Feb. 2003.1
| State Director |
John Norris |
(Jan. 1, 2003) In 2002
Norris ran for Congress in the 4th District against Rep. Tom Latham (R).
Prior to his campaign, starting in 1999, Norris served as chief of staff
to Gov. Tom Vilsack. In 1998 he served as chairman and executive
director of the Iowa Democratic Party. Previously he served as chief
of staff to Rep. Leonard Boswell and as district representative for then-Rep.
Tom Harkin. He owned and managed the Old Hotel Restaurant in Greenfield
from 1989 to 1992 and served as vice president of the Greenfield Chamber
of Commerce. During the mid-1980's Norris served as state director
for the Iowa Farm Unity Coalition. A native of Red Oak, Norris graduated
from Simpson College in Indianola with a B.A. in political science in 1981
and received his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1995.
| Assistant to the State
Director |
Heather Matson |
(September 1, 2003) Prior
to joining the campaign Matson worked for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
in the Government Relations office.
| Caucus/Field Director |
Jonathan Epstein |
(September 2003, succeeded Angelique
Pirozzi) Worked in the political at Kerry national headquarters as
the campaign desk for Iowa, New Hampshire and California. National
political director for the Citizen Soldier Fund, Kerry's leadership PAC.
Campaign director at the DSCC in the beginning of the 2002 cycle.
Deputy political director at the DSCC in 2000. Political outreach
director for AIPAC from 1997-99. Deputy finance director for Max
Cleland's 1996 Senate campaign. Graduated with a BA in Economics
from Trinity College in Hartford, CT in 1997.
Regional Field Directors:
(4 equal regions based
upon caucus weight)
(March 1, 2003) Directed
the Coordinated Campaign in the 3rd CD in 2002 including the successful
re-election of Congressman Boswell. Grassroots coordinator for 25
states for the American Cancer Society’s government relations department.
Worked in the press office for Tipper Gore at the White House. M.A.
in political management from George Washington University. B.S. in
developmental psychology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
(March 1, 2003) Regional
campaign manager for three successful legislative races in Western Iowa
in 2002. Vice-president of sales for the University Travel Corporation
in Virginia. Served on the board of directors for Camp L.E.A.D. (Leadership,
Education, and Diversity). B.S. in psychology from Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University.
(March 1, 2003) Directed
the Coordinated Campaign in the 1st CD in 2002. Regional organizer
for the Alliance for Justice, organizing youth for gun control. Field
organizer for Gore in Washington State. M. A. in political management
and B.A. in political science from George Washington University.
(September 1, 2003) Prior to
joining the campaign, Simmons was the Washington, DC representative for
the global warming and energy campaign at the Sierra Club. She worked
on Jack Conway's bid for Congress in the 3rd CD in Kentucky in 2002 and
on Congressman John Spratt's 2000 re-election in South Carolina.
F I E L D
O F F I C E S
As of mid-November 2003
the campaign had 22 field offices
(includes a Des Moines field
office in the state headquarters).
11 field offices were open
as of July 23, 2003:
Burlington -- 311 3rd St., Burlington,
IA 52601 ...Bridgett Petruzcok
Cedar Rapids -- 1117 First Avenue
S.E., Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 ...Derek Newton
Danielle Black
Council Bluffs -- 148 West Broadway,
Council Bluffs IA 51501 ...Matt DeFerranti
Davenport -- 207 E. Second St.,
Davenport, IA 52801 ...Brent Eiler
...Sarah Dale
Des Moines -- 1500 Locust St.,
Des Moines, IA 50309 ...Beth Leonard
Dubuque -- 249 West 1st Street,
Dubuque, IA 52001 ...Jake Braun
Fort Dodge -- 1027 Central Ave.,
Fort Dodge, IA 50501 ...Anna Gustina
Iowa City -- 201 S. Clinton #261,
Iowa City, IA 52240 ...Chris Hayler
...Marygrace Galston
Mason City -- 15 E State St., Mason
City, IA 50401 ...Jack Ryan
Sioux City -- 720 Jackson St.,
Sioux City, IA 51101 ...Mike Moffo
...Teddy Johnston
Waterloo -- 501 Sycamore
St. #733, Waterloo, IA 50703 ...Kate Simmons
...Rob Hill
11 additional offices:
Ames -- 319 Clark Ave., Ames, IA
50010 ...Damian Specht
Carroll -- 225 E 5th St., Carroll,
IA 51401 ...Steve Bruno
Clinton -- 415 S. 3rd St., Clinton,
IA 52732 ...Sarah Dale
Creston -- 121 N Elm St., Creston
50801 ...Justin Buell
Decorah -- 315 W Water St., Decorah,
IA 52101 ...Michael Teter
Fort Madison -- 738 Avenue G, Fort
Madison, IA 52627 ...Mike Ross
Marshalltown --107 S. 3rd
St., Marshalltown, IA 50156 ...Brent Welder
Newton -- 203 1st Avenue West,
Newton, IA 50208 ...Reed Millar (Kerry
officially opened Nov. 17, 2003)
Ottumwa -- 103 E 2nd St., Ottumwa,
IA 52501 ...Tim Del Monico
Oskaloosa -- 117 N. Market St.,
Oskaloosa, IA 50577 ...Eve Gutman
Spencer -- 20 W 6th St., Suite
#302, Spencer, IA 51301 ...Ronce Almond
| Political Director |
Mike Malaise |
(June 18, 2003) Communications
director for the Iowa Democratic Party from January 2003. Communications
director for the House and Senate Caucus, April-Dec. 2002. Press
secretary to Congressman Ken Lucas of Kentucky in Washington from January
2000.
| Deputy Political Director/Scheduler |
Linda Chappetto |
(February 17, 2003) Assistant
to First Lady Kristi Vilsack on the Vilsack-Pederson campaign in 2002.
Worked on a state assembly race in Wisconsin in 2000.
| Communications Director |
Laura Capps |
(July 15, 2003) Director
of Government Affairs at UC Berkeley from summer 2000 to 2003. Served
on the White House staff from 1995-98, first as executive assistant to
Clinton senior advisor George Stephanopoulos, and then as a presidential
speechwriter. Daughter of the late Congressman Walter Capps and now
Congresswoman Lois Capps.
| Deputy Communications Director |
Jennifer Psaki |
(April 1, 2003 initially Assistant
to the State Director) Field organizer for the Iowa Democratic Party's
Coordinated Campaign in 2002.
| Director of Research/Press
Assistant and Research |
Cyril Dadd |
Recent graduate of the Lyndon
B Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
Worked as an intern with the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, and
project coordinator with Africare in South Africa. B.A. from Tulane
University. Originally from Massachusetts.
(April 1, 2003--served as Chief
of Operations) Youth organizer for the Iowa Democratic Party's Coordinated
Campaign in 2002. Also has White House experience.
| GOTV Director |
Angelique Pirozzi |
(starting November 2003)
Served as Kerry's Iowa field director/caucus manager from January-June
2003. Campaign manager of the Kerry Committee, Sen. Kerry's re-election
campaign in 2002. Previously, she directed the Democrats' coordinated
campaign in Wisconsin in Fall 2000, and earlier was deputy caucus director
for Iowans for Gore. Pirozzi worked on the Clinton/Gore campaign
in New Hampshire in 1996.
| Director of Constituency
Organizing |
Holly Armstrong |
(announced Dec. 9, 2003)
Ran Julie Thomas' 2002 congressional campaign.
| Volunteer Coordinator |
Karla Hardy |
ISU junior from Tyler, TX studying
History and Sociology, pursuing minors in French and Political Science.
| Director of Advance |
Mwitu Ndugu |
Los Angeles coordinator for
Assemblyman Herb Wesson. Previously worked at the White House for
a couple of years.
| Chief of Operations |
Charles Richardson |
(August 25, 2003) Served as
Special Assistant, White House Operations in the Clinton Administration.
| State Chair |
Jerry Crawford |
Crawford is Des Moines attorney
who has chaired the Polk County Democrats. He was state chair for
Dukakis in 1988 and worked on the Mondale, Clinton, and Gore presidential
campaigns.
Endorsements
-On January 12, 2004 Iowa
First Lady Christie Vilsack endorsed Sen. Kerry.
-On January 11, 2004 The
Hawk Eye (Burlington) endorsed Sen. Kerry.
-27
state legislators have endorsed Sen. Kerry (as of January 12, 2004).
-On January 10, 2004 the
Iowa
City Press-Citizen endorsed Sen. Kerry.
-On January 9, 2004 the campaign
announced the endorsement of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.
(Miller had backed Sen. Lieberman).
-On January 8, 2004 the Quad-City
Times endorsed Sen. Kerry.
-On January 6, 2004 the campaign
announced the endorsement of State Rep. Doug Struyk of Council Bluffs,
who had formerly backed Sen. Lieberman. The campaign also announced
the backing of AFSCME Local 231 President Sarah Little of Cedar Rapids
and of several former Dean supporters. more
-On December 10, 2003 the
campaign announced the endorsement of former state Sen. Mark Shearer
of Washington, Iowa.
-On December 1, 2003 the
campaign announced it had picked up "significant support" since the JJ
Dinner, including State Reps. Dave Jacoby and Donovan Olson.
-On October 9, 2003 the campaign
announced its Statewide
Leadership Team, including 21 state legislators.
-On September 8, 2003 the
campaign announced support of 18
state legislators.
-On August 26, 2003, Sen.
Kerry announced the Iowa
Veterans for Kerry leadership team. Chair is State Senator
Steve
Warnstadt (District 1, Sioux City) >.
-On August 18, 2003 the campaign
announced support of 50
labor leaders from across Iowa.
Former
(March 1, 2003) Campaign director
for the Oregon Democratic Senate caucus in 2002. Field director for
a campaign finance initiative in Missouri. Field organizer for the
successful congressional race of Jan Schakowsky, Chicago. Managed
a targeted state Senate race in Ft. Collins, CO. B.A. in political
science and public administration from Indiana University.
Notes.
Utilities on Feb. 24, phones
in Feb. 26. This is the former Dave Ostrem car dealership that served
as Elizabeth Dole's Iowa caucus headquarters until she withdrew from the
race for the 2000 Republican nomination in Oct. 1999. Norris stated,
"We settled on the location based on quality of work space, convenient
location and ample free parking. While visibility was not a key factor
the location does have very good visibility so that's a plus. A lessor's
willingness to do a 11 month lease is also a factor." |