CHRIS DODD FOR PRESIDENT, INC.
 

Political Director

Heyward Bannister

(announced April 10, 2007)  Bannister has played a senior role in over 100 campaigns in South Carolina during his 27 years as a political and marketing professional. Currently the owner and president of Bannister Company of Columbia (BANCO).  Formerly director of Fannie Mae's South Carolina Community Business Center.  Worked in President Bill Clinton's Administration and was the White House Liaison for the Department of Veteran Affairs.  Directed Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign and the 1996 coordinated campaign in South Carolina.  A co-founder of the first African-American owned public relations firm in South Carolina.  Undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of South Carolina.  Gadsden native.
 
 

Press Secretary

Michelle Macrina

(announced April 10, 2007)  Owner and president of The Macrina Group, a political and public relations consulting firm.  Experience includes COO and Acting Executive Director of the South Carolina Democratic Party.  Field Director on Sen. John Kerry's 2003-04 South Carolina primary campaign.  Treasurer of Greenville County Democrats from 2000 to the beginning of 2003.  Field Director for Sen. Max Cleland's 2002 re-election campaign.  Upstate Advisor for the South Carolina Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign in 2000.  Regional Field Director for Sen. Fritz Hollings and the South Carolina Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign in 1998.  National PAC Coordinator and Virginia Program Director for Clean Water Action in Washington, DC.  Graduate of David Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN.  Currently a State Democratic Executive committee member representing Greenville.
 
 

Field-Midlands

Bryan Wellman

(reported by S.C. Politics Today on June 11, 2007)  A former president of the Young Democrats of South Carolina.  "Currently third vice-chairman of the Richland County Democratic Party and has worked with the state party and on Inez Tenenbaum's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign."
 
 
 

Senior Advisor

(Mr.) Ashley Cooper

(announced April 10, 2007)  Of counsel at Ogletree Deakins at the Charleston office.  Previously assistant general counsel for federal energy regulatory matters and chief compliance officer for federal standards of conduct for SCANA Corporation; also adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina.  Legislative director and counsel to Sen. Fritz Hollings for four years.  Started his legal career at Ogletree Deakins.  B.A. in economics from Clemson University, 1994; J.D. from University of South Carolina, 1997.  Charleston native.
 

Co-Chairs:
State Senator Phil Leventis of Sumter

former State Representative Joe Brown of Columbia

Drew Theodore - (announced Aug. 29, 2007) The Democratic candidate for Comptroller General in 2006.  President and owner of Theodore & Associates, based in Columbia; he founded the business in 1984 and later expanded into Summerville and Greenville.  Graduate of the University of South Carolina.
 
 

Co-Chairs of groups from political, business and education communities supporting Dodd (announced Aug. 29, 2007):
South Carolina Educators for Dodd
Hon. Paul Livingston of Columbia - Livingston is currently a member of Richland County Council for District 4. He is a past Chairman of the Richland County Council and a former member and Chairman of the Richland County District One School Board. He is also a former member of the State Advisory Council for Vocational and Technical Education. He currently teaches psychology at Midlands Technical College, where is he is a previous recipient of the Teacher of the Year award.
John Presto of Rock Hill - Presto, a former teacher, was Vice President for Administration and Planning at Winthrop College for almost ten years. He also founded and operated for 15 years Academic Challenge, a company that published quiz bowl questions. Presently, he works in real estate and serves on the Executive Committee of the South Carolina Democratic Party.
 

South Carolina Business Leaders for Dodd
Drew Theodore - above
Frank Mood of Columbia - Mood is currently the Sr. Vice President and General Counsel at SCANA Corporation. A graduate of The Citadel, he was a First Lieutenant in the Army. He was the interim Dean at USC School of Law in 2003. He is also active on numerous professional and community boards, including the Columbia Urban League, Liberty Fellowship, the Citadel Foundation and American Bar Association.

 
South Carolina Women for Dodd
Jami Koontz of Charleston - Koontz worked for eight years for former U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings in his Columbia and Charleston offices. She currently works in Charleston and is active in the community.
Elizabeth Vogt of Clemson - Vogt worked for former U.S. Senator Wyche Fowler of Georgia in his Atlanta office. She is currently attending Clemson for her Masters in Public Administration and is active in local democratic campaigns.
 

South Carolina Veterans for Dodd
Sen. Phil Leventis - above
Ike Holman of St. Matthews - Holman is a Vietnam era veteran and has been a community activist in Calhoun County for more than thirty years. He serves on the Calhoun County DSS Advisory Board and the Lower Savannah Workforce Development Board. Holman is 1st Vice President of the Calhoun Branch of the NAACP and the Calhoun County Democratic Party. He is retired from the SC Army National Guard and Albemarle Chemical Corporation.
 

South Carolina Young Professionals for Dodd
Courtney Gibbes of Columbia - Gibbes, originally from Hilton Head, is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and an inaugural graduate of the Charleston School of Law. She is the former 3rd Vice Chair of the Charleston County Democratic Party. She currently works in Columbia with the Richland County Public Defenders Office.
Peter Leventis of Columbia - Leventis, originally from Sumter, is a graduate of University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. He was a Secret Service agent in and New York, NY for four years before he returned to South Carolina and graduated from USC School of Law. He currently is an associate at McKay Law Firm in Columbia.
 

South Carolina Small Business Owners for Dodd
Sharon Ritter of Columbia - Ritter is the owner of Critter's Corner which specializes in personal shopping and event planning. She is also a certified wedding director. Ritter has also worked with H&R Block for 20 years. She has served on the boards of SC State Employees Association and SC Public Health Association. She is also active in numerous community organizations and campaigns.
 

South Carolina College Students for Dodd
Michael Cooper of Charleston - Cooper recently graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in English. While attending school, he served as vice-president of Sigma Tau Delta English Honors fraternity and mentored students at James Simmons Elementary School. He also interned in Washington, DC for former U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings. Currently, Cooper is a volunteer for Charleston Mayor Joe Riley's re-election campaign.
Ricky Harris of Whitmire - Harris is a rising sophomore at Furman University in Greenville where he was elected Class Senator his freshman year and is a member of the Mediation Project and Director of Child Recreation for the Heller Service Corps. He spent the summer interning in Columbia for the Richland County CASA office for disadvantaged children.
 
 
 

Copyright © 2007  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action