Obama General Election Campaign Organization, California
revised May 12, 2009  disclaimer

Obama for America 
  |  3619 Motor Ave   |  Los Angeles, CA  
State Director
Mitchell Schwartz
Also served as state director for Obama's California primary campaign.  President and founder (1999) of the Bomaye Company, a public affairs firm in Los Angeles.  Has served on the campaigns of Senator Boxer, Governor Davis and Mayor Villaraigosa.  Served in the Office of Public Affairs for the Department of State under President Clinton, 1993-95.  Gov. Bill Clinton's state director for the 1992 New Hampshire primary.  Worked on the Dukakis campaign in 1988 and the Mondale campaign in 1984.

Political Director
Rusty Hicks
Most recently served as the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor's political and data representative.  Political experience includes work for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, late California Assemblymember Mike Gordon and district director for California Assemblymember Ted Lieu. Native of Forth Worth, Texas.

Communications Director
Gabriel Sanchez
Experience includes communications director for California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, deputy press secretary to Gov. Gray Davis, and work on several gubernatorial campaigns.

New Media Director
Sarah Gallagher
Came to the campaign from her position as senior manager of interactive marketing at The North Face, 2003-08.  Project management director at Meridian Global Solutions, 2000-03.  Senior project manager at iXL, 1998-2000.  Graduate of the University of Virginia, 1998.

Field Director
Mary Jane Stevenson
A regional field organizer on Obama's California primary campaign for two Congressional Districts in the Los Angeles area; then appointed as a precinct coach for nine Congressional Districts from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara.  Before joining the campaign, Stevenson was a national on-air correspondent for Court TV.  She also worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily Journal.  B.S. in journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder; master's degree in international affairs from American University.

Deputy Field Director Southern California
Erin Finley
On leave from marketing and business development analyst position with Greenberg Traurig, LLP.  Organized the Westside of Los Angeles during the entire primary season.  Undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2004.

Deputy Field Director Northern California
Peggy Moore
LGBT activist in Oakland.  Public affairs representative for Clear Channel Outdoors.  Ran for Oakland City Council in 2005.  A field director on the campaign against Prop. 22 (the Knight Initiative) on California's Nov. 2000 ballot.  Originally from Oklahoma.

Regional Field Directors (8)
Bay Area Pam Coukos
Of Counsel to Mehri & Skalet, PLLC; joined the firm in 1998.  Also a Ph.D. student in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program at the University of California, Berkeley.  Class Counsel in Ingram v. The Coca-Cola Company race discrimination case, settled June 7, 2001.  Staff attorney for the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.  Law clerk to the Hon. Edward R. Korman, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York.  Graduate of Harvard Law School, 1994; A.B. in political science from Brown University, 1990.

Sacramento/Fresno Kim Mack
Works for the County of Sacramento.

San Carlos to Santa Cruz Giselle Schmitz
During the primary Schmitz ran the San Jose field office (unpaid).  Business experience includes president of Rox Fitness in Mountain View, commercial accounts at Cisco Systems, Wal-Mart Marketing Account Group at Coca Cola, and account executive at TDS Metrocom.  M.B.A. from Thunderbird School of Global Management, 2005.  Undergraduate degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2000.
 
Ventura County, Los Angeles, Orange County Aaron Schiller
Started on the campaign in Las Vegas and California before going on to serve as a regional field organizer in Texas and then Indiana during the primary season.
M.A. from the Architectural Association, School of Architecture, London in 2007, and undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 2006.


East Los Angeles and Latino Vote Director Alma V. Márquez
Vice President of Government Affairs for Green Dot Public Schools.  A program officer at First 5 LA.  Consultant to the L.A. County Office of Education and L.A. County Children's Planning Council.  Master's degree in urban planning from UCLA.  Bachelor's degree in English and comparative literary studies from Occidental College.

Los Angeles-San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley Carolina Krawiec
Worked as a precinct specialist during the California primary.  Formerly with Bet Tzedek Legal Services and Urban Institute.  J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2006 and undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001.

Inland Empire, San Diego Brent Robinson
A regional field organizer in California during the primary.  Undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2008.

South Los Angeles G. Akili
Organizer for more than 35 years.  Akili acted as a field coordinator for the Kerry Campaign in Ohio as well as national trainer for the Democratic National Committee in 2004.  In addition, Akili has served as senior political/community organizer for SEIU Local 1000; special assistant to Assembly Speakers Antonio Villaraigosa and Herb Wesson; director of Center for Parent Involvement in Education; associate director of Los Angeles Job with Peace; co-founder and vice president of the United Domestic Workers Union; and an organizer with the United Farm Workers Union of America.


Surrogate Scheduler
Amanda Moose
Also surrogate scheduler on the California primary campaign.  Experience in Hollywood including vice president of production at Alphaville Prods, development executive at Caravan Pictures, work at 20th Century Fox, and as an administrative assistant to Robert Redford, 1989-91.  Graduate of Wesleyan University.

Battleground States Coordinator Hope Wood-Romanus
Attended Camp Obama in July 2007.  Teacher in the L.A.U.S.D. for eight years.  Bachelor's degree and teaching certificate from UCLA.

Director of Operations Victoria von Szeliski
On leave from her job as Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Ticket Master.  Attorney for two years at Pillsbury Madison & Sutro, 1990-92.  Law degree from Hastings School of Law at UC Berkeley; undergraduate degree from UC Irvine.

Voter File Manager
Andy Perry
Perry has worked for Salem Press (Pasadena) since 2003, first as editorial research assistant, then manuscript editor and more recently as project manager.  He is also a freelance writer and "recovering academic."  Teaching fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology, 2000-03.  Instructor at Brown University, 1993-2000.  M.A. in English from Brown University, 1994.  B.A. in English from Swarthmore College, 1992.

Voter Protection
Edith Ramirez
Took leave from position as partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges to serve as Latino outreach director during the California primary campaign.  Associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, 1993-96.  J.D. from Harvard Law School, 1992.  A.B. from Harvard-Radcliffe College, 1989.


Field Offices   "all of our offices have phonebanks daily"
South Los Angeles - 5444 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA  90043   ...opening Sept. 27

East Los Angeles - 4518 Cesar Chavez Ave. (off 710 Fwy), Los Angeles, CA 90022   ...opening Sept. 24

Santa Monica/West Los Angeles - 900 Wilshire, Santa Monica, CA

San Diego - 8304 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, Suite 108, San Diego, CA  92111

San Fernando Valley/Van Nuys -
6850 Van Nuys Blvd. Suite 110, Van Nuys, CA 91405


Oakland/Berkeley - 3225 Adeline Street, Berkeley, CA  94103   ...opening Sept. 4

Sacramento - 1420 65th Street, Suite 102, Sacramento, CA 95819

San Francisco - 939 Market Street, San Francisco, CA  91403

Santa Clara County/San Jose - 43 E. Gish Road, San Jose, CA  95112   ...opening Sept. 23

Fresno - 421 West Shaw, Fresno, CA  93704    ...opening Aug. 23

"We made 10 million phone calls to 10 battleground states during the time from the nomination speech to the victory speech.  We sent over 600 interns to battleground states and our volunteers took 12,000 weekend trips to Nevada  and Colorado."



California Democratic Party
  1401 21st Street, Suite 200  |  Sacramento, CA  95811     >
                                                          1801 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 825  |  Los Angeles CA   90067
Chair
Art Torres
Appointed to finish the term vacated by Bill Press in 1996; elected in 1997, 2001 and 2005.  Served twenty years in the State Legislature, twelve as a State Senator and earlier eight as an Assemblyman.  Ran for state Insurance Commissioner in 1994. Bachelor's degree from UC Santa Cruz; J.D. from UC Davis School of Law.


Executive Director
Kathy Bowler
Executive director since 1995.  Took a leave of absence to serve as California state director on Gore 2000 (named July 26, 1999, left the position Jan. 2000).  Chief of staff to State Senate President David Roberti, 1994.  CEO of a political voter file firm.  Chief consultant to Roberti, 1985.  Directed the Mondale/Ferraro campaign in Northern California.  Controller for the Host Committee for the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. 


Senior Advisor/Chief Spokesperson
Bob Mulholland
Campaign advisor to the California Democratic Party since March 1991 (Mulholland managed Phil Angelides' successful campaign to become state party chair in March 1991).  He has been involved in hundreds of campaigns and initiatives, local and statewide, and played a key role in California Democratic Party campaigns since 1992 and in many presidential campaigns.  Active with the Democratic Party for more than 30 years.  Vietnam veteran, he served with the 101st Airborne and was wounded in the Tet Offensive. 


Political Director
Crystal Strait
Experience includes communications director for Assemblyman Lloyd Levine; a fellow for State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, and work on Betty Karnette's Assembly campaign.  Elected president of the California Young Democrats in 2005.  Graduate of UC Santa Barbara; while a student she helped on Walter Capps' congressional campaign.

Deputy Political Director
Martha Gamez
Experience includes field organizer on McNerney for Congress, 2006-07.


Research Director
Chris Myers


IT Director
Andrew Hintz


Online Organizing Director
Matt Lockshin
(Jan. 2008)  Online organizer for It's OUR Healthcare, 2007.  In Oct. 2005 Lockshin started the SayNoToPombo blog which contributed to the defeat of the 11th CD Republican congressman in 2006.  Graduate of UC Berkeley, 2004.

Finance Director
Lisa Cassinis
Degree in economics from UC Santa Barbara, 2002.


Finance Committee
Eric Bradley of Long Beach,
Lead Chair
Barbara V.Z. Howard of Sacramento, Co-Chair
Aleita J. Huguenin of Rancho Murieta, Co-Chair
Steven Maviglio of Sacramento, Co-Chair
Andrea Alarcon of Los Angeles, Member
Kevin J. Biggers of Rancho Palos Verdes, Member
Kenneth Burt of Sacramento, Member
Andrew Byrnes of Redwood City, Member
Cathy Calfo of Sacramento, Member
Helen L. Doherty of San Dimas, Member
Alexandra E. Gallardo Rooker of Sacramento, Member
Jim B. Gordon, Jr of Folsom, Member
Trent Hager of Sacramento, Member
Mickey Harrington of Magalia, Member
Harry L. Hartman of Alameda, Member
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr. of Los Angeles, Member
Xavier R. Martinez of San Marcos, Member
John A. Perez of Los Angeles, Member
Estevan A. Rivera of San Diego, Member
Kris Schwenkmeyer of Hermosa Beach, Member
David Serrano Sewell of San Francisco, Member
Robin Torello of San Leandro, Member
Daniel Charles Weitzman of Sacramento, Member
Betty T. Yee of San Francisco,
Member


Senior Advisor - Michelle Maravich

Chair of "58 County Strategy" - State Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter)
(announced July 14, 2008) liaison between the CDP and Democratic Central Committees

Obama primary
2004 Kerry

Copyright © 2008  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action