Obama General Election Campaign Organization, Minnesota
revised April 14, 2009  disclaimer

Obama for America 

State Director
Jeff Blodgett
(announced June 16, 2008)  Taking formal leave from his position as executive director of Wellstone Action beginning July 1.  Senior advisor to Amy Klobuchar’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2006.  Oversaw get-out-the-vote efforts in Minnesota for Kerry/Edwards in 2004.  Thirteen years as a senior aide, advisor, and campaign manager to the late Senator Paul Wellstone; ran all three of Wellstone’s Senate races.  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.

Political Director
Dominick Washington
Director of communications at UnitedHealth Group, May 2005-July 2008.  Communications manager for Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, March 2003-May 2005.  Deputy press secretary to Sen. Tom Daschle, 2000-02.  Graduate of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD.  South Dakota native.

Communications Director
Nick Kimball
Started out as director of new media on Obama's Iowa caucus campaign, then served as communications director on Obama's MN caucus campaign, and as a press secretary on the campaign in TX, IN and OR.  Prior to joining the campaign Kimball worked at the Minnesota DFL for nearly two years, serving as acting communications director and earlier, during the 2006 cycle, as deputy communications director.  Legislative aide to Minnesota Senate Majority Leader in 2005.  Field organizer on Tom Daschle’s 2004 campaign after working field for Kerry during the primaries.  Worked in communications office of national juvenile justice non-profit from 2001-04.  Graduate of The George Washington University.  Native of Minnesota.

New Media Director
Xavier Lopez-Ayala
Came to the Obama campaign from the Hillary for President campaign. He worked for the Clinton campaign in Iowa, Michigan, California, Ohio and Indiana.  Lopez-Ayala has previous experience working for a social networking website, as the student coordinator for the Mexican-American Political Association and as a community outreach fellow with Polaris Project's Los Angeles office.  Lopez-Ayala attends Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI, where he majors in political science.


Campaign for Change
Headquarters: 777 Raymond Avenue   |  St. Paul, MN  55114  (North of Key's Cafe, off University Ave)  ...office opening July 17, 2008
State Field Director
Jaclyn Urness
Started as a field organizer on the Iowa caucus campaign and continued on to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Wyoming, Washington, Nevada, and Virginia during the primary season.  Worked for the Minnesota Coordinated Campaign in 2006.  A legislative aide to former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Dean E. Johnson.  She graduated from the University of Iowa and grew up on a farm outside Fischer, MN.

Director of Surrogates
C. Scott Cooper
Recently served for six years as the executive director of the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action.  Public policy director for OutFront Minnesota for several years. Member of Sen. Paul Wellstone's Senate staff during his first term.  Cooper has played key roles in several Minnesota elections, including Wellstone's campaigns and Skip Humphrey's gubernatorial campaign, and he served as campaign manager for Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton's successful 1997 reelection bid.  Graduate of Macalester College and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Deputy Press Secretary
Ben Grossman-Cohen
Previously a consultant at M & R Strategic Services.  In 2006 was a field organizer on Missouri Project Victory.  Graduate of Northwestern University, 2006.

Youth Vote Director
Andrew Zucker


GOTV Director
Zach Rodvold
State director for Sen. Amy Klobuchar.  State director for Minnesotans United to Protect Social Security.  In 2004 Rodvold served as the canvass director for America Coming Together in Minnesota.  Staff assistant to Sen. Paul Wellstone.  Graduate of the University of Minnesota, 2001.

Voter File
Brian Smith

IT Director
Paul Weinstein
(July 2008)  President of Kepler Solutions, Inc. since Aug. 2003.  Web application developer for DigitalWork, 2006-08.  Self-employed consultant.  Internet Systems Virtuoso at Red Hat, Inc., 2000-02.  Database engineer at C2Net Software, Inc., 1998-2000.  M.B.A. in general management, 2008.  B.S. in computer science from Elmhurst College, 1998.

Operations Director
Chris Pohlad
Worked in Budapest, Hungary as an analyst for a Pepsi bottling company; organized the Hungary for Obama group.  Degree in international relations from the University of Puget Sound, 2007.  Grandson of banker and Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad.

Voter Protection Coordinator
Antha Williams
Program officer at the Beldon Fund, a philanthropic foundation in New York.  Previously served as organizing director with Green Corps, a training program for aspiring environmental leaders.  B.A. in women's studies and biology from Dartmouth College, 1998.



Coordinated Campaign
Manager
Jaime Tichner
(started at the DFL in Nov. 2005)  Graduate of Denison University.



Minnesota DFL 
|   255 East Plato Blvd  |  St. Paul, MN 55107-1623     651-293-1200  >
Chair
Brian Melendez
(elected May 2005)  Partner at Faegre & Benson LLP.  A.B. (1986), M.T.S. (1991) and J.D. (1991) from Harvard University.

Associate Chair Donna Cassutt        Secretary Susan Rego        Treasurer Bill Davis
Affirmative Action Officer Megan Thomas        Finance Chair Mike Rothman


Executive Director
Andy O'Leary
(started in Sept. 2005)  Formerly political director for the Indiana Democratic Party.

Outreach Director
RoseAnn Zimbro


Voter File Manager
Jared Nordlund


Party Affairs Director
David Weinlick


Communications Director
John Stiles
(announced June 17, 2008; succeeded Kelly Schwinghammer...Stiles had served as Associate Communications Director for the past year)


Associate Communications Director
Eric Fought
(announced June 17, 2008)  More than 15 years of experience in communications and public relations, including as an award-winning broadcast journalist.  Campaign manager on Tony Raimondo's 2008 Democratic primary campaign for U.S. Senate in Nebraska.  Communications director for the Nebraska Democratic Party.  Regional director of public affairs for the U.S. Department of the Navy and communications director for a statewide child-advocacy organization.  Originally from Wisconsin.


Finance Director
David Kaplan


Comptroller
Leah Drilias


Administrative Secretary
Jan Rein
Administrative secretary in the 2004 cycle as well.


Regional
1st CD -
Sarah Duevel
505 N Riverfront Drive, Mankato,  MN  56001
401 16th Ave NW, Rochester,  MN  55901
137 Pembroke Ave S, Wabasha,  MN  55981
685 West 5th Street, Winona,  MN  55987

2nd CD - Kent Berg
102 3rd St. E, Northfield,  MN  55057

3rd CD - Brittany Edwards

4th CD - Mackenzie Taylor

5th CD - Tyvon Bates

6th CD - Warren Claflin
9380 Central Ave, Suite 310, Blaine,  MN 
904 West Saint Germain Street, Saint Cloud,  MN  56301

7th CD - Joe Aronson

8th CD -
222 W 1st St, Duluth,  MN  55802

5th Senate District - 107 Howard Street, Hibbing,  MN  55746


Obama caucuses
2004 Kerry
Copyright © 2008, 2009  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action