Blue Mass Group

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Silbert beefs up her campaign operation

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Lt. Gov. candidate Andrea Silbert has apparently decided to spend some of her bountiful cash-on-hand by hiring two fairly big-name Democratic operatives: media consultant Tad Devine and campaign manager Steve Gerencser.  From the press release:

Steve Gerencser has joined Andrea Silbert from the Chicago-based political media and communications firm of Adelstein & Liston after a successful anti-smoking campaign in Chicago.  In 2004 Gerencser worked as the New Hampshire Political Director for Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign.  He was an advisor to Governor Howard Dean in New Hampshire during the 2005 DNC Chairmanship race. 

Tad Devine is a nationally renowned Democratic consultant and media producer with a long track record of successful campaigns in Massachusetts and throughout the country.  His clients in Massachusetts have included Senator Ted Kennedy (1994) and Senator John Kerry (1996). He has also worked for Governor Michael Dukakis’s campaign for President in 1988, for Joe Kennedy’s re-election to Congress in 1996 and for Bob Reich’s campaign for Governor in 2002. 

Most recently, Tad served as a senior advisor and media consultant to John Kerry’s campaign for President, both in the primaries and in the General Election.

This is some pretty fancy talent for a Lieutenant Governor’s race.  Cool.  What would be really fun is if Reilly goes through with asking Chris Gabrieli to join the race as his running mate, and then we have a battle royal among the “anointed” Gabrieli and the rest of the candidates, who will all presumably continue to run as freelancers.  Frankly, I think Gabrieli carries a lot of baggage from 2002, and his wealth notwithstanding, he strikes me as beatable.  This is shaping up to be a terrific race.

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Comments

  1. I think the addition of Tad Devine says alot about Andrea Silbert’s candidacy – mainly that she is the real deal when it comes to politics.  Tad doesn’t strike me as the type of consultant who would take on a long-shot.

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    She has been running a very disciplined campaign so far with a focused message on growth.  With Caucus time creeping up, she continues to show good sense by hiring an experienced manager and securing a media consultant with Massachusetts experience – including convention and down-ballot races.

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    This is very impressive for any candidate, much more so a first-time candidiate.

    • This is very impressive for any candidate, much more so a first-time candidiate.

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      Don’t forget: A first time candidate who worked for Kerry/Edwards-04. I’m sure those connections have helped. Tad Devine worked for…, you guessed it, KE04. 

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      I believe Andrea helped raise quite a bit of money for KE04, so it comes as no surprise to me that she’s in the lead fundraising-wise. 

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      Without Gabrieli, the LG race will come down to Silbert and Murray.  Silbert will have the money, but Murray will probably give her a run for that money in terms of connections/endorsements within the MDP. Having said that, I think that Andrea Silbert is the best candidate for LG. She has the job creation background that MA needs to help pull us out of our economic funk. Also, the idea of two white guys on the ballot is just boring. 😛

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      If Reilly chooses Gabrieli then things get even more interesting.  I don’t think Reilly can withstand the weight of the failure of 2002 hung around his neck and I think Gabrieli will do more harm then good to his campaign. 

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      I’m supporting Deval Patrick, so this scenario works fine for me.

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