A number of familiar names in New Mexico and several high-profile, national figures will make up the team that tries to convince voters to make Gov. Bill Richardson the next president of the United States.
Richardson’s campaign will be managed by Dave Contarino, who ran his 2002 campaign for governor, was his chief of staff for three years and was chair of his 2006 re-election campaign. Amanda Cooper, who managed the 2006 campaign, will work on fundraising for Richardson. Pahl Shipley, who was the communications director in the governor’s office, has left that job to handle communications duties for the exploratory committee.
“There are familiar people in familiar roles,” Shipley said.
Cooper oversaw the raising of almost $14 million for Richardson’s re-election campaign, and Shipley said her experience will be key to Richardson’s success.
“She’s a terrific fundraiser and a great networker,” he said.
At the same time, Richardson has made public comments indicating he doesn’t plan to raise as much money as the top three Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, at least at the beginning. But Shipley said he will be able to keep up.
“The governor is going to outwork every one of the other candidates. The governor really believes he can raise what it takes,” Shipley said. “It’s going to be a great, solid, grassroots campaign.”
Other familiar names on the campaign staff roster include Yasine Mogharreban, who worked in the governor’s communications office; Joaquin Guerra, who worked on Richardson’s re-election Internet effort; and Katie Roberts, a former spokeswoman for the state’s Economic Development Department.
Roberts, who will be the deputy communications director for the exploratory committee, left the state job last year to work for the South Carolina Democratic Party and learn the lay of the land in that important primary state for Richardson. She also worked on Al Gore’s campaign in 2000.
As for national figures, joining Richardson’s exploratory committee staff is Colleen Turrentine, who served as the national fundraising director for the Democratic Leadership Council and worked on the 2004 Joe Lieberman presidential campaign.
Richardson’s senior advisers include Steve Murphy and Mark Putnam, founding partners of the Washington consulting firm Murphy Putnam Media. Murphy was the campaign manager of Dick Gephardt’s 2004 White House run, and managed his Iowa caucus campaign in 1998.
Mike Stratton, a Denver political consultant who worked with Richardson to move up the date of Nevada’s caucuses and make Denver the site of the 2008 Democratic Nominating Convention, is also an adviser.
So are Jeff Eller, who worked on Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign and in the White House; Jennifer Yocham Poersch, who worked on Joe Lieberman’s 2004 campaign and for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee; Joe Velasquez, who has worked for the AFL-CIO, the Democratic National Committee and Clinton; Calvin Humphrey, who has worked with Richardson for years as a foreign policy adviser; Andre Pineda, a political consultant; and Suzanne Cole Nowers, who is the CEO of a large marketing firm.
A number of familiar names in