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* As always, keep in mind that I look far more at intensity than at the quantity of votes, so make sure to explain your reasoning or your favorite could lose…
* Best campaign staffer - state legislative
* Best campaign staffer - constitutional office or congressional
* Best campaign spokesperson
* Best government spokesperson
* Yesterday’s winner for best political bar goes to The Globe. It was the clear favorite…
Hands down, the globe. Best bartenders, who actually do get to know your name (and drink) if you go in there enough. They have a piano, so it’s not uncommon to walk in and hear Danny Burke on the piano with some poor woman he conned into singing along with him. Lots of legislators hang out there, so I’ve been able to get work done at 11:00 at night.
* Best political restaurant was won hands-down by Saputo’s. It helps that the man who runs the place is also running for mayor of Springfield…
Politicos of all stripes and the owner/operator will soon be the next Mayor of Springfield. Where else will be you be able to get served by the Mayor?
* Best Springfield hotel is the Statehouse Inn…
Best, most modern rooms, so close to the Capitol you never have to move your car, free computers, the bar is convenient, best free breakfast, tons of legislators stay here. No equivocations here.
All decisions are final, so congrats to everyone.
By the way, my own personal choices are here.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 6:34 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
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Nomination for only one category
Mischa Fisher - Hultgren for Congress
Overspent about 3:1 and beat an incumbent by 6 points. Mischa probably worked 80+ hour weeks for the last three months.
Comment by Ghost of John Brown Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 8:05 am
@lbk=I think the award was for service by Globe staff , who are not responsible for the financing of the establishment. please retract your snark. (no I do not work there)
Comment by waitress practicing politics. . Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 8:45 am
without question, the best campaign staffer for a state legislative campaign was andrew robinson, field director of toi hutchinson’s senate campaign. andrew exhibited amazing leadership skills coming into the most diverse senate district in the state. he ran the numbers, devised a winning strategy, hired a strong field staff, kept his ear to the ground and anticipated the strategy and tactics of toi’s opponent, and wiped the floor with the second adam. this in a congressional district where republicans were going gangbusters. the field effort was so impressive that republican elected officials quietly expressed support for the appointed senator, knowing that they were switching to the winning side. andrew has a very bright future in campaigns, should he wish to stick with it.
i don’t think that there’s any question that the best campaign staffer for a statewide campaign was ben nuckles. completely underestimated by way too many people in this state, ben came in *late* to the governor’s re-elect effort, immediately sat down with the stakeholders in the governor’s campaign and re-assured them. he brought micro-targeting techniques that have rarely been used in the state, and successfully sliced the electorate into a winning combination. by labor day, we had clear evidence that ben’s strategy was working, and by late october, no realistic person thought it impossible that the governor could win. while managing this impressive effort, he was working for a well-known micro-manager who was never unwilling to make his feelings known about the course of the campaign. the governor has always been known for his preference for television, yet ben kept true to his belief in field and especially for voter identification. the difference with the other (competitive) statewide efforts was decisive. ben’s work is widely recognized as one of the best efforts in the country. there’s no doubt that he ran the best campaign in the state…
Comment by bored now Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 8:51 am
Best Legislative Campaign Staffer (or would it be Best Campaign Spokesperson?)- BRYEN JOHNSON. He ran Marla Wilson’s race and almost pulled it off, starting with a relatively unknown candidate who no one thought had a chance. He did a really effective job turning around negative hits. I think the outcome would have been different if there was more money for challengers.
I’m sorry I don’t feel informed enough to weigh in on more of these categories.
Comment by Horseshoe Voter Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 8:57 am
For best campaign staffer - state legislative: Giovanni Randazzo without question. I’ve been knocking around state legislative campaigns since the early 90’s, and I’ve never seen anyone pour their heart and soul into the campaigns cycle after cycle like he does. I don’t know what they pay staffers when they go off payroll to work on campaigns, but with the amount of time that he gives when he’s on campaign work, his effective pay has to be somewhere around $1.38 per hour.
Comment by Seneca Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 8:58 am
waitress practicing politics. . - Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 8:45 am: @lbk=I think the award was for service by Globe staff , who are not responsible for the financing of the establishment. please retract your snark. (no I do not work there)
My apologizes, It was pure snark, I enjoy the Globe and its help.
Comment by lbk Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:04 am
Best legislative campaign staffer has to be Shaw Decremer - pulling Mike Smith from the brink in ‘06, McAsey in ‘08 blew out Hassert, and Mussman against the wave in ‘10. Everyone else is a pretender to the throne. Best=wins. Show me anyone else with that track record in seriously competitive races.
Best campaign staffer - congressional/statewide: I’m going with Mary Morrissey on this. She didn’t have a heavy lift with Lisa this year, but she’s top notch, low-key and wins.
Best campaign spokesman, hmmmm. That’s a tough one, and I’m going to have to pass.
Best government spokesman is Steve Brown. He’s ubiquitous and has the institutional knowledge and discipline to stay perfectly on message. Beyond that, though, he’s exceptionally quotable and while that’s one of the more desirable traits in a spokesman, it’s one that more and more spokesfolk are lacking.
Comment by The Real Deal Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:07 am
Try to nominate in all the categories, please. Thanks.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:16 am
Legislative Campaign Staffer- Brendan O’Sullivan. He took a political neophyte in John Mulroe from zero name ID to a +10 point win over a 19-year Alderman that consistently led in the polls and seemed invincible to most. Regardless of the financial advantage, all the pieces need to work smoothly and he made it happen.
Campaign staffer - Jay Rowell, Senate Dems Political Director. Lost only 2 seats (1 tea party fueled, the other in the Lake County Tidal Wave). And survived the national celebrity in Sen. Wilhelmi’s opponent. Huge success!
Comment by NW Side Dem Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:34 am
Again, there are four categories. Please attempt to nominate in all of them.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:46 am
The best state campaign staffer is the one who can gather the troops and make the campaign appealing even when the candidate is not the most pleasant person. Bryen Johnson of the Senate Democrats does an excellent job of combing these skills. Bryen is extremely dedicated and diligent while maintaining a necessary level head when times get tough (and times always get tough). Bryen put Rockford in play for the near future, for his party, and the work of a campaign is many times more about the future than the present.
The best congressional campaign staffer is Mike Rendina. While Mike did not take Alexi over the top this year, he does have some key wins under his belt with Bill Foster in previous years.
The best campaign spokesperson is also Mike Rendina. Mike manages to be inclusive while at the same time be very decisive. He always asks the important questions and does not move ahead without knowing the full lay of the land. He can manage a press room very well, and he gets them thinking outside the box.
The best government spokesperson is Dave Blanchette. The man can take pictures and respond to the media at the same time.
Comment by Rev. Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:48 am
Legislative campaign staffer: Shaw Decremer. He has the best track record in the state and is a mastermind at organizing within a District. He often tells DPI and those “above him” to take a hike when he feels they are moving in the wrong direction. He is, without a doubt, the best campaign manager in Illinois. I would be remiss if I failed to mention his trusted sidekick in all these campaigns, Heather Wier, but the award should go to Shaw alone.
Constitutional: I would think the Kilbride campaigns falls under this category. Kudos go to the person on the ground-Adam Vaught. No one knows him and he’s a political novice, but nonetheless should get credit for taking what was a losing race and puttng it in the win column.
Campaign spokesperson: Without a doubt, Aron Chambers. He took a risk and was instrumental in pulling out the Kilbride victory.
Legislative spokesperson: Rekesha from Cullerton’s staff. She’s responsive and knows her stuff.
Comment by my picks Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:48 am
I don’t have nominee’s for all.
McCarthy’s campaign staffer was solid and well organized.
Kevin McGuire for Kelly Burke was a great strategist.
Comment by ChiefM Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:50 am
Leg Campaign Staffer: Tom Wogan with the House Dems. This is actually a vote for the best sarcasm.
Statewide: Normally you would have to go with someone from Quinns campaign just because I thought there was no chance he was going to win. But I realize he actually just won by default and they didn’t actually do that good of a job.
That being said, I am going with whoever ran Adam Kinzingers congressional campaign against Halvorson. They came out of the box strong, kept him on message and transcended older and younger voters. Combine that along with the tea-party movement and Debbie didnt stand a chance.
Campaign spokesperson: Patty Schuh without a doubt. They didn’t pull it off but anyone who can spin a candidate who sponsored the puppy kill bill has to be commended.
Government spokesperson: Who won the PR harness race at the State Fair this year? John Patterson, spokesperson for the Senate Dems. Case closed.
Comment by Been There Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:55 am
Chief M’s vote (@9:50) for Kevin McGuire is spot on. Kelly Burke is a great campaigner but Kevin (her brother) laid out the road map and took out the speakers endorsed candidate in the primary. That itself earns kudos. Then he was able to work hand in hand with the Speaker in the general. He has been in the shadows for years working mainly through Dart.
On a different note, Kelly Burke and Kevins brother John just passed away after a lengthy battle against cancer. He was a great guy himself. The wake is today and the funeral tomorrow and details can be found here:
http://legacy.suntimes.com/obituaries/chicagosuntimes/obituary.aspx?n=john-mcguire&pid=146985464&fhid=2230
Comment by Been There Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 10:15 am
I am not familiar with a lot of campaigns, but I do think that Sen. Chris Lauzen deserves a vote for his work with the Brady campaign.
He worked relentlessly for Brady almost to the detriment of his own campaign. His likeable personality and ability to bring people together are proof enough that he is worthy of this award.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:03 am
* Best campaign staffer - state legislative….Bruce Dold (H GOPs)totally ignored all facts, reason and history to throw himself into the failed but colorful attempt to push ‘Board Cross to the majority.
* Best campaign staffer - constitutional office or congressional ..Speaker Madigan (PQ) despite Quinn’s helter skelter, stream of consciousness campaign; Madigan and Dems across Cook County and Illinois were able to pull him to victory.
* Best campaign spokesperson….Carol Marin (Claypool)…a one person tour d’force for one of the most uninspired “independent/reform” efforts in the history of IL. But it is tough to take a lame former Mayoral Chief of Staff and pawn him off on suburbanites. Perhaps She should demand more suburban circulation
* Best government spokesperson….Steve Brown (if former winners can repeat)experienced, witty and great survival instincts. Kinda boring since Blagoof went bye bye.
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:04 am
No snark, please. Thanks. Next one gets deleted.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:05 am
Best campaign staffer - state legislative Shaw Decreamer, to win in the Mussman district in a year like this was nothing short of miraculous
* Best campaign staffer - constitutional office or congressional Mary Morrisey
* Best campaign spokesperson Patty Schu to be addled with that candidate and to do the job she did was outstanding
* Best government spokesperson Ditto above
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:25 am
Who were you calling Snark oh boss of the blog? Certainly not us
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:28 am
I don’t see how schuh and rendina who lost races should win awards. Alexi underperformed verus obama in 08 by 15 points and brady lost a race to an administration that was decapitated with an awful corruption scandal.
I don’t know enough about springfield, statewide or government here to give an informed opinion, but whoever ran walsh’s campaign and lead the knockout of bean deserves the congressional award hands down. No one anywhere gave him a shot at winning that and realclearpolitics.com, named it the 8th biggest upset of the year and it was the only illinois congressional race on that list.
Comment by shore Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:30 am
Best Legislative Campaign Staffer: Chris Guy, Dwight Kay for State Rep
Best Congressional Campaign Staffer: a three-way tie between Whitney Schlosser (Schilling), Terry Schilling (Schilling) and Erik Rayman (Kinzinger)
Best Campaign Spokesperson: Kirstin Kukowski, Kirk for Senate (How’d you like to put up with his attitude and half-truths - and then come up with a press release?!)
Best Statehouse Spokeperson: Steve Brown (I always enjoy his quips and on-the-ball thinking.)
Comment by Team Sleep Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:39 am
Campaign Staffer State: Kristin Bauer in Farnham race. Effective, relentless, and knows how to win. Her ability to get the candidate to the people is unmatched. She ran Sente primary and ask any House Democrat who they want in a tight race they would say Kristin or Shaw….I personally would take Kristin simply because I have not seen Shaw work….but have seen his results.
Campaign Staffer Constitutional: Adam Vaught in Justice Kilbride Camp. Began working this race long ago and never let up. Good with people and knows what it takes to get the job done.
Campaign Spokesperson: None were worthy of horseshoe
Govt. Spokesperson: Steve Brown says a lot without saying anything. the perfect spokesperson.
Comment by upstate Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:41 am
Statewide campaign staffer: John Kamis did a terrific and deeply underrated job as Quinn’s primary campaign manager. He pulled together a terrific field organization, smoothed tons of feathers, and maintained a kind, civil demeanor throughout. He also dealt ably with a number of, um, unusual issues within the campaign itself. I can’t say enough good about him — smart, savvy, capable, awesome.
Statewide campaign spokesperson: I thought Patti Schuh did a fine job in a tough situation. That campaign turned around when she joined, and she did an exemplary job of trying to focus the public conversation. If she’d had a candidate who was as smart and savvy as she is, the result would have been quite different.
Government campaign spokesperson: Steve Brown does a great job, year in and year out. Never seems to put a foot wrong — and I give him many extra points for his ability to say nothing (at least on the record). Other spokescritters could learn a valuable lesson: Sometimes keeping your mouth shut is the best thing you can do, for your principal and for the process. And no, saying “No comment” is not the same thing as shutting up.
Comment by soccermom Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:46 am
Best campaign staffer- Kristen Bauer from the House Dems. She’s effective and gets the job done while operating with ease and class. She is continually a go to person for tough races.
Best Campaigner Constitutional- Mary Morrissey. Raised lots of money for a race that was a gimme.
Best Campaign Spokesperson- Aaron Chambers- was a great reporter and was a great spokesman
Best Statehouse Spokesperson- Without a doubt, Mr. Brown. He’s the best and brightest.
Comment by LaborFriend Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 12:00 pm
Campaign staffer legislative: No offense to republican staffers or the Senate democrats, but no one matches the skill and dedication of House Democratic Campaign Staff. Of course you can single out the veterans like Shaw Decremer, Kristin Bauer, Liz Moe, Tom Wogan, Chris Maley, Eric Lane, Heather Wier Vaught, Anne Schafer, but it’s the collective teams that made the difference. From the people in the field to the people sorting millions of pieces of mail, they are the ones who did the grunt work and deserve the accolades for saving the House this year.
Campaign staffer state: Definitely the Kilbride camp for pulling out what should have been a landslide.
Campaign spokesperson: In my mind, a tie between Patty Shuh and Aaron Chambers.
Government spokesperson: Cara Smith in the AG’s office. The AG’s office is probably the only office that routinely responds to press inquiries and they rarely dodge a question.
Comment by umm Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 12:01 pm
===The AG’s office is probably the only office that routinely responds to press inquiries and they rarely dodge a question. ===
lol
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 12:02 pm
Best campaign staffer - state legislative: Bryen Johnson did a top notch job of making something out of nothing in Rockford. For cripe’s sake, the man gave the campaign so much that when he came back to Springfield he passed out on the Senate floor due to exhaustion.
Sorry but I don’t know enough about the rest of the categories to weigh in.
Comment by Rosio Donnell Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 12:08 pm
Rich, I had to throw in a little snark. Sorry!
Comment by umm Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 12:14 pm
This election year was very bazaar at best. When you look at the House races and the expectations that the House Republicans pushed, it is very clear that the HR’s made some significant mistakes for whatever reason. However, Nick Bellini was just promoted to the position of Downstate Communications Director in 2009 and he was able to lead the downstate races to a clean sweep of 6 wins. Clearly there was a wave but the races he was in charge of overseeing out performed expectations while the Northern portion of the state fell flat. I think 6 wins in a year of significant failure for Illinois republicans given expectation make Bellini a clear choice for this years Golden Horseshoe Award.
For Campaign Spokesperson, hands down, this should go to Patti Schuh. Before she was brought on the Brady campaign was all over the place. The very first week she started you could see a significant improvement in messaging.
Steve Brown is obviously the best legislative spokesperson in the legislature, period.
Comment by Bazaar Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 12:19 pm
Best campaign staffer, state legislative: The dynamic duo of Shaw Decremer and Heather Weir-Vaught. The two of them masterminded the successful election of a top tier candidate (against all odds) this year, just as they did in previous election cycles.
Best campaign staffer, constitutional: Without question, Adam Vaught deserves this honor this year. Adam didn’t sign up for the task of managing Kilbride’s campaign, but he took over in earnest when duty called. The polls and pundits repeatedly dismissed Kilbride as a losing candidate. Yet, Kilbride won by six points - precisely because Adam successfully managed a focused, organized and top-notch campaign that buried Murnane and the other fear mongers under their own weight.
Best campaign spokesman: Dan Proft (his own). When Proft opens his mouth, it’s almost always entertaining, engaging and enlightening. Just for sheer entertainment and provocation, I hope he runs again … and again.
Best government spokesperson: Sara Wojcicki. The House Republicans don’t have much to smile about, but Sara has done an exceptional job of keeping their message positive.
Comment by Coach Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 12:46 pm
Legislative campaign staffer: I second the nomination of the House Democratic Campaign Staff. In a year when Republicans topped Foster, Halvorson, Hare and Bean, and held the 10th District, the Speaker’s campaign team held the majority, and proved themselves to be not only the ultimate force in the state, but one of the premier political teams in the country.
Best Campaign Constitutional: Despite overwhelming obstacles, and an underwhelming candidate, the Quinn campaign GOTV operation hit their marks and pulled out a win that even in October looked impossible.
Campaign spokesman: Hare’s communications director Tim Schlittner remained in class act in the face of one of the most petty, mean-spirited campaigns Western Illinois has ever seen. He deserved a better outcome.
Government spokesman: Steve Brown. Some things never change.
Comment by 44 Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 1:11 pm
best legislative campaign staffer: bryen johnson. this young man has been in some of the toughest races of the last few cycles, and given all of the gloom and doom that was forecast for the democrats for 2010, nearly pulled out a victory. he is intelligent and thoughtful; relentless without being ruthless.
best campaign constitutional/congressional staffer: adam vaught. had to deal with an unprecedented amount of money and attention to a race that worried many democrats.
best campaign spokesperson: kirstin kukowski. (i agree with Team Sleep’s assessment)
best government spokesperson: john patterson. his transition into the interim role while the senate dems’ press sec was on maternity leave was seamless and professional.
Comment by anon Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 1:27 pm
Legislative campaign staffer - house dem staff for all of the reasons already mentioned. They turned a tidal wave into a mini swell - no small accomplishment.
Campaign staffer - Nuckels. The guy turned water into wine. Enough said.
Campaign spokesperson - Schuh. Snark might as well be her middle name and she turned a puppy killer arch conservative into a likable moderate.
Government spokesperson - Ashley Cross (D-Quinn). The woman declared war on Wisconsin - you can’t beat that with a stick.
Comment by S. Grobnik Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 1:35 pm
John Kamis did a terrific and deeply underrated job as Quinn’s primary campaign manager. He pulled together a terrific field organization
Quinn had a primary field organization? Really?
Comment by dave Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 1:43 pm
State Legislative Camp: Patrick Berry on the Sam McCann campaign to knock off Deanna Demuzio. Energetic campaign with strong grassroots effort in a upset win.
Congressional Camp: I second the nomination of Mischa Fisher on the Hultgren campaign. Non-stop worker, great on communication and follow up.
Camp.spokesperson: Patty Schuh on Brady’s campaign for reasons stated above
Gov. spokesperson: Patty Schuh (when serving the Senate Republicans prior to the campaign)
Comment by Bitterman Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 1:54 pm
Rich, I apologize in advance for not nominating in each category.
Legislative campaign staffer: Hands down, Shaw Decremer. The past 3 races Shaw has run were thought to be losers, but ended up as winners. Smith (06), McAsey (08), Mussman (10). I concur that his willingness to tell people above him to go take a hike when he feels things are going the wrong way says a lot about his dedication and how much he is respected. Shaw has not only run legislative races, but he’s lead other races as well. His dedication is second to none, and is often quoted as saying that running a campaign is equivalent to “going to war”. He is also always willing to answer other house democrats questions during campaign season, which is hard since he has his own race to run.
Best statewide campaign staffer: SEIU. Their ground efforts for Quinn were necessary to carry him to victory.
Campaign spokesperson: I agree, Patti Shuh. Anyone who can get the puppy mill story to go away gets my vote.
Comment by Fantasma Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 1:57 pm
Best spokespersons:
Schuh for the campaign
Brown for the speaker (Brownie is the king of glib)
Comment by Keyser Soze Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 2:07 pm
Best legislative staffer: The bat Shaw Decremer carries during campaigns. It’s the bat, not his mastery of politics or people.
Comment by dont delete me Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 2:07 pm
Best campaign staffer - state legislative: Shaw Decremer. He wins in the toughest circumstances. Of course, it could be that he has Heather Wier Vaught with him every time.
Best campaign staffer - constitutional office or congressional: Jerry Clarke. Although it seems like Brady blew it, it’s amazing a downstate conservative (who detests puppies to boot) got that close to winning the Governors race in Illinois–even in a wave year like 2010.
* Best campaign spokesperson: Aaron Chambers. Justice Kilbride got the Tribune endorsement and Crain’s wrote an editorial calling Justpac’s attacks a stain on the business community. That those two publications went for Kilbride is nothing less than amazing. It’s not a coincidence Chambers was the spokesperson.
* Best government spokesperson: Joe Tybor, Supreme Court. He’s got seven bosses, which has to be difficult. Also, the court routinely gets, if not favorable, respectful press.
Comment by George Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 2:24 pm
No doubt the house dems ability to weather the storm was impressive, but to call the operation one of “premier political operations in the country” is a stretch -just look at their voter file. When resources are not an issue and you can outspend your opponents by massive sums it eases the difficulty of having to navigate a treacherous political environment. This is not meant to diminish what they accomplished, because is was impressive, but some of the talk here is just nonsense. Still, you have to hand it to Speaker Madigan’s team, they didn’t panic when the house was coming down around them, they put their head down and kept working.
Still, having worked with most of these guys, my nomination for best leg staffer goes to Jay Rowell. Keep in mind this was the Senate President’s first election cycle. Jay built the political operation and turned it into a well oiled machine that minimized the damage of this cycle better than most anticipated. Jay has solid political instincts and understands campaigns. He took a professional approach to running his program that will continue to prove beneficial to the Senate President in future cycles.
Best campaign staffer constitutional or congressional. Difficult call, clearly the Quinn people like to pat themselves on their own back, I say take that crap offline. Anyone who knows anything about that campaign knows that Quinn himself called the shots, along with his brother Tom. The fact is Quinn should have won both his primary and general elections in a landslide. He almost blew the primary after holding a 30 point lead for five months and outspending his opponent. In the general, he ran against one of the worst gop gov candidates in the country and had a noticeable financial and institutional support advantage. Only after months of every political operative in the state screaming at the campaign to get their act together and paint brady as an extremist did they finally listen. And please, having 10 organizers in a state like Illinois and claiming you ran an aggressive field operation is a joke. Everyone knows the coordinated campaign and labor, namely SEIU, drove turnout. But, not having their act together is what ultimately saved them. Conventional wisdom would have led most to try and throw Cohen off the ballot, they didn’t and ultimately he peeled enough protest votes away to push Quinn over the top.
I don’t know any of the republican congressional staffers, but they were all outspent and ran against incumbents (with exception to seals in the 10th) and pulled it off. Still, with no real knowledge of their campaigns I’ll stick to what I know and nominate Marry Morrisey. I know, I know, Lisa won in a landslide and didn’t have a real race. But man, talk about someone that is on top of things, Mary is unbelievable. She took nothing for granted this cycle. The fact that she kept Lisa’s staff and supporters motivated is a testament to her management skills. She’s also a very impressive coalition builder and is someone I’d want on my team in a dog fight.
Best campaign spokesperson, too many friends here, but I gotta go with Tom Bowen. Tom has a menical approach to messaging and is respected by reporters. Yes, the media love fest for claypool was a bit much, but it didn’t just happen in a vacuum -Tom was behind the scenes working reporters. And for those who want to disqualify him because claypool lost, look at the rest of his record. Alexi primary win, Quigley special election win and Foster special election win.
Best gov spokesperson, again, too many friends here, but I’ll go with Brown.
Comment by back to reality Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 2:31 pm
Rich,
People aren’t wrong when they post Decremer is an awesome campaign staffer. But please, for the sake of those who work with him, give it to someone else. His ego can’t take much more and neither can we!
J/K. Shaw deserves all the respect he has earned, but I say give it to all House Dem staffers, starting with the real political genius, Will Cousineau.
Comment by personal plea Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 2:40 pm
I personally think Aviva Gibbs did a fantastic job as a a campaign spokesperson. Yes Seals lost; however if you look at the day-to-day media coverage, you’ll see that she won an overwhelming majority of the news cycles.
Comment by J Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 2:44 pm
* Best campaign staffer - state legislative has to go to Shaw Decremer. Shaw has some sort of magical spell he puts on legislators. He is just plain effective at getting them to do what needs to be done. He’s also so helpful when you need him and not afraid to ask for help to understand issues during the legislative session so he can best advise Dem. members. Go, Shaw!
* Best campaign staffer - constitutional office or congressional. I say Ryan Croke with Governor Quinn’s campaign, all around nice guy and perfect do-good person to represent a do-good Governor.
* Best campaign spokesperson Don’t know.
* Best government spokesperson I have to go with Steve Brown here. Who else could get away with saying the things he says? And if the Speaker still has him around, he must be doing a great job.
Comment by itismyopinion Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 2:56 pm
I second Aviva for legislative campaign staffer.
Comment by soccermom Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 3:20 pm
As I did yesterday, here are my own personal choices…
* Best campaign staffer - state legislative: Jay Rowell of the SDems proved his mettle by losing just two seats on his first try. He got a lot of internal flak for some things he did, but he was right almost all the time. He also pulled close to Syverson in Rockford when the Dems got trounced all over Winnebago County. Keep in mind that they lost their original candidate in that district, and got a late start. That large win over Ald. Doherty was quite impressive. Jay kept his head in Will County and made all the right moves for AJ after his candidate was pummeled in the national and local media. Not much he could do about the two losing districts, but he only lost one Downstate member at a time when the House Dems lost six Dstaters.
* Best campaign staffer - constitutional office or congressional: Eric Elk. Kept his head in the bad times. Tireless advocate for his candidate. Great sense of humor. Yeah, he had the national GOP wind and tons of cash behind him, but Mark Kirk’s problems meant he was fighting uphill all the way against a scrappy, if also flawed, opponent.
* Best campaign spokesperson: Elizabeth Austin from the Quinn primary. Honest, funny, and cold-bloodedly brutal enough to pull off that late hit on Hynes over the cemetery “scandal.” Her only black mark is she used to work for Playboy and never got me into any of their good parties. Yeah, she invited me once. A Lake Michigan cruise with “centerfolds from the 1950s and early 1960s.” I took a pass. Apparently, I failed the test and didn’t get another invite.
* Best government spokesperson: Kelly Kraft. Came from Chicago TV to GOMB without any background on budget matters, but she’s done a solid job. Personable, bright and a reliable, accurate responder. Even on days when she should be grumpy, she maintains her professionalism. The administration really needs to use her more.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 4:09 pm
In order for the four categories:
* Shaw: He consistently wins the big ones. If Cross had Shaw, Tom would be Speaker.
* Nick Provenzano won the biggest upset in the state when his guy Walsh snuck up on Bean.
* Patty Shuh: Did a good job despite a lackluster
candidate, though she did lose the one race the GOP had to win.
* No one stands out in the final category.
Comment by reformer Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 4:12 pm
I am amused by those who back staffers who worked on some of the biggest flops of the cycle, seals, brady, alexi, and who blame “the candidate”. All 3 of those had clear paths to victory and in the case of seals and brady were favorites and came up short.
Comment by shore Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 4:14 pm
It’s surprising that only Rich noted Erik Elk’s performance this year.
He steered the Kirk campaign to victory in spite of some serious crises within the campaign.
Yes, Alexi was less than perfect, but Elk won a top tier US Senate race in a blue state with a favorite son president.
Elk managed the money well, managed the candidate as well as anyone could, assembled a devoted staff and laughed the whole time.
House Dems as a group get the nod for legislative campaign holding losses to a minimum in a tough year.
Patti Schuh was the best campaign spokesperson.
Steve Brown will win this award for best gov’t spokesperson until further notice.
Comment by Adam Smith Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 4:41 pm
Best legislative staffers:
Shaw Decremer and Heather Weir Vaught did an amazing job in Michelle Mussman’s upset win. Anne Schaeffer planted the seeds in that district by doing a great job for Paul Froehlich in 2008. Anne’s candidate Kevin McCarthy also won a close race this year. I think it’s a 3 way tie between Decremer, Vaught, and Schaeffer
Comment by Schaumburg Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 4:53 pm
* Best campaign staffer - state - I’d say Quinn’s video guy Simon Edelman. Made Quinn likable and made Brady a Dog Killer and Glee hater.
* Best campaign staffer - constitutional office or congressional: Kilbride’s campaign
* Best campaign spokesperson: Mica Matsoff from Quinn. Reading her statements on the CapFax it was clear that she wasn’t just a spokesperson but directing his communication- as tough as it appeared to be.
* Best government spokesperson - Steve Brown hands down.
Comment by The Shadow Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 4:55 pm
Best legislative staffer: Shaw Decremer. Has the guy EVER lost a race? He knows how to deal with difficult people and works his tail off.
Best state/cong staffer: Adam Vaught. Kilbride was facing an uphill battle in this kind of year, especially since he needed 60%. Adam was able to craft a winning message, and most important, secure the resources needed to communicate it. He did a good job preempting the law enforcement issue before Kilbride’s opponents were able to define him on it.
Campaign spokesperson: Patty Schuh for making the best of a bad situation.
Government spokesperson: Steve Brown-no question.
Comment by K3 Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 5:11 pm
Unbelievable that this was the first mention of mica matsoff. She built the quinn comms operation from nothing,with no help and had a larger role than people know in paid media. No one can use 3rd party surrogate groups to attack like her, which were a huge part of the quinn effort.
Comment by abraham lincoln Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 5:12 pm
House Staffer - Erin Athas and the rest of the gang at Chang for Change. They may have been tilting at windmills but they did so with grace, humor and a sense of joyful purpose that was a refreshing counterpoint to this cycle’s nastiness.
Congressional Staffer - Eric Elk. He is relentless, smart and just the right bit of ruthless. No one works harder while still protecting that easy, confident style no matter the bomb-shells being tossed from all directions. He never bought the hype that the race was Kirk’s to lose and fought like the underdog the whole way through. The wild-man look is also a plus.
Campaign Spokesperson Patty Schuh - her guy wanted to gas puppies - ‘nough said.
Comment by 10th Indy Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 5:22 pm
Obviously we all know “The Shadow” is a Quinn guy but I think Mica was superior in her role.
In order:
Shaw: Just gets it done.
Edelman: No one put out anything comparable to him.
Matsoff: Very underrated, kept everything to the point and interacted well with all parties
Brown: A true professional, he knows how to play up the good and knows how to deal with less than ideal situations.
Comment by 1994 Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 5:24 pm
What is this the steve Brown fan club? Who is he anyway?
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 5:26 pm
Best Legislative Campaign Staffer - For laughs alone, Tom Wogan, plus he can perform. He was able to keep Flider in the 101st against some big money, and look what happened when he left. For performance Shaw Decremer. Nothing says the best like victory. If i was a politician who was just arrested, guarantee you my one call would be to Shaw Decremer. Save me Shaw, Save ME!
Honorable Mention to Mr. Bryen P. Johnson. The work he did this election cycle has been noticed. He has arrived. Couldn’t be prouder of him.
Best campaign staffer - constitutional office or congressional - AV Adam Vaught. In race that was supposed to be never even be a race, with all the odds stacked against him he walked away to a victory. Again nothing says best like victory. He demonstrated that he is the best by getting Tom Kilbride retained.
Best campaign spokesperson - Anyone who can manage to have their candidate introduce a bill to kill puppies, and not be labeled “the puppy killer” deserves some credit. Bill “the puppy killer” Brady’s campaign spokesperson deserves some serious credit. But not too much, because I like the sound of Bill “the puppy killer” Brady. It has a better ring to it than Governor Bill Brady.
Best government spokesperson - Steve Brown. Hi have we met? I’m Hands down no contest. Great to meet you too.
Comment by El Sargento Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 6:15 pm
An earlier vote might have been declared snark by the Almigthy Boss O Da Blog, so among the others who contended we vote:
Best legis campaign: Kristin and Shaw —- they directed the NW suburban levee against the Great Flood. The levee held. Will Cousineau gets credit too for keeping them and many other sane.
Best statewide: Mary Morrissey — though it helps when the client sez boo and folks like BrickeadJoe quit electoral politics and CommandoMakeItUp runs for the hills.
campaignSpokesPersonage: Hand it to Aaron Chambers he helped bring Chief Justice Tom Kilbride home a winner and made Murnane wreck his car
Legis Spokesperson: Leaning toward Tybor since his posse can decline comment and get away with it, but guess we will fold in the with the mob and go with Brown who even as an aging shell of himself, does a passable job.
BTW apparently “Bill” has had a breakdown since he/she has forgotten him so soon.
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 6:22 pm
he/she?!?
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 6:54 pm
* Best campaign staffer, state legislative - Lauren Fleming, campaign manager for the Suzi Schmidt campaign. Many people called this race for Suzi before it even started; however, it wasn’t that easy. Michael Bond went up on TV early hitting Suzi hard while spending a truck load of money. One of the hardest tasks on any campaign is keeping your staff motivated and focused during relentless attacks from your opponent. Not only did Lauren keep things afloat, she ran one of the most comprehensive grassroots effort and GOTV program. Lauren also played instrumental in appearing at many conservative functions, speaking on Suzi’s behalf, to keep the conservatives in her district on board despite Suzi’s moderate stances. Without Lauren, the Senate Dems may have only lost one seat.
* Best campaign staffer, constitutional office or congressional - Hands down, Nick Provenzano on the Joe Walsh race. Nick took an unwinnable, underfunded and at times, undisciplined candidate and took down one of the “safest” Democrats in the state. Nick came on the campaign when it was on the brink of disaster. Walsh’s staff walked out on him, he was being sued by multiple people and groups, local GOP organizations were calling for him to step down and the press was out for blood. Nick turned the ship around, relying on local Tea Party organizations and social networking due to a lack of funds. What is lost in all the hype of this win is not only did Nick win an unwinnable congressional race; he also took back his county board seat in McHenry County, which he lost just two years prior during the Obama tsunami. What Nick did during this cycle is nothing short of monumental.
* Best campaign spokesperson - I know he was nominated already for best staffer, but Nick Bellini also served as spokesperson for all downstate HGOP candidates. On the races that Nick was spokesperson for, he went a perfect 6 for 6. One could say all of the HGOP’s gains downstate could be attributed to him. In the biggest downstate race, Adam Brown, Nick proved instrumental in fending off attacks on Brown’s record on the Decatur City Council.
* Best government spokesperson - Sara Wojcicki was hired just after the HGOP’s came one seat short of a super minority. In just two years, Sara’s service helped bring the HGOP’s halfway to a majority.
Comment by Kunu Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:21 pm
Legislative Campaign Staffer- Susana Mendoza for running Dan Burke’s tough, tough primary. She is a political machine.
Constitutional Staffer- Maze Jackson and Mike Cassidy for the terrific work they did in the field for Quinn for both the primary and the general. You have to go with the winner and they accomplished a lot with limited resources.
Campaign Spokesperson- Got to go with the winner. Elizabeth Austin. People forget that Quinn was running behind Hynes in the primary and everyone thought that he was a goner. The momentum was all in Hynes favor until the Quinn campaign’s terrific push back on the Harold Washington commercial and the final cemetary hit on Hynes that had him off balance that last week of the campaign.
Government Spokesperson- David Dring.
Comment by Wizard of Ozzie Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 9:56 pm
Best campaign staffer - John Kamis took on a significant challenge in a very short period of time and won.
Comment by Golfer Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 10:30 pm
Bill — you have transcended gender.
Comment by soccermom Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 10:34 pm
best campaign staff: there are too many to count, but Porter McNeil was instrumental in focusing the Quinn Campaign on downstate and the Kilbride Campaign on message and strategy at key points in the race.
best gov’t spokesman: Steve Brown, for his predictably professional style.
Comment by downstate Wednesday, Dec 8, 10 @ 11:27 pm