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* The 2014 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best State Senate Staffer - Non Political goes to Giovanni Randazzo…
Not many people arrive as early or stay as late as Gio. Simply put, he works his tail off. Manages two of the most time consuming and challenging committees, is always willing to work on a member’s project (usually because nobody else wants to) and has the institutional knowledge to help in almost any situation.
Love the guy.
The clear runner-up was Mike Hoffman.
* The contest for the 2014 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best State House Staffer - Non Political wasn’t even close…
Mark Jarmer is a staple to the HDEM Staff. He is a veteran. Yes he is an actual veteran, but also a veteran staffer. He has to deal with some difficult subject matters that are always controversial, but he handles each issue with integrity and professionalism. He offers guidance to new staff, just trying to navigate the insanity that is our job. He is a clear leader and one of the most trusted employees of the Speaker.
He is also just a great guy to work with. Always in a good mood, always there to offer advice or a kind word. There are not enough good things to say about Mark.
* OK, let’s move on to today’s categories, with last year’s winners in parentheses…
* Best campaign staffer - Illinois House Democrats: (Kristen Bauer)
* Best campaign staffer - Illinois House Republicans: (Nick Bellini)
Please nominate people for both categories if you can, and also make sure to fully explain your votes. Thanks.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 12:36 pm
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Tiffany Moy…knows her stuff. Kept her cool for Conroy. Only Dem re-elect in DuPage today.
Comment by And the nominee is... Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 12:43 pm
HDEMS political staffer-This one is easy. Lari Dierks. She was the last man standing on the Cloonen race. You know, the one that would never end? Like Lucy with the football, the powers that be changed when her last day on the campaign would be at least 5 times, yet she took it in stride. No one I know has more perseverance than this girl. She sees a challenge, accepts it, and sees it through.
HGOP–not really sure…But you guys are all great!
Comment by O'Doyle Rules! Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 1:39 pm
Ashley Barry for the House Republicans. She might not have been in the tightest race this fall, but you wouldn’t know it from the operation she ran. On top of running Anthony’s race she did some major work for the coordinated campaign and caucus. Very impressive.
For the Dems, It’s gotta be “landslide” Kevin Owens. Running back to back campaigns for Cloonen against all odds and winning both years by 200 votes total. A lot of people would have given up on this district 2 years ago, and practically write it off in the mid-term. He kept Cloonen working and pulled in the resources needed to win the race both times against all odds.
Comment by Drive Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 1:46 pm
for the HGOP side i would go with Chris Guy who oversaw Dwight kay and Terri Bryant. Nearly everyone was counting Dwight Kay out a year ago, but he won going away, as did Bryant.
on the dem side, kevin owens. that’s a tough district in a tough year for cloonen to win.
Comment by Barney Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 2:15 pm
I nominate Ross Clymer for Dem campaign staffer of the year!
Comment by Tommy S. Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 2:18 pm
Tommy, without an explanation, your nomination will be ignored.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 2:28 pm
Definitely Kevin Owens for House Dems - He won a campaign in possibly the most difficult race in the state and kept his cool. Kevin is a great guy to work with and works harder than anyone I know.
Comment by In the House Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 2:32 pm
I don’t know that many HGOP but whomever was manning the Terri Bryant race did a nice job.
House Dems, lot of good contenders but I’d say Anne Schaeffer. I think she was a runner up last year. Anyone who knows Sue Scherer knows she’s a bit, um, difficult. Anne got her through a tough primary and general. She also deserves retroactive credit for her role in drawing a map that inexplicably gave Madigan another super majority.
Comment by horse w/ no name Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 2:33 pm
HGOP- Not sure…
HDEMS - Without a doubt it’s gotta go to Kevin Owens. Winning 2 general’s and a primary with Cloonen in a district democrats have no business winning campaigns in is impressive. Especially, when you are outspent in a solidly republican district in a nationwide republican wave. Winning by 213 votes against the same opponent in two dramatically different political environments is a testament to the leadership of Kevin Owens.
Comment by TJ's Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 2:35 pm
I nominate Larry Luster as best Dem Senate Political Staffer. No matter where you send Larry he’s able to go set up a network, figure out what works and execute a plan. He’s works hard without any complaints and is a big asset for the Senate Dems.
Comment by Clear Win Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 2:44 pm
* Best campaign staffer - Illinois House Democrats:
If there is one thing I believe in, it’s the ground game and understanding how maximizing every vote to impact the win/loss numbers by being able to manage a ground game to victory.
Kevin Owens made every single body, every single precinct, polling place, GOTV, and follow through as impactful as possible at the end to get his Principle across the finish line.
Anyone can plug bodies in precincts, work and Election Day, but to make the last bodies brought in be, possibly, the impactful to win shows someone who understands the district and where the voters are that will carry the day.
Congrats Kevin Owens on a job well done, and I appeciate how you closed the deal.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 2:46 pm
House Dems - Have to give it to Kevin Owens. Squeaking by once is hard enough, twice, during a huge Republican wave year is near impossible. This time is ever more impressive by the fact that the HGOP actually put experienced, competent staff on the ground.
HGOP - In a year where probably none deserve it, I would have to say Garrett Hill. Whether it be the women he dates, or the candidates he manages, Garrett has created an interesting niche, give him the most difficult women, and he can make the best of it. Through undying patience, he can be as nurturing and caring as he is tough and ruthless. I am proud to have worked with him from now and into the future.
Comment by Kettleball Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 3:12 pm
Anne Schaeffer for HDems. If you’ve ever had the fortune of depending on her for something, you know just how much she goes above and beyond to follow through. I’ve never met someone who goes so much out of their way to help.
Comment by we like it here Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 3:23 pm
Smart money says Kristin for back to back. She helped bring home some the head cases. BEST GOPie staffer…Mike Jacobs…helped keep the Repubs from being shut out:)
Comment by circular firing squad Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 3:44 pm
Trump card- Dan Proft, he successfully made many people’s lives horrible with his constant influx of cash. Starting in the primary making Sandack’s knees buckle and getting Breen over Pihos. He effectively kept the Speaker spending money on targets instead of maybe winning another seat. He blasted and made Moylan, Yingling, Sente, Conroy, Mussman, Crespo and even Mautino start twitching on election night.
So while his net gain is only one seat I contend he played a pretty dynamic role in keeping status quo, stopping the bleeding that has gone on the last few cycles.
Comment by DuPage Bard Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 3:47 pm
So…. now we know Dan Proft’s handle
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:05 pm
Nick Bellini. Is there anyone else for HGOP? This award should actually be named after him. No one else can win downstate races like he can. He’s their behind the scenes “go to” guy for everything (who should be utilized more).
Runner up would be Ryan Tozer. He’s following in Bellini’s footsteps. Both are a real asset and if utilized properly could be a republican dream team.
Comment by Jerry Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:06 pm
Best campaign staffer - Illinois House Democrats
There is no shortage of hard workers on the House Dem side. But one person stands out year after year: Eric Lane. On top of all the assignments he takes on, Eric mentors young staff, always lends a helping hand and seems to know the right move to make whether its downstate or the suburbs. On any given day, he may be driving across the state to oversee multiple campaigns, helping someone do a last minute mailing or making voter ID calls in the evening.
Simply put, he does it all and he does it with a smile on his face. In this business there are plenty of people who act nice but aren’t; Eric Lane is a genuinely great person. Often, staff are willing to help out on a project not just because they love politics, but because its Eric doing the asking.
Comment by That girl Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:11 pm
Nick Bellini (James Bond). He’s sneaky, quiet but deadly! He’s the best the HGOP has. When he staffs a race u better look out!
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:13 pm
* Best campaign staffer - Illinois House Republicans:
While victory eluded the Staff individually and as a whole, it’s important to note the tenor has changed, and important lessons are learned more in loses than wins.
Given the circumstances, I’m nominating Joe Woodward. While facing unneeded scrutiny from those more interested in lobbing grenades that leading a hand to increase GOP numbers in the House, Woodward continued to keep races from unraveling and allow post-mortems be about what needs to be done to win seats against Democrats, instead of being about how others were focused on derailing for the sake of purity.
I remember Troy Aikman going 1-15 as a stater his first year with the Cowboys. After learning, and studying and getting talent around him, championships soon followed. I hope for Woodward that my nomination is not taken as a reflection of exemplary service, but for understanding that building requires harshness sometimes, but it can end oh so sweetly.
Learn now, apply that “tomorrow”.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:18 pm
Anne Schaeffer excels at getting some of the Speaker’s most difficult candidates elected. If you’ve ever visited one of her campaigns you know why. She’s fearless and she’s crazy driven, but she’s also a great person to be around. But what’s even more impressive are her daily efforts to make everyone around her better. She is constantly teaching, helping and explaining the ins and outs of Madigan’s playbook to the less experienced staff around her. The tough race she won in November with a challenging candidate gives the Speaker his super majority for another two years, but her efforts to pass on her skills to those around her will pay off for the HDems for the next decade or more.
Comment by Carl Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:21 pm
Nick Bellini and Tiffany Moy.
Regardless of their party affiliation, Nick and Tiffany work tirelessly for their members. Their knowledge base has gotten them through many a races. They may not always come out on top but they give everything they have for the cause.
Comment by Obviously Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:24 pm
Joe Woodward should absolutely win on the HGOP side. Joe walked into some pretty tough circumstances at the start. Other people’s candidates, no time, no money, no established organization. And then it got worse. Joe was straight and steady all the way. He never took the bait - whether it was Madigan dropping mail early or people from his own party taking potshots at him through the media, Joe had a plan and he stuck to it.
Joe would be the first person to tell you the results weren’t what the HGOPs were hoping for. Joe said publicly all year he was focused on picking up just one seat - and we’ve talked on here a lot about how close he got in three races. Three coin flips. And he managed to protect all the GOP open seats.
It was a GOP “wave” I guess, but between all the open seats and the last minute changing of the HRO guard, I’d say Woodward held it together pretty well considering.
Comment by Hillary Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:31 pm
No Contest: Best House Dem Political staffer, Eric Lane. Eric’s professionalism, organization, and work ethic are just incredible. He’s got Grant’s “4am courage”, that’s for sure. Also, Eric stands out because he’s capable of always getting the best out of others, no matter what.
Comment by Phaedrus Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:40 pm
Aw geez, I’m gonna vote for Dan Proft. Because I think that being delusional should not automatically keep someone from working in politics.
Comment by Soccermom Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:43 pm
HGOP has to go to Garret Hill. He consistently gets the worst assignments and takes them without complaint. The guy is an absolute workhorse for the party and his candidates. He specializes in difficult female candidates that need a little more attention than most. He can keep them motivated, pounding the pavement, and shaking hands better than anyone I’ve ever seen.
Comment by Realist Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:44 pm
HDems Staffer: Anne Schaeffer.
Sue Scherer…need I say more?
Special mention to Tucker Copi. He kept the locals happy, even though his candidate made that task beyond difficult.
Comment by Watch the clown... Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 4:50 pm
For the House GOP Woodward is definitely deserving and I agree with much of what ‘Hillary’ said. It will be fun to watch what he can do for the HGOP moving forward.
I do think there is one other staffer for the HGOP who deserves some recognition. Matt Eastman is a new staffer who was thrown into what ended up being a much more difficult hold for the HGOP then they originally hoped. Eastman was assigned to Wingers campaign and made sure that race kept going in the right direction and kept Winger doing what she needed to do for the GOP to hold onto Rebolettis seat.
Comment by shake up bus Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 5:02 pm
Eric Lane - He may not have the title of campaign manager but her oversaw 5 staffers who did.
Regionals never get the accolades they deserve. Eric had to juggle five races including Scherer and Sente in an environment that proved to be very hostile to incumbents. He not only kept his cool but kept his candidates and staffs focused.
Eric is the man behind the scenes pulling the strings…for not one but five campaigns this season. If that doesn’t deserve this award I don’t know what does.
And the fact that nobody really knows him means he does his job and does it really well - much like an offensive lineman in football. You only know their name when they do something wrong.
I think the fact that Eric has been a regional in both primary and general elections since 2010 and is mostly anonymous speaks volumes to his skills.
Comment by Ghosts of 109 Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 5:12 pm
No a doubt hgops is Nick Bellini. Not only is he a huge behind the scenes guy when the races need finished he’s the one to bring in. He deserves way more credit & recognition than he’s given!
Comment by j2 Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 5:17 pm
Nicky Bellini - You bring a knife, he will bring a gun. Plus, The guy actually LOVES Op Research and negative mail
Larry Luster - Smart, energetic and engaging. A very bright future!
Comment by Nick Naylor Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 5:24 pm
HDems - Anne Schaeffer. Hard working, classy and smart. Deserves major props for Rep. Scherer race. Also, her other races.
HGOP - Woodward. Tough primary, tough number of open seats to defend and his first shot at HDems was a draw on each side. He handled his first go at it really well.
Comment by Just Do It! Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 5:42 pm
House GOP would have to be Matt Eastman or Dane Thull. Both first timers running their own races and both came up big. These guys get the program and were committed fully to their respective races. Nothing against any of the other GOP staff mentioned above, but no others had as much success as these two.
Comment by Alex P. Keaton Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 6:06 pm
I’m all in with Kevin Owens for the House Dems. Has had Cloonen twice, and he had no business winning it this year. The tightest legislative race of ‘14 in a Republican district in a Republican year and he got the Democrat re-elected. There were some other nice wins on Madigan’s staff, but this one stands out above the rest considering all of the variables.
Comment by Anonny Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 7:13 pm
I echo Anne Schaeffer. She has been around a long time and has been on a lot of tough races and has had some tough candidates. From Mike Boland, to Frerichs to Scherer. She’s always handled herself with class and patience but is a true work horse. She also finds it important to always impart her wisdom to new staff, which can be rare when so many people are working so hard. She also drew an A+ map, which helped make the super majority possible. My vote goes to Anne Schaeffer, hands down.
Comment by Fantasma Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 8:21 pm
Eric Lane has my vote for the HDem campaign staffer. Eric started several years (like 2001) as an eager staffer ready to learn. Back then he ran campaigns for Forby, Bradley and served as a regional coordinator for Lisa Madigan, where we introduced her to southern Illinois by helping develop her 5pt meth plan. Through the years, he has earned the trust of those that matter and now serves as a regional campaign coordinator. Eric is willing to call in personal favors to help candidates who are facing a battle - this past spring, he did just that to make sure Scherer won her primary. He called upon his friends & former coworkers to hit the streets for Sue and they did it because Eric asked. Eric is deserving of this award because of his years of loyalty to the HDems - starting out as the poor guy taking orders and now the guy with a proven campaign record giving the orders.
Weaz don’t let this nomination go to your head.
Comment by Here's My Deal Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 9:35 pm
I spent some time in the Cloonen campaign. While Kevin Owens deserves a ton of praise, Lari Dierks was the one with Kate everyday, all day. Lari truly worked as hard as anybody I have ever seen. Her and Kevin deserve every accolade possible. Lari gets my vote for being with Kate from start to finish. The best part is that Lari was just “doing her job” you will never hear her say what she did. Kate will tell you how lucky she was to have Lari. Lari gets it. And no…. I am not a staffer. The entire operation was the epitome of how to run a campaign.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 9:38 pm
Let’s try to get some confirmation that Speaker Madigan did not secretly raise, train and fund Dan Proft. Yeah the money reports say that blowhard Uline gave all his allowance to Proft, but we bet Madigan bought a billion paperclips from the guy so could bankroll Proft’s ever dopey, junior highish ads and mailers. He might have been the Ds best weapon.
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Saturday, Dec 6, 14 @ 7:47 am
My vote goes to Tiffany Moy. She is a tireless worker, knows her job, and has excellent people skills…She coordinated a variety of groups, some of which had a history of serious tension between them, to maintain a cooperative base for the campaign. Although she is a dedicated worker, she seemed to enjoy her job and did not get stale. She is a good listener..She didn’t necessarily agree, but listened to ideas from all directions and treated what she heard with respect
Comment by DuPage Grandma Sunday, Dec 7, 14 @ 11:29 pm
HGOP - Gotta go to Woodward as an “A for Effort” award. Honestly my hat is off to all the GOP staff who keep jumping into the breach despite awful odds.
HDEM - If you are a GOP House candidate, the last thing in the world you want to see is Anne Schaeffer working your opponents race. She leaves everything on the field and drags her candidates across the finish line whether they like it or not. No disrespect to Kevin Owens or Eric Lane, both great guys, but Schaeffer may well be the best campaign manager in any of the four caucuses at the moment.
Comment by Diamond Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 1:39 am
The House Dems have a great staff that rarely seeks credit for all the hard work they do. Eric Lane especially is a person who plays an important role in nearly every aspect of their success, yet he never promotes himself. From vetting potential candidates, helping administer a better voter file, to supervising the several of the toughest state rep. races at once, if it is important, Eric Lane is involved. Also, when you hear about “the program” that turns vulnerable new members into well-respected local figures, you are hearing about the hard work that Eric Lane does every day. He makes the House Dem organization better and makes the individual state reps better as well.
Comment by ERB Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 9:12 am