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Bernie Sanders presidential campaign key staff and advisors, 2016
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The staff for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign was composed of a mix of more traditionally qualified staff members and those who stood a bit outside the political establishment. Tad Devine, the campaign's senior advisor and one of the most visible staff members, had worked on presidential campaigns since being a delegate tracker for Jimmy Carter (D) in 1980.[1] After an early career as a journalist, campaign spokesperson Michael Briggs had been a spokesperson for a number of U.S. senators, including working with Sanders since 2007. Campaign manager Jeff Weaver had also worked with Sanders in the past. Weaver volunteered on Sanders' 1986 gubernatorial campaign, managed Sanders' 2006 U.S. Senate run, and was on Sanders' staffs in both the U.S. House and the Senate. But in 2010, Weaver left politics to open a comic book store, called Victory Comics, in Falls Church, Virginia. The 2016 presidential campaign was his first work with Sanders since then.[2]
While the core of Sanders' staff had years of experience working with the candidate, two of Sanders' important hires for the 2016 election were national press secretary Symone Sanders (no relation) and the digital messaging firm Revolution Messaging. Symone Sanders was hired in July 2015, just as Bernie Sanders was beginning to face sharp criticism from activist groups and protesters associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Sanders previously worked as an advocate for racial and social justice in Omaha, Nebraska, and with Ralph Nader's advocacy group Public Citizen.[3] She left the campaign in June 2016, after all the Democratic presidential primaries had been held. Revolution Messaging was the digital strategy firm behind Sanders' online presence and fundraising. The group was formed by veterans of President Barack Obama's (D) 2008 campaign, where they ran social media and rapid response digital operations.[4]
Key staff and advisors
The table below details some of the key staff, advisors, and firms involved with Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign at the time the campaign was suspended in July 2016. The leftmost column indicates the individual or company. The middle column details that their relationship to Sanders' 2016 campaign. The final column indicates experience prior to working with Sanders in 2016. More detailed profiles of individuals can be found by clicking the links in the leftmost column.
| Bernie Sanders key staff and advisors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Individual | Role | Previous Experience |
| Jeff Weaver | Campaign manager | •Bernie Sanders 1986 gubernatorial •Bernie Sanders 2006 Senate |
| Tad Devine | Senior advisor | •Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential •Bernie Sanders 1996 U.S. House •Jon Corzine 2000 U.S. Senate •Al Gore 2000 presidential •John Kerry 2004 presidential •Bernie Sanders 2006 Senate |
| Michael Briggs | Communications director | •Spokesman Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) •Spokesman Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) •Press Secretary Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) •Communications director Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) •Communications director Sen. Bernie Sanders |
| Revolution Messaging | Digital media firm | •AARP •AFL-CIO •ACLU •Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation •Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee •Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee •NAACP •Organizing for America •United Auto Workers Union •Planned Parenthood • Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign •Others |
Departures
Josh Uretsky
On December 18, 2015, national data director Josh Uretsky was fired after campaign "staffers exploited a temporary glitch in the DNC's voter database...to save lists created by Hillary Clinton’s campaign."[5] As a result of the breach, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) revoked Sanders’ access to its voter database.[6]
Michael Ceraso
- See also: Michael Ceraso
On May 11, 2016, Michael Ceraso—who had been the Sanders campaign's California state director—left the campaign. According to Politico, Ceraso's departure "came after a period when Ceraso advocated for a California strategy that involved more investment on field and digital organizing than on television advertising — a staple of Sanders’ campaign elsewhere so far."[7] The Los Angeles Times reported that Robert Becker, the campaign's Iowa director who had come on to help in California, would take over as California state director.[8]
Symone Sanders
- See also: Symone Sanders
On June 26, 2016, Politico reported that national press secretary Symone Sanders had decided to leave the campaign. She told the site, "I believe my time at the campaign has come to an end. I'm very proud of the work we have done and am now looking forward to helping elect down-ballot Democrats and do all I can to ensure a Democrat is the 45th president of the United States."[9]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Bernie Sanders Campaign Staff. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders presidential campaign key staff and advisors experience, 2016
- Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Harvard IOP, "Thomas A. (Tad) Devine," accessed February 8, 2016
- ↑ Falls Church Times, "Man About Town: For Men and Boys Only," March 8, 2010
- ↑ Essence, "6 Things to Know About Bernie Sanders' New Press Secretary, Symone Sanders," August 12, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Revolution Messaging to Lead Digital Efforts For Bernie Sanders' Presidential Campaign," May 6, 2015
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Sanders Campaign Unleashes Fierce Attack on Establishment After Breach," December 18, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "DNC penalizes Sanders campaign for improper access of Clinton voter data," December 18, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedpolitico - ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Bernie Sanders loses his California director," May 11, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Sanders national press secretary leaving campaign," June 26, 2016
