The awards dinner, hosted by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), is held each year to honor the previous year’s best work in political advertising and communications.

Mowery Consulting Group, a Montgomery-based general consulting firm took the Gold in the Automated Calls – GOTV category for “Bradley,” a call from the PAC chairman’s son imploring the citizens of Pike Road to Vote Yes on the School Tax Issue.

Zata|3, a voter contact firm with offices in Jackson, MS and Washington, DC, took the Gold in the Overall Phone/Field category for the call program “A New School For Pike Road,” which they conceived and executed with Mowery’s direction.

“It is always humbling to be judged the best at something by a group of your peers from across the country,” Mowery said. “This was a hard fought campaign, and it’s ultimate success is owed to the hard work done by the entire group: Patriot PAC Chairman Mike Hicks, Cal Franklin, Zata|3 and everyone else who helped us win.”

Alabama is not known as a place that is friendly to raising taxes – this is only the third such successful new property tax authorization that has been passed in the past 30 years – out of at least 40 attempts known throughout the state.

“This was not an easy campaign, and these awards are much deserved,” Hicks said. “This is a conservative area, even for a conservative state – and we are in a recession. Convincing people to raise their own taxes is never easy, but Dave and the other consultants did a great job. I’m proud to have worked with them.”

Mowery Consulting and Zata|3 have worked together on many successful campaigns in state, including the first Bobby Bright for Congress campaign, both successful campaigns of Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange, State Senator Billy Beasley and State Representatives Richard Lindsey and Lesley Vance.

“We are all proud of David – we have watched him go from managing and winning a tough, targeted Congressional race, to winning the Montgomery Mayor’s race without a runoff, to starting his firm and winning all of his races in 2010, to winning a Rising Star Award,” Zata|3 Founding Partner Brad Chism said. “David believes in a strong voter contact program for every campaign, and we believe in David. The Zata|3 team is happy to be a part of his success and to have him as part of ours.”

Alabama political consultant David Mowery was named as a 2011 Rising Star by Campaigns & Elections magazine.

The award recognizes political operatives age 35 and under who have a track record of achievement and the promise of future greatness.

Mowery, 33, is founder and president of Mowery Consulting Group LLC, a Montgomery-based campaign consultant. He has worked for Mobile candidates including Mayor Sam Jones and John Tyson, Jr., in campaigns for Mobile County District Attorney and Attorney General.

The magazine recognized 40 Rising Stars in its latest contest. Previous winners include David Axelrod, Donna Brazile, James Carville, Mike Murphy and George Stephanopoulos.

Press-Register

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/06/mobile_businessman_tapped_to_l.html

Campaigns & Elections

“The caliber of this year’s nominees was incredibly high, and choosing the winners was a real challenge,” said Shane Greer, publisher of Campaigns & Elections. “To make this list is an honor, but to be the custodians of the list is an honor that all of us at C&E recognize and feel humbled by.”

Rising Stars were first recognized in 1988 and have gone on to serve in the highest levels of government and political consulting. Past honorees include David Axelrod, Donna Brazile, James Carville, Alex Castellanos, Rahm Emanuel, Ben Ginsberg, Ed Goeas, Mike Murphy, Bill McInturff, and George Stephanopoulos. (Click here for the complete Rising Stars alumni list.)

The 2011 Rising Stars will be honored on June 17 at an event during our annual training seminar, The Art of Political Campaigning.

The Rising Stars of 2011 are:

REPUBLICANS

Rory Cooper, 34, is director of communications at the Heritage Foundation, where he has played a key role in expanding and sharpening the think tank’s use of social media and helped shape debates over policy ranging from healthcare reform to the economy.

Nick Everhart, 31, is founder and president of Strategic Media Placement, Inc., the media-buying arm of the Strategy Group for Media. He is expert at squeezing out the most message in exchange for the fewest dollars on behalf of the firm’s clients.

Mark Harris, 26, is the managing partner of Cold Spark Media. In 2010, he earned plaudits for running an extremely effective operation as campaign manager on Pat Toomey’s Pennsylvania Senate bid.

Rachel Hillerman, 23, is vice president of political affairs at LVH Consulting. Last year, she took over as lead fundraiser on Kelly Ayotte’s New Hampshire U.S. Senate campaign just a few months after starting as an assistant.

Bob Honold, 31, is president of Honold Communications and a partner at Revolution Agency. During the 2010 cycle, as New York State director for the NRCC, he helped Republicans flip six House seats, more than in any other state.

Jackie Huelbig, 27, is senior director at Connell Donatelli, Inc., where she has run online advertising campaigns for an extensive list of marquee clients, including the 2008 McCain presidential campaign and Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s write-in re-election campaign.

Matt Mackowiak, 31, is president of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC. He managed the 2010 congressional campaign of Bill Flores, who defeated ten-term incumbent Texas Congressman Chet Edwards by an impressive 25 points.

Brock McCleary, 35, is deputy political director at the National Republican Congressional Committee, where he served as Northeast political director for the 2010 cycle and oversaw the pickup of fourteen U.S. House seats across the region.

Josh Robinson, 29, is political director for the Republican Governors Association. He launched his career as an operative in high school and has since worked for John McCain’s presidential campaign and the NRCC.

Bryan Sanders, 27, is a partner at Dresner Wickers Barber Sanders. A specialist in polling, focus group research, and media production and placement, he worked on the 2010 primary and general election campaigns of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley.

Scott Schweitzer, 35, is a partner with the Strategy Group for Media, where he oversees all post-production. He also writes, shoots, directs, and produces ads and supervises message strategy for several of the firm’s clients.

Jen Stolp, 29, is vice president of fundraising at Campaign Solutions, where she has posted impressive online fundraising numbers for clients such as Rep. Michele Bachmann, Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, and John McCain’s presidential campaign.

Erik Telford, 27, is director of membership and online strategy at Americans for Prosperity, where he has helped the right catch up with the left in terms of online activism and helped lay the groundwork for the emergence of the Tea Party

Nicholas Thompson, 32, is vice president at the Tarrance Group, where he works with campaign consultants nationwide to refine messaging and fine-tune targeting. In 2010, he helped defeat Blanche Lincoln in the Arkansas U.S. Senate race.

Trebor Worthen, 31, is the managing partner of Majority Designs, a direct mail consulting firm that he started while serving as an Oklahoma state representative. He has since retired from elected office to work as a consultant full time.

DEMOCRATS

Robert Burkes, 28, is principal and director of operations at Zata|3, where he manages the database system and oversees operations to ensure that every calling program is executed according to plan.

Colin Campbell, 23, is an associate with Bill Lynch Associates. He managed Larry Hanley’s upset campaign in the first successfully challenged election for Amalgamated Transit Union international president in twenty-nine years.

Scott Dworkin, 28, is founder and CEO of Bulldog Finance Group. He has established himself at the forefront of a new generation of Democratic fundraisers, with a smart, innovative approach to bringing in campaign cash.

Jamie Emmons, 30, is chief of staff for Lexington, Kentucky Mayor Jim Gray. In 2010, he managed Gray’s successful runoff campaign, helping him win election as an openly gay candidate in a conservative state.

Natalie LeBlanc, 32, is California managing director at the Pivot Group. She has made a name for herself producing effective, eye-catching mail that draws on rigorous testing and analysis.

Kathie Legg, 28, is senior social media and mobile manager for the DNC’s Organizing for America, where she has helped the Democratic Party surpass the Republican Party in Facebook fans and Twitter followers.

Rachel Napear, 34, is president of RMS, LLC. Having developed an early focus on Web design for political campaigns, she has become a recognized expert on new media in integrated political and marketing campaigns.

Ben Nuckels, 32, is vice president at Joe Slade White & Company. After taking over as campaign manager for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn in May 2010, he helped turn around a dysfunctional operation and lead the governor to a narrow victory.

Bill Redding, 32, is an account executive at Catalist. After years of work on the East Coast, he spent six months in 2010 as statewide coordinated field director for the Arizona Democratic Party, where he won high marks for setting up a sophisticated field operation.

Colin Rogero, 33, is president of Revolution Media. After starting out in commercial advertising, he has applied his talents to efforts ranging from U.S. Senate independent expenditures to public affairs campaigns on behalf of immigrants.

Scott Simpson, 35, is a senior associate at Gumbinner & Davies Communications, where he has helped eke out an impressive string of wins in Virginia state legislative races over the last few years even as Democratic fortunes there have generally gone south.

Rory Steele, 33, is a partner at Argo Strategies. He played a key role in five states on the 2008 Obama campaign and served as direct mail consultant on a 2009 referendum effort that preserved Washington State’s domestic partnership law.

Dr. Aaron Strauss, 30, is senior analyst and director of decision analytics at the Mellman Group. He has done extensive groundbreaking work to put the power of computers, analysis, and experimentation to work for Democrats and progressives.

Matthew E. Weaver, 31, is a principal and co-founder of Bronstein & Weaver, Inc., where he brings a combination of analysis-driven microtargeting and fierce competitiveness to his work as a direct mail consultant.

Isaac Wright, 31, is CEO of Wright Strategies LLC. He has made a specialty of electing Democrats in unfriendly territory—helping Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon win election by 17 points in 2008 and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe win by 31 points in 2010.

NONPARTISAN/INTERNATIONAL

Jorge Domingo Gerez, 35, is partner and executive director of Quintella Gerez Branding Ltd., a firm he founded with the aim of connecting candidates with voters, despite the inconsistent reach of television signals in many parts of Latin America.

Bruno Hoffmann, 27, is founder and CEO of HoffGroup. A native of Brazil, he amassed years of schooling and experience in the United States before returning to pioneer online campaigning in his home country.

Oliver Jones, 25, is a property communications manager for ASDA Walmart. During the 2005 general election, he was an aide to U.K. Conservative prime ministerial candidate Michael Howard, and in 2010 he managed a successful campaign for parliament.

Daniel Marquez, 31, is director of Marketing Politico en la Red, a Spanish-language blog for political consultants and students throughout Latin America and Spain interested in the art of political marketing.

David L. Mowery, 33, is founder and president of Mowery Consulting Group, LLC, where he helps Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike win elections in Alabama.

Candice Osborne, 32, is founder of C&S Strategies, which offers a suite of mobile applications that allow campaigns to apply the latest in technology to help them use GOTV resources efficiently, monitor volunteers, and make the most of voter file data.

Cesar Omar Martínez Salazar, 34, is director of public opinion research at Cartello Group, where he has developed a new model of GOTV organization that uses social media to gauge the effectiveness of publicity campaigns.

Aleix Sanmartìn, 31, is CEO of SanmartìnGroup, a Mexico City–based firm whose focus is working with progressive and anti-poverty organizations and candidates throughout Latin America.

Aron Shaviv, 32, is CEO of Shaviv Strategy and Campaigns Ltd. Based in Israel, he specializes in helping run research-driven campaigns for center-right candidates in Central and Eastern Europe.

Leo Wallach, 31, is vice president at Winner & Mandabach Campaigns, a California firm that works exclusively on ballot propositions. He has worked on successful campaigns involving global warming legislation, Native American gaming, and eminent domain.

Campaigns & Elections Magazine

The first was about a series of donations to the campaign of Iowa’s Attorney General.

After he was appointed to administer a fund that would affect a pool of states grouped into the same lawsuit, many attorneys from around the country who had never donated to him before wrote him large checks “Without his knowledge,” and “Without ever asking about the pending cases.”

The other was about the liberal moneybags in Hollywood that have donated the maximum allowable contributions to the Obama campaign.

One hints at impropriety, while the other highlights something that has been a source of funding for Democrats on the national level since at least 1972 when Gary Hart and Warren Beatty went Hollywood to glom McGovern money, and stretches back even further when you consider the ubiquitous Rat Pack and Kennedy stories. (Never you mind that during the same time Bob Hope and John Wayne were shilling for Nixon. Hollyweird is Liberal and Out of Touch!)

I have a saying, and I’m not even sure where I got it from, but it goes: “I would rather have a million dollars and explain how I got it, than not have the million dollars in the first place.” That is to say, from a campaign perspective, not many voters care where a candidate’s money comes from – and on some level they assume that all politicians are corrupt, and that anyone donating to them is seeking something in return. And, unless that money is anathema to the worldview of the people you are seeking to represent – NARAL, Planned Parenthood, Nancy Pelosi, Sierra Club for Southern Dems, and AEA, State Employees and Milton McGregor Alabama Republicans – you may as well take the money and use it to get your message out, rather than not take it, and not have the money to control your message.

The other side to that story is that if your opponents harp on where you get your funding, they are probably neglecting a better hit that doesn’t necessarily just reinforce something the voting public already knew about you. (Imagine that – a Democrat getting their funding from Trial Lawyers, or gasp – a Republican getting their money from the Business Council.)

I have helped candidates raise millions of dollars for their campaigns over the years. I have never once asked a single one of them “What did you do for these people to make them give you this money?” I have asked “How are you with such and such?” or “Will you take a check from so and so?” I have also never had an individual, lobbyist, or association head tell me or a candidate “I’m not for your because you’re against our issues.” The way it usually works in that instance is, they ignore you or fund your opponent until they feel you are going to win, or until you do win. Then they cut big checks to your campaign, or to retire your campaign debt.

Do I think money from Jerry Katzenburg or Ron Howard would make a candidate more or less apt to help causes close to a movie star’s heart? No more or less than I feel that Bank of America’s lawyers giving money to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller will get them a favorable verdict for their clients. I do believe that having prior knowledge of his skills as an attorney, they prefer his skills as a lawyer and judgment as a prosecutor over those of an unknown commodity, or of a commodity known to be hostile to their clients’ issues.

As a colleague pointed out to me recently – even though many people THINK they know that money drives politics, in reality they have no idea. Even many candidates we work with don’t grasp the vast amount of time and effort that is put into getting one fundraising call ready for them to dial the number – much less fully understand the vast amount of time they will in fact not be spending shaking hands and kissing babies, but instead spending 4-5 hours each day, locked inside a windowless room with 5 phone lines, two staffers, computers and notebooks, calling their friends, family members, former law partners, people they haven’t spoken with since college, and complete and total strangers who may not even live in the state, to say nothing of being “In the district,” and asking them for exorbitant sums of money.

Winners get this fact, put in the time and effort and raise the money. Losers tend to figure they can do it their own way – and never understand why they lost. That fact does not even touch misguided spending – but we’ll leave T-Shirts, Signs, Billboards, Nail Files and the like for another day.

So, when someone tells a candidate they can raise $50,000 for the campaign, rarely is the question asked “Where you gonna get it from?” The candidate will most likely smile proudly and tell the Finance Director or Call Time Manager – “They love me, and we’re gonna win.” When it costs $1million to win a state senate race, and you spend $140,000 a week on TV to do so, you’re naturally more interested in getting the money in, winning, and sorting out what to vote for when the time comes. If this sounds mercenary, it certainly is. But it should also debunk some of the constant “They gave him so much money over course he voted their way,” talk that is always a hot topic.

You will never divorce money from politics, but winners know what Jesse “Big Daddy” Unruh said when he was Speaker of the California House – “If you can’t drink their liquor, screw their women, take their money, and vote against them in the morning – you’re in the wrong damn business.”

It was a good time, and you would be shocked how fast a half hour flies by. I am very thankful that he had me as a guest, and I look forward to the possibility of doing more things of this nature in the future.

There are two separate YouTube videos of this, because it is too long to put into one.

Alabama Politics with Steve Flowers Part 1

Alabama Politics with Steve Flowers Part 2

I also continue to do a regular guest appearance on The Dan Morris Viewpoint Show, every other Monday. My next appearance there is scheduled for Monday, February 28th.

You can listen in via the web at:  www.newstalk1079.com/listen-live

He is a great business and political mentor, and I am proud of him for getting this type of recognition. When John talks, candidates and consultants on all sides of every single issue should listen up.

This exchange illustrates the way John thinks, and if a little of that has filtered into the way I can help and advise clients, then I consider myself lucky.

Politics: Are the ethical flaps playing out in Congress a problem for Democrats in 2010, from Eric Massa to Charlie Rangel?

Anzalone: We tend to be myopic about the 24-hour news cycle and insiders think it’s important. But the average Joe and Jane do not dwell on it. They don’t dwell on Eric Massa. They don’t wake up every day and say, “Wow, that guy’s an ass.” What they dwell on everyday are the kitchen table issues. You go into focus groups and you find that out. And so there’s a bubble in D.C. and a 24-hour news cycle that drives things, but that’s not how real voters digest things. It’s one of the reasons I think I’ve become a better consultant since I moved out of D.C. I don’t get caught up in what’s important in D.C. everyday. I focus on what the average voter is dealing with, and at the end of the day that’s what my job is as a pollster. It’s to be the unfiltered viewfinder to voters and to separate the wheat from the chaff. And the reality is that the Eric Massa’s of the world and the Rangel’s are the chaff. You eventually put them in a pile and burn them. We’re interested in the wheat and that is showing voters that we look out for their interests and trying to fix problems.

Now comes news that he has catapulted from 2% to 20% in the polls. The Michigan Primary is in August, so that still leaves plenty of time, but it shows what one well crafted, non-traditional, yet informative ad can do for a campaign.

Wealthy businessman Rick Snyder has catapulted himself into a three-way tie for first place in advance of the state’s Aug. 3 Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary thanks to a series of innovative — and well-financed — ads.

State Attorney General Mike Cox and Rep. Pete Hoekstra each take 21 percent in an “Inside Michigan Politics” Marketing Resource Group poll while Snyder clocks in at 20 percent and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard lags in fourth with 10 percent. (Those numbers are among likely Republican primary voters.)

The poll highlights a marked improvement for Snyder from a similar IMP/MRA survey done last fall that put Snyder at just two percent. Snyder has received considerable positive press for his “one, tough nerd” ad — a pitch-perfect commercial that casts him as an outsider to the political process whose studiousness and success in the private sector are the right fit for the economically-battered state. Expect Snyder’s ad to be copied relentlessly around the country this year as candidates seek to find way to break through the clutter and prove to voters they aren’t just like other politicians.”

The week he hired me, Todd and his wife Linda took me and my wife to dinner for a get-to-know-you session. There were many topics discussed, but Linda had only one request of me: “Don’t Lose.”

Coming off the success of The Bright Campaign, we knew what we needed to do to fulfill that request — and set about executing our plan.

Todd’s brand of inclusive politics allowed him to raise more money, push a better message, and use more media than any of his opponents. He did things right: Todd started early, getting organized almost immediately after the November election. He recruited a strong finance committee, a strong issues advisory committee which consisted of individuals across the demographic spectrum of the city, and brought in John Anzalone – the best pollster in the country, and the guts of what would become The Mowery Consulting Group team.

We started work the day after we sealed the deal, and the day of qualifying announced we had raised $300,000 to our nearest opponent’s $30,000. We opened 3 campaign offices in key parts of the city – Downtown, East Montgomery, and West Montgomery. We brought in a former Montgomery Advertiser reporter Hilary Funk to be communications director, and a former business executive, Chuck Carver to recruit and run our volunteer operation.

We hired Bruce Reid who produced ads about Todd’s economic development bonafides, and our approach to fighting crime, and got them on air quickly. Once the media burned in, we did an extensive Voter ID program – using Brad Chism and the Zata 3 team, and we outlined a mail program with Wooten Johnson of Ourso, Beychok and Johnson that would reinforce our television and radio, driving our voters to the polls.

Patrick Cagle built an electronic communications program, assembling lists of political people to keep informed and voters to be persuaded. We also made the decision to assemble our own voter file. I hired Peter Waldo of River Regions IT/Mac Solutions to help us put the information we had available into a Mac-user friendly format.

It was this decision that allowed us to target voters in our demographic group who were less likely to vote in a municipal election and drive them to the polls. Combined with our media and Voter ID programs, we brought in Ashley Mcghee to oversee our voter outreach and canvass program. By election day we knocked on over 5000 undecided voters’ doors.

Todd never missed an opportunity to talk to voters. We had meet and greet events in every part of town, and there were numerous community forums. We set up Tuesdays With Todd – an opportunity to meet with Todd at our East Montgomery Field Office – that is continued monthly via television on WAKA CBS 8.

A week before the election, the results of our tracking polls showed that there was a chance that we could win without a runoff. In discussion with the team, we decided to go “All In,” instead of laying up and going into a runoff as the leader, but not The Mayor.

One of our key mail pieces had hit the weekend before Election Day- designed by Patrick Cagle, and nominated for a 2009 Pollie Award” – “My Oldest Friend” included pictures of Todd and Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins from as far back as 6th grade and as recently as our announcement speech. We took a list of Troy graduates in Montgomery, matched it to the voter file, and sent the mailer of the popular and well known Hawkins to over 5000 households. He then did a “Mail Chase Robo Call” to all of these households, exhorting them to vote for his Oldest Friend Todd Strange.

Election Day, as always, was a bit of a blur, but we had a strong Election Day plan that included door knocks, “Robo Calls” and target-area canvasses. We were getting information from our poll watchers, and the extrapolation showed we were in range to win without a runoff, with some of our strongest boxes yet to come in. We launched what is known in the industry as an “Oh Sh*t Call” at 6pm, using Todd’s voice to tell voters they had one more hour to vote.

We headed to the Election Night Watch Party knowing we were almost there, but not there yet. On the ride over, I heard on the radio that Todd won. He would be sworn in as Mayor with no runoff, and we delivered on Linda’s one request. And we only had a little debt to retire to show for it.

And in a year, Todd has made us all extremely proud. He has continued the work begun by his predecessor Congressman Bright on downtown redevelopment, and brought a renewed vitality to the city, even amid all of the bad economic data coming out of Washington.

This victory also provided me with the successful track record, contacts, and gumption to “hang out my shingle” and open The Mowery Consulting Group, which currently has clients running for office at all levels of government, and several grassroots and grasstops organizing and advisory projects.

Thank you and Congratulations on a Great First Year in Office, Mayor Todd Strange!

Several things jump out to me. First, this is a one minute ad. Many consultants eschew the one minute ad, as it takes more money to get the number of points behind it you need for penetration, and in our increasingly-attention-deficit world, some believe that even a minute is too much for voters to handle.

Counterintuitive to this line of thought, I think the one minute can be an effective game changer. The length lets the ad “breathe” so it does not appear to be crammed with information, and you don’t need The Micro Machine Man announcer running through a list of your life’s accomplishments to “get it all in.”

This ad also exemplifies a classic political play – it hangs a lantern on this guy’s problem. He is a new face, and let’s face it, the guy is a nerd. Who would admit to reading Fortune when they were eight? How many people finish college, a masters and law school in their lifetimes, let alone by the time they are 23? He is a classic over achiever, and that is the type of go-getter voters might want in these desperate economic times.

The ad sets up the reveal of him being “One Tough Nerd” very well with scenes of economic blight, and lays the blame at the type of people he is running against to win his party’s primaries: disgraced and discredited career politicians — and as polling across the country is showing, incumbents everywhere need to beware the wrath of dissatisfied voters on all ends of the spectrum.

The other big deal in this ad is the candidate highlights his bonafides at job creation. As I have said a million times recently to candidates and consultants alike: “If you are not talking about jobs, why are you talking?” This is especially true in a state like Michigan, which is fast becoming the number one example of our country’s job loss and infrastructure problems.

One quibble I have with this ad is his 10 point plan and the fact that “No politician can understand it.” He may be over-exerting his smart guy persona and coming off as a know it all — something voters decidedly do not want. He tempers that by not reeling off each of the ten points, and instead is driving traffic to his website by asking voters to read it for themselves. It will be interesting to see his follow up to these ads and if he enumerates all or some of his plan in a series of ads that have a cohesive narrative.

Last, he sets up voters for the inevitable let down should he become Governor by proclaiming “we just can’t fix it.” This is obviously going to be a tough job, and to portray it as anything less would be intellectually dishonest, and would not serve him well should he win. I think it is an interesting gambit that most would overlook.

I have seen no numbers, or focus group dial testing from this ad, so we don’t know how it worked in terms of creating space for him in the primary. I also have no affiliation with this campaign, or any campaign, in the state of Michigan. Just thought it would be interesting, and look for us to make some of our friends and a lot of people we don’t know angry by critiquing great, good, OK and terrible ads throughout the country while the parties in all 50 states decide whom their standard bearers will be in the November 2010 midterms.