Team Schwarzenegger gets overhaul with a White House feel

Last spring, after the governor all but declared war on union leaders and other Democratic interests, Republicans sat and watched as the unions led an offensive that helped drag down the governor's poll ratings, and doom his special election agenda.

Under the watch of new campaign manager Steve Schmidt and communications director Katie Levinson, both fresh off the plane from the Bush White House, Team Schwarzenegger is determined not to make the same mistake again.

"For California Republicans who were frustrated last year by the lack of an aggressive response out of the governor's operation, they'll be very pleasantly surprised when they see this new team in action," says Dan Schnur, a former communications director for Gov. Pete Wilson.

The task of reelecting the governor may prove to be a difficult one. A new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California shows the governor has lost some of his post-State of the State bounce in the polls. According to the latest survey, only 40 percent of likely voters have a favorable opinion of the governor, down from 45 percent in January.

Meanwhile, the new team is settling in to their new campaign digs, located several blocks from the Capitol in the drab, eight-story Comerica Bank building on Capitol Mall. Inside, construction workers are assembling cubicles. Phones ring at random, though there are no working phone numbers in the office as of yet.

But within weeks, this will be the Schwarzenegger command center. This will be the communications hub, and the war room, where Schwarzenegger will respond to attacks from Phil Angelides and Steve Westly as the campaign for governor ramps up.

Schmidt and Levinson head up a new cast of characters that will be charged with reelecting Gov. Schwarzenegger. They have enlisted the help of Matt McDonald, who ran the rapid response operation for Bush/Cheney 2004 and the White House to assist in the effort. Julie Soderlund, a deputy in the governor's press office, will be the campaign press secretary.

And as Republicans prepare to gather in San Jose, the new campaign team will get some attention, and probably some unsolicited advice, at the convention from activists who have been frustrated at the direction of the party over the last year.

"I think this particular convention is important for the governor's team," says Karen Hanretty, former communications director for the California Republican Party. "At the last one, there was a lot of frustration among convention goers who were openly questioning why the governor and his campaign weren't more aggressive in responding to his attacks by the unions. This offers the new team an opportunity to show the loyal foot soldiers that they have a plan and they intend to be aggressive about executing that plan."

Schnur said the rapid response piece was part of what was missing from the governor's special election effort. But he says Levinson and McDonald will not only help the governor's reelection effort, but his work could have lasting impact on the California Republican Party. "By the time he's done here, Matt McDonald will have bred an entire generation of young Republican operatives who will know that there is no worse sin in a campaign than leaving an attack unanswered," says Schnur.

Democrats seem unimpressed, or at least unfazed, with the new team "It's more about what the response is, not about how fast he can get it out," says Democratic consultant Andrew Acosta, whose firm is doing some work for Westly's campaign. "The governor has been on a road tour, and PPIC shows his numbers are going down. I don't care if you hire Machiavelli or Karl Rove, at the end of the day, it's Schwarzenegger's name on the ballot."

But at the very least, Schwarzenegger's new team should help ease the concerns of many Republican activists, who have criticized the governor for placing Democrats in top positions, and blasted his former campaign team for botching the special election.

Schwarzenegger's new campaign team is set to descend on San Jose with some bona fide Republican credentials.

Rounding out the new campaign team are Matt David, who will serve as deputy communications director, Reed Galen, who will serve as deputy campaign manager under Schmidt, along with Schmidt's assistant, Jon Berrier. Sarah Simmons, a former aide to Karl Rove, will also be based out of the Sacramento office, serving as strategist Matthew Dowd's liaison in California.

The campaign team will work in tandem with the Republican Party operation. Because of state campaign finance laws, much of the money for the campaign will be raised through the party. Mike Vallente will head up the party's political operation, which will include a Victory 2006 portion to help coordinate between the gubernatorial race and down-ticket races. Rob Stutzman, the governor's former communications director, is on contract with the party, and will also help in the coordinated campaign effort.

Last spring, after the governor all but declared war on union leaders and other Democratic interests

I couldn't take the author seriously in the balance of the article because I couldn't get past the glaring inaccuracy in this first sentence.

In fact, The gang lost because they attacked the rank and file, not the leadership. Had Barbara Kerr been mentioned even once during the campaign the gang might have won. Instead the gang personalized the campaign, attacking individual teachers and nurses who boycotted campaign stops.

Thought I'd throw this on the old thread. The team appears to be moving on... to McCain.
Good riddens to Schmidt and his double-dealing anti-Prop 90 antics.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/16311690.htm

McCain's gang

SCHWARZENEGGER STAFFER JOINS MCCAIN: Steve Schmidt, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's laser-focused campaign manager in the re-election race, is joining the campaign of presidential wannabe Sen. John McCain of Arizona as a senior adviser. So sayeth the Washington Post's political blog.

That marks another veteran of the Bush administration joining Team McCain -- the Bush team that, you know, defeated the McCain team back in 2000.

Schmidt has long been respected in GOP circles. Helping to engineer the Schwarzenegger post-special-election renaissance gave his reputation another boost.

Plotting a GOP victory in Democrat-leaning California (an electoral prize and campaign cash box) also had to make Schmidt attractive. (Then again, Republican presidential candidates lately seem to make only a token stab at winning the Golden State.)

The amiable Matt David also will join Team McCain, as deputy communications director, the same role he played for Schwarzenegger's campaign.

David is best known -- at least by the Sacramento press corps -- for his million "Typical Phil" e-mails to reporters that alternately chastised Phil Angelides' actions as "desperate" and "flailing."

Can "Typical Rudy" missives be in our future?

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