The Tsongas Committee

2 Oliver Street
Post Office Box 4504
Boston, MA 02101-4504

Dennis Kanin  campaign manager.
Kanin had run Tsongas' congressional and Senate offices and then joined the same Boston law firm.  In February and March, as more advisers came into the campaign and offered sometimes conflicting advice, Kanin remained by far the most influential voice with Tsongas.

For about ten months the Tsongas campaign was more of a loose configuration than a regimented organization.  Titles weren't important.  Listed here are some of the key players:

Barry White  campaign chairman.
The managing partner in Tsongas' law firm, White was not involved in the day-to-day activities of the campaign (he didn't attend staff meetings).  White worked at functions such as fundraising, where he had considerable experience.

Paul Davis  fulfilled functions of political director for the first part of the campaign.
Davis helped with the announcement speech, early travel, setting Iowa strategy and the initial stages of organizing New Hampshire, before leaving.

Paul Schone  political director.
Shone, who had served as political director in Tsongas' 1978 Senate campaign, came on in fall 1991.  He liaised with local elected officials and organized field activities.

Dennis Newman  deputy campaign manager/field director.
A lawyer in Boston, Newman worked with the NH staff, getting the enthusiastic young kids functioning as an effective political force.

Andy Paven  director of advance.
Paven had done national advance with the Dukakis campaign in 1988 and work on local races in Massachusetts.  He travelled with Tsongas.

Peggy Connolly  national press secretary.
Connolly started her career at the Lowell Sun.  Through positions at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and later the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee she had established connections with the national media.  On the campaign she developed media strategies, worked on outreach to reporters and kept the national media informed, as well as travelling with the candidate.

Susan Prolman and "the guys" in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire staff's persistence and enthusiasm through long months of indifference were pivotal to Tsongas' success.

Fred Faust  unpaid adviser.
Ed Jesser  senior adviser/communications director.


and the consultants
Michael Shea and Fred Woods  media consultants.
Both Shea and Woods were based in Massachusetts.  Woods had done advertising for Tsongas from the earliest days of his political career.  Shea had assisted Dan Payne with Dukakis' 1988 primary spots and went on to set up his own firm in 1989.  He left the campaign in March because he was unhappy with the direction it was taking.  
 
Tubby Harrison  pollster.
Based in Boston, Harrison helped Kanin on strategy.

Goldman Associates  direct mail fundraising.
The information in this paragraph is summarized from Maura Keefe.  "Solid Direct Mail Base Nearly Resurrected Tsongas Campaign."  Campaign Magazine, May 1992, pages 23-25:
The Boston firm started with a base of 8,000 names and pared it to 6,000; this "house list" was mailed three times in 1991.  In terms of prospecting, the first letter was mailed in May 1991 to 10,000 Greek-Americans nationwide and produced a 5.5% response rate and $49.59 average contribution.  Next came a nationwide mailing to 44,000 former Peace Corps volunteers (2.5% response, $44.77 average).  Goldman Associates purchased donor files of other Massachusetts politicians and added a general prospecting piece to the mix.  A newspaper ad following Tsongas' win in New Hampshire generated significant contributions.  When Tsongas suspended his campaign on March 19, a mailing of 150,000 pieces was ready to go.

In February and March, as the campaign grew, others of national stature joined:
Gerald Austin, who had managed Jesse Jackson's 1988 campaign, joined as a senior adviser. Ted Van Dyk signed on.  Scott Miller was brought in in the beginning of March to help Shea and Woods with advertising.



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