January 04, 2007
Giuliani Staffs A Communications Office
Ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani has recruited two veteran GOP communicators to set up the press shop for his presidential exploratory committee.
Katie Levinson, a former White House aide who was most recently the comm. dir for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election, will be a senior adviser. She’ll be tasked with setting up the campaign's communications operations. She'll map out the campaign's press plan and help hire spokespersons and researchers.
Anthony Carbonetti, a top aide to Giuliani, said in a statement that Levinson's "experience coupled with her political acumen garnered during her political career in the White House and the RNC are great addition to our talented team." At the White House, Levinson was the chief liaison between senior White House officials and the broadcast media and was in charge of the surrogate booking operation. At the RNC, the budget for her division -- Television and Radio operations -- exceeded several million dollars.
Also, Maria Comella will be the Giuliani exploratory committee's director for regional media. She has experience in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Most recently, Comella served as comm. dir for Ex-Rep. Jim Nussle's IA GOV campaign. In '04, she was the NH comm. dir for the Bush-Cheney re-election effort. She's worked for Gov. George Pataki and the Winston Group and even, at her young age, has Capitol Hill experience.
Comella and Levinson join the Giuliani campaign a few days after a 140 internal memo highlighting Giuliani's vulnerabilities as a candidate made its way to the New York Daily News. A Giuliani spokesperson said the memo wasn't official and insinuated that it was stolen from an aide's luggage in Florida. Some of Giuliani's opponents are using the incident to question the competence of Giuliani’s potential campaign, but it's hard to imagine that any actual voter in any actual state will have this memo on their minds next year.
Nevertheless, Comella and Levinson are both grade A professionals and will be in a position to contain, and perhaps to tamp down, similar stories in the future. Their hires once again confirm the seriousness of Giuliani’s exploratory efforts. An adviser to Giuliani’s campaign manager, Mike DuHaime, tells the Hotline that several more senior staffers will be announced next week [MARC AMBINDER]
Posted at 03:35 PM
Comments
Does anyone on Mr.Giuliani's staff have offices in Arizona, that have internships available?
Nick Owenby | 03.13.07 04:24 AM
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I am a Black female, and life long Democrat who is planning to vote for Guiliani any way. But, I am begging him in his campaign to give a real voice of an activist in the Black community a chance to be heardbeyond only the Oprah program. A voice who is saying Hillary Clinton in calling those Black female basketball student heroes in he speech at Rutgers today is a form of promoting racism. Oprah devoted two days 4-16 and1704 to the voice of our community to comment on the firing of Don Imus for using the word "HO" on the public air waves. In doing this she allow spokeswomen from an all Black female college, Spellman, to complain about their TWO whole years of boycotting the Black men of the hip hip and rap industry's use of the word "HO" over the public air waves going unheard because the media only allows Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to voice balck issue. In doing this Don Imus has been used as a "victim" to finally get the "HO" complaint to the public. Hillary in calling the few Black basketball students heroes, not the whole of a Black female college's two year efforts is promoting the worng heroes to me as a Black female! Please get those two days of Oprah tapes showing Al Sharpton being called a "press talking head" and Oprah's saying herself that this language is a part of hers and my Black culture herself and these students being told by the Black music industry that they will now hold meetings with them and even pay all of the student's expenses in this effort. but most important with all of the talking heads Sharpton and Jackson, both were "no shows" at this Black music industry confrotation!!! Also take note how Al Sharpton said he never said Don Imus defined these Black basketball team mates
Irma Robinson | 04.20.07 03:39 PM
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Ms. Comella reacted to Ron Paul's book-reading assignment to Mr. Guiliani, in fact dismissing him. Nice defensive posture!
To all who read this comment: Pay attention to Ron Paul. He is a squeaky clean voice of reason.
When other candidates dismiss and discredit a fellow candidate, THAT is perhaps the one to pay close attention to! I think due diligence will be worth your time and bear me out.
I have no personal connection to him. I just see "integrity" written across his forehead, and that's good enough to pay close attention to him.
William Comer | 05.24.07 09:58 PM
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