Dana Houle is one of the best campaign managers in Democratic Party politics right now. He's also a DailyKos frontpager when he's not winning races. He's knocked off two House Republicans in a row and was hired as El Tinklenberg's campaign manager before he dropped out of the race.
Well now he has officially been hired as Matt Entenza's campaign manger. This is a very good get by the Entenza campaign. Dana is whip smart and will be a relentless advocate for the Entenza campaign. He doesn't have a record in DFL politics and so that's obviously a disadvantage but Dana is a quick learner and can adapt to whatever political climate he's put in. Campaign's presser below the fold.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Matt Entenza’s campaign for governor has hired Dana Houle as manager.
Houle, who first came to Minnesota to work on Elwyn Tinklenberg’s campaign in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, joins Entenza’s campaign effective today.
He brings with him a strong background winning challenging campaigns, working with organized labor and directing policy for politicians on the state and federal level.
Notably, Houle managed Rep. Paul Hodes’s 2006 victory over Republican incumbent Charlie Bass and Rep. Jim Himes’s 2008 victory over Republican incumbent Chris Shays. He also served on Capitol Hill as Hodes’s chief of staff.
Additionally, Houle has been a contributing editor to premier online political community DailyKos (www.dailykos.com) since 2003. He is on leave from this position while he manages the Entenza campaign.
"I'm very happy to be able to stay in Minnesota and help Matt earn the DFL endorsement and then win next November," Houle said. "I'm ecstatic to be able to work with someone who’s a great candidate and will be a great governor."
Houle can be reached at the Entenza campaign office at 651-647-1425.
"I feel incredibly fortunate to have great people like Dana on my campaign staff," said Entenza. "This is a challenging race with many good candidates. Dana’s broad experience and smarts will be tremendously valuable as we continue to pursue the DFL endorsement and victory in 2010."
Matt Entenza is a leading Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) candidate for governor of Minnesota. His campaign revolves around three core principles: growing jobs all over Minnesota by focusing on the potential of the clean energy economy, providing better educational opportunities to our children and those seeking higher education, and ensuring health care for all. Entenza represented St. Paul in the Minnesota legislature for 12 years, including four years during which he also served as House Minority Leader and led the DFL to significant gains. In 2007, Entenza founded Minnesota 2020, a think tank that has been an important voice for progressive policy positions and which he chaired until April 2009. Entenza is a graduate of Worthingon High School in Worthington, Minn., Macalester College in St. Paul, and the University of Minnesota Law School.
Full disclosure: I am a member of the Draft Rybak for Governor Executive Board. I thus will be working to make sure this is one race Dana loses
Cross-posted from MN Progressive Project