DHOB MISSION
NEWS AND COMMENTARY
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Katie Welch-Peterson
952-294-9814
katiep@newsworthycommunications.com
Bill Hillsman
612-340-9999
bhillsman@northwoodsadvertising.com
POLITICAL HEAVYWEIGHTS JOIN FORCES TO CREATE NATION'S FIRST INDEPENDENT POLITICAL CONSULTANCY
D'Amore, Hillsman, Oliver & Barkley Will Provide Campaign and Election Services to Open Up America's Political System
WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 4, 2007 -Americans today live in a closed political system. Despite the fact that nearly 40 percent of registered voters identify themselves as independents, and self-identified Democratic and Republican voters are shrinking drastically, the two major parties still maintain a stranglehold on public office, making it nearly impossible for Independent candidates to have a legitimate chance at getting elected - or even getting on the ballot.
Today, established political consultants Thomas D'Amore, Bill Hillsman, Laureen Oliver and Dean Barkley announced they have formed the independent political consultancy D'Amore, Hillsman, Oliver & Barkley (DHOB), to open up the American political system and make it easier for independents to compete.
"Independents or candidates who want to challenge the system quickly find out that the electoral deck is stacked against them," says Bill Hillsman, one of the DHOB partners. "Democrats or Republicans who wish to challenge incumbents or party-anointed candidates in a primary are discouraged from running and receive little or no support from the parties and their consultants. Independents who want to run for office rapidly discover that there is no support system to help them, and that most party-affiliated political consultants will not work with them. We're here to bridge the gap."
At a time when the number of independent voters is growing exponentially, and when independent voters make up the swing vote in every closely contested election, they find themselves faced with fewer and fewer candidate options and points-of-view.
The partners in DHOB have, for the past two decades, understood what is transpiring in U.S. politics, and in many cases precipitated it. DHOB will provide a full array of campaign services, including campaign organization, ballot access, and strategic direction, in addition to online, earned media and paid media communications.
"The two major parties, by keeping out or marginalizing more voices, are doing a disservice to the voting public," says Hillsman. "The largest plurality of voters are rapidly losing patience with the partisan bickering between the two parties and their inability to solve the important everyday problems that Americans face. We believe there are plenty of good people out there with concrete ideas on how to improve our country and a real desire to run for office and serve the public, but until now, there's been no support system and no way for them to compete professionally."
"This is not about creating a new political party. You can coalesce independent voters around a candidate, a cause or an issue, but most independent voters are not interested in being part of a third political party-that's why they're independents," Hillsman continued. "DHOB was created to help open up the American political system to present voters with more voices and more choices."
DHOB has identified four specific client groups where the firm will be most effective:
- Independent candidates for public office across the political spectrum - from fiscal conservatives to progressives - with the potential to be competitive.
- Challenger candidates who wish to compete within each major party's primary system.
- Independent expenditure groups, issue and advocacy campaigns, non-profits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who understand the importance of reaching and persuading self-identified independent voters.
- Ballot propositions and initiative and referenda campaigns which require concentrated expertise in persuading independent swing voters.
About the partners
Dean Barkley is an attorney in the law practice of Barkley Law Office and the former Independent U.S. Senator from Minnesota. Senator Barkley chaired Jesse Ventura's successful third-party campaign for Governor of Minnesota, and directed Governor-Elect Ventura's transition team. He served four years as Director of Planning for the State of Minnesota, and has been a candidate for both the U.S. House and Senate in Minnesota. Senator Barkley was instrumental in the formation of the Minnesota Independence Party.
Senator Barkley teamed with DHOB partner Tom D'Amore in putting together former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm's candidacy to challenge Ross Perot's Reform Party presidential nomination in 1996. He has worked with DHOB partner Bill Hillsman on Governor Ventura's campaign and on independent Arianna Huffington's campaign for governor in California. Most recently, he teamed with DHOB partners Laureen Oliver and Bill Hillsman on Kinky Friedman's independent gubernatorial campaign in Texas.
Thomas D'Amore, Jr. is a partner in the Hartford public affairs consulting firm Doyle, D'Amore and Balducci (which will continue to operate independently of DHOB). He has more than 30 years of experience in local, state and national government and politics. Mr. D'Amore is the former chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, and served as campaign manager and chief of staff for Connecticut U.S. Senator and Independent Governor Lowell Weicker. He was also named a Resident Fellow at The Institute Of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Mr. D'Amore joined forces with DHOB partner Dean Barkley in putting together former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm's challenge to Ross Perot's Reform Party presidential nomination in 1996. He has worked with DHOB partners Laureen Oliver and Bill Hillsman on independent campaigns for governor in Massachusetts and Virginia, and with DHOB partner Bill Hillsman on Ned Lamont's recent victory in the Connecticut Democratic U.S. Senate primary. D'Amore and Hillsman have also teamed up on public policy campaigns for the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut.
Bill Hillsman is the founder of North Woods Advertising in Minneapolis (which will continue to operate independently of DHOB) and is one of the nation's premier marketing communications and political strategists. He has served as media consultant to the challenger campaigns of Paul Wellstone, Ned Lamont, Ralph Nader, Jesse Ventura and Kinky Friedman. Hillsman is the founder of the Independent Voters of America, and author of the book Run the Other Way: Fixing the Two-Party System, One Campaign at a Time, published by The Free Press in 2004. He was also named a Resident Fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics.
Mr. Hillsman has teamed up with DHOB partner Dean Barkley on Jesse Ventura's and Arianna Huffington's independent campaigns for governor. He has worked with DHOB partners Laureen Oliver and Dean Barkley on Kinky Friedman's independent gubernatorial campaign in Texas. He and DHOB partners Tom D'Amore and Laureen Oliver have worked on independent campaigns for governor in Massachusetts and Virginia, and Hillsman and D'Amore were essential to Ned Lamont's recent victory in the Connecticut Democratic U.S. Senate primary. D'Amore and Hillsman have also teamed up on public policy campaigns for the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, and Hillsman has also created campaigns for Independent Voters of America and Independent Voters for Choice.
Laureen Oliver is one of the nation's leading authorities on ballot access law and one of the country's most successful ballot access practitioners. A co-founder of the New York State Independence Party along with B. Thomas Golisano (the founder of Paychex Corporation), she was Mr. Golisano's running mate as the Independence Party candidate for lieutenant governor during the 1998 New York gubernatorial election.
Ms. Oliver has worked with DHOB partners Tom D'Amore and Bill Hillsman on independent candidate Russ Potts' campaign for governor of Virginia and independent candidate Christy Mihos' campaign for governor of Massachusetts. Most recently, she worked with DHOB partners Dean Barkley and Bill Hillsman on Kinky Friedman's independent gubernatorial campaign in Texas.
About D'Amore Hillsman Oliver & Barkley
D'Amore Hillsman Oliver & Barkley (DHOB) is a Washington, D.C.-based political consultancy created to provide campaign and election services to help open up the American political system and make it easier for independents and primary challengers to enter and compete professionally within the electoral system. For more information, visit www.indcampaigns.com or call 1-202-289-4241.
