Democratic Governors Association Chairman Martin O’Malley named Colm O’Comartun, his longtime aide in the Maryland governor’s office, as executive director of the DGA.
Gronstal came to the Iowa House in 1983 and to the Iowa Senate in 1985. He was introduced to the DLCC after he became Minority Leader in 1996 and went to Kansas City for a DLCC training seminar.
In addition to strategically funding campaigns for state legislatures, the DLCC also provides technical assistance for candidates, Gronstal said.
“Being at the forefront of nimble and strategic and modern campaigns, I think some people would be surprised at the level of sophistication of legislative campaigns,” Gronstal said. The DLCC offers candidates support in targeting voters, for example, or in finding someone to design their websites. In 2011, it will be mindful of redistricting efforts.
Gronstal wasn’t the only officer the group’s board of directors chose at its December meeting. Nevada Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford will be vice chairman, New Hampshire state Sen. Sylvia Larsen will be the board secretary, Pennsylvania state Rep. Mike Gerber will be treasurer and Virginia House Democratic leader Del. Ward Armstrong will be finance chairman.
Better Than Main Street
Joe Maloney left the Dewey Square Group to join the Locust Street Group as a partner.
Named after a street in Des Moines, the Locust Street Group has five full-time staffers in Washington, D.C.
Maloney said he’s looking forward to a new challenge. “It’s an opportunity for firms and organizations here in town to actually go back into states and into districts and find real people who want to get involved in important issues in the 112th Congress,” he said.
At the Dewey Square Group since 2006, Maloney contracted with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s independent expenditure arm this fall. Previously, Maloney worked for the Law Media Group, Sen. John Kerry’s campaign during the Iowa caucus in 2004 and as director of a coalition based in Connecticut. A Massachusetts native and Dickinson College alum, Maloney started his career in former Florida Rep. Peter Deutsch’s office.
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