Exclusive: Michael Mauro considering another run for Secretary of State

to the victor go the spoils (0.00 / 0)

Clearly, some people feel that they know better.

Why would Mauro expect Anderson, Price & OFA activists to cater to his ambitions? While he worked for a GOP administration after a loss that just shouldn't have happened, they busted ass getting results for the Dem ticket in 2012. Let's ask about what happens if he challenges the heir apparent, and if he were to win.

Mauro ran a tight ship. I found his office to be extremely cooperative and also organized during a time that data was less accessible. Yes, I agree that he can take over immediately, seamlessly, but ...

To the victor go the spoils. This happens all the time -- out with the old, in with the new. Since 2008, OFA has encouraged its own people to run for office. Too many Dem incumbents rely on OFA now, which is why you see all of the support for Anderson. For them, he is the better candidate. Not much else to this, except to say that Dems don't win statewide without robust participation by the voters who Anderson & Price were especially effective in organizing.

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by: albert @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 15:18:46 PM UTC

If the OFA data base (4.00 / 1)

would be available to Anderson in a general, but not Mauro, then the Democratic Party should have something to say about that. The Obama campaign left some local party people unhappy with its refusal to share its own resources, in 2010 and 2012.  

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by: 2laneIA @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 15:37:59 PM UTC

True, (0.00 / 0)

The Obama campaign left some local party people unhappy with its refusal to share its own resources, in 2010 and 2012.

and not just in IA.  

then the Democratic Party should have something to say about that.

Who would this be? This leaves the impression that "the Democratic Party" is an entity separate from the OFA/Obama campaign.  

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by: albert @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 17:16:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

List (4.00 / 1)

To give Anderson such a list would presume that Anderson did all of the work on his own.  If he wants to come up with his own list, that's fine.  I think OFA could offer the list to all candidates for a fee and then donate the money to an Iowa charity for example.

I'm betting there are Mauro supporters who worked passionately for President Obama over the last eight years.  If Obama himself wants to come in and cut a robo-call for Anderson, that's his choice.  The concept of giving a list to someone that was a collective effort is wrong though, unless the entire list was created by Anderson supporters.

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by: ModerateIADem @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 22:48:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

it's been in the press (4.00 / 1)

politico, for example, right after the election, that OFA is treating all the info they amassed as proprietary. Let's call this a "database."

I would imagine that a "list" is no big deal as all who voted in 2012 are registered and marked as having voted, yes? This is accessible to anyone for a fee.

Quoting 2lane -- I think resources is a different issue. This includes information on specific tactics to persuade otherwise difficult to mobilize voters, for example.  

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by: albert @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 00:54:34 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Fair enough (0.00 / 0)

I'll come clean and say right now that I don't want Anderson as the nominee and I certainly don't want his people discouraging anyone from getting into the race.  I think the fact that the Secretary of State's race may be our most heated contest just shows how dangerous politics has become.  

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by: ModerateIADem @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 01:32:08 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

understandable (0.00 / 0)

I don't want Anderson as the nominee

he comes off as a bit slick, for one, although we haven't heard much from him yet.

All candidates would like to clear the field, and when that doesn't happen, it's usually made clear who the heavyweight is. You could argue that Conlin was not an ideal IA-SEN candidate, yet I doubt very much that Krause & Fiegen received a fair share of resources & support from party channels.

I read Marti Anderson's endorsement of Brad Anderson:

Brad Anderson for Iowa Secretary of State is the best news I've heard since November 6. Brad led and won Iowa for President Obama. Now he will run himself and make sure we have strong, open, and honest voting in Iowa.

and what I hear is that to the victor go the spoils. Sure, you can talk about some old school volunteers who put in time to re-elect Obama, but the credit always goes to the top of the pyramid.

The "experience" argument can also be interpreted as code for maintaining the status quo, which Hillary Clinton found out the hard way in 2008. OFA has a strong focus on the historically underrepresented along with active participation by same. An argument could be made that so many have been shut out of the political process for so long that perhaps keeping certain resources private, or for insiders, is necessary for social change. Brad Anderson may be an imperfect standard bearer, but he led the charge in Iowa. I don't agree that there are "Democrats" and then OFA, which should stand at the ready to support Democrats. OFA is today's Democratic Party, and that's not going to be limited to supplying votes on command, IMO.

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by: albert @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 12:44:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I would be happy to see Mauro run. (0.00 / 0)

He has already shown that he is competent at the job.  Anderson is good at running campaigns--different skill set.  

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by: 2laneIA @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 15:41:09 PM UTC

except for (0.00 / 0)

He has already shown that he is competent at the job.

getting re-elected, which some consider part of the job. If he were SOS now, his name would be on some Steering Committee for a different race. Instead, he's been collecting a paycheck from the Branstad administration. It's not hard to see why some would support a strategist from the trenches.

He can run and make the case that he was competent at the job from 2006-2010 in 2014, but I don't think he'd win the general, assuming that he wins the primary, of course, which isn't clear-cut, either.

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by: albert @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 17:22:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

in a primary (0.00 / 0)

I would support Mauro as best-qualified for the job. In the general I would support the winner of the Democratic primary regardless. As for who would be best positioned to beat Schultz, that could be argued either way.

Invite other Iowa political junkies to join us at Bleeding Heartland.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 17:27:02 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The main issue for me: (0.00 / 0)

Who has the best chance to beat Mike Schultz?

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by: cocinero @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 19:21:56 PM UTC

if there's a primary (0.00 / 0)

I'm sure each candidate will make his case. Anderson could say: Mauro had his chance and lost, I know how to run a winning statewide campaign. On the other hand, Republicans could depict Anderson as unqualified and just seeking the job so he can rig Iowa elections for Democratic candidates.


Invite other Iowa political junkies to join us at Bleeding Heartland.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 19:30:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I am not looking forward to the ads (0.00 / 0)

depicting Anderson and Link Strategies as complicit in voter fraud. Which they are not.  But when did that ever matter?  Cokie's Law. I wish he had not picked Secretary of State as the office to launch his political career.

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by: 2laneIA @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 20:17:53 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

not a lot of options (0.00 / 0)

Iowa hasn't had a Democratic state auditor for ages, and Anderson's not in a position to run against Northey. Schultz may not be easy to beat, but he's the weakest link.  

Invite other Iowa political junkies to join us at Bleeding Heartland.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 20:36:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Mauro (0.00 / 0)

Is Mauro qualified to run for Auditor?  People asked Fiegen to run for Auditor in 2010 and he got kind of upset.  

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by: ModerateIADem @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 22:44:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

timing matters (4.00 / 1)

It's too bad Mike didn't get his name out sooner... but the train seems to have already pulled out of the station

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by: jdeeth @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 19:52:10 PM UTC

I'm for letting the primary voters decide (4.00 / 2)

not a few dozen people who agreed to be on a steering committee. If the primary voters prefer Anderson, more power to him.

The IDP won't want a primary, because no one will want to stand up and say Anderson would be a better secretary of state than Mauro, and at the same time no one will want to stand up and say we know Mauro's more qualified, but we need that OFA database.

Invite other Iowa political junkies to join us at Bleeding Heartland.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 20:33:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The press should be asking about the database (0.00 / 0)

in advance of any primary election.  Let OFA say that some Democrats are more equal than others.  If they threaten to make it harder for the nominee to win if they don't get the nominee they want, the primary voters should take that into consideration in whatever way seems appropriate.

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by: 2laneIA @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 22:29:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

voter lists (4.00 / 1)

are available to anyone, including voter histories.

If they threaten to make it harder for the nominee to win if they don't get the nominee they want, the primary voters should take that into consideration in whatever way seems appropriate.

There'll be no threats, just 2010 turnout.

What OFA has said for a long time is that there are Obama voters/supporters who are not particularly interested in the Democratic party. I would agree. It's probably a given that the OFA organization is better positioned to turn them out, but success is not certain either, as Obama will not be on the ticket.

You expect them to behave like yellow dog Democrats, when that's what they're not.

 

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by: albert @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 01:08:46 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

then, go get it! (0.00 / 0)

we know Mauro's more qualified, but we need that OFA database.

nobody is denied a voter list and voter histories.

Quoting myself:

Dems don't win statewide without robust participation by the voters who Anderson & Price were especially effective in organizing.

 

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by: albert @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 01:16:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

the list (4.00 / 1)

it is not just a list of voters and voter history. It is a database with a record of every contact a staffer or a volunteer has ever made with a voter. It also includes microtargeting consumer info and issue preference data that can be used to persuade a voter or to turn them out to vote.  

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by: JRIowa @ Wed Jan 30, 2013 at 02:20:37 AM UTC

[ Parent ]