Tom Perriello is announcing additional hires for his gubernatorial campaign that represent talent from across the Democratic Party and with deep Virginia ties uniting behind Tom’s new-generation progressive candidacy.
Julia Barnes, a veteran of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign who led his successful 22-point upset primary victory in New Hampshire, will serve as campaign manager. Pete Brodnitz, a veteran of Virginia Democratic campaigns and former advisor to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, will lead opinion and strategic research as a strategist and pollster. Angelique Cannon-Harris, one of the longest-serving finance aides on Clinton’s presidential campaign and a former top finance aide to Senator Mark Warner, will be a senior advisor, leading the campaign’s finance strategy.
Additionally, Tom has boosted his digital operation by bringing on Revolution Messaging, a firm founded by alumni of President Obama’s 2008 campaign which most recently served as the digital consultant for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. Revolution Messaging will lead the campaign’s digital and online fundraising strategies. The campaign previously announced it had hired Ian Sams, another longtime communications operative for Clinton’s presidential campaign, to lead its communications and messaging operation as communications director.
“This team represents the broad, diverse cross-section of Democrats uniting behind Tom’s next-generation progressive candidacy in Virginia,” said Julia Barnes. “We are excited to get to work to tell Tom’s story across Virginia, helping to build a strong coalition of voters committed to showing Virginia is progressive, inclusive, and a firewall against hate in 2017.”
Additional hires include Brennan Gilmore as chief of staff, Don Mark as deputy campaign manager, Jessica Aune as finance director, Leah Greenberg as policy director, Kimble Reynolds as senior advisor for political affairs, Quena Dailey as deputy political director, Remi Yamamoto as press secretary, and Maggie Thornton as scheduler.
Together, these operatives span the divides within the Democratic Party and show the broad appeal of Tom’s campaign of pragmatic populism and inclusive progressivism.
Perriello staff
Campaign Manager – Julia Barnes
As campaign manager, Julia will lead all campaign strategy and operations. She served as Bernie Sanders’ New Hampshire primary director, overseeing a multi-million dollar budget and leading all efforts to secure Sanders’ 22-point upset victory over Hillary Clinton — the largest for a competitive primary in the history of the state. She later became Sanders’ National Field Director, managing the campaign’s efforts in more than 20 states and steering all campaign organizing, data, training and outreach. She has also served as executive director of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, where she fought for resources for state parties across the country during the 2016 general election, and of the Vermont Democratic Party, where she led state Democrats’ 2014 coordinated campaign.
Strategy and polling – Pete Brodnitz
A veteran of Virginia Democratic politics, Pete — who was pollster for both of Tom’s congressional campaigns — will lead strategic research for the campaign. Pete was a part of the Benenson Strategy Group polling team that advised Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign during the Democratic primary before launching his own firm, Expedition Strategies. Pete’s previous Virginia clients include Senator Tim Kaine, former Senator Jim Webb and former Congressman Rick Boucher.
Senior Advisor – Angelique Cannon-Harris
Angelique will advise Tom on finance strategy. She most recently served as interim national finance director of the Democratic National Committee, after being one of Hillary Clinton’s longest-serving finance aides on her presidential campaign, where she was deputy national finance director for the mid-Atlantic region. Before joining Clinton’s campaign in early 2015, she was the finance director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in the 2012 and 2014 cycles and was previously the top finance aide to Senator Mark Warner.
Chief of Staff – Brennan Gilmore
A Lexington, Va., native and UVA graduate, Brennan will serve as the campaign’s chief of staff, advising Tom on strategy and planning. A career Foreign Service Officer, Brennan previously served in diplomatic posts across Africa and in the State Department in Washington, before being Tom’s top aide as U.S. Envoy to the African Great Lakes Region. He is also an accomplished bluegrass musician.
Deputy Campaign Manager and Political Director – Don Mark
A longtime Democratic operative in Virginia and native of Prince William County, Don will lead the campaign’s political outreach. Prior to the campaign, Don was deputy chief of staff to Mayor Dwight Jones of Richmond. He was the political director for President Obama’s winning 2012 campaign in Virginia, as well as the political director for the Democratic Party of Virginia.
Communications Director – Ian Sams
Ian will lead communications and message strategy for Tom for Virginia. He was one of the earliest communications hires on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in Brooklyn, most recently serving as the regional communications director leading the campaign’s communications strategy in five battleground states, including Virginia. Prior to joining Clinton’s campaign in early 2015, he was a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, where he was deployed to Terry McAuliffe’s 2013 gubernatorial campaign for its final months, and for U.S. Senator Tom Carper of Delaware.
Digital consulting – Revolution Messaging
The team from Revolution Messaging will lead the campaign’s online fundraising, organizing, and digital strategy. Revolution Messaging is a full-service digital agency, which was founded by alumni of President Obama’s 2008 campaign and most recently served as digital firm to Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, running his online fundraising, digital advertising, branding, video creation, website development, online store, and the Artists for Sanders program.
Senior Advisor – Kimble Reynolds
Tom’s former congressional regional director and a former mayor of Martinsville, Va., Kimble will be a senior advisor for political affairs — helping build coalitions of support for Tom’s campaign and liaising with elected officials in-state.
Finance Director – Jessica Aune
Jessica comes to Tom for Virginia from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where she was the DSCC’s West Finance Director for the 2016 cycle. Previously she has worked in fundraising at House Majority PAC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Policy Director – Leah Greenberg
Leah will lead policy development for Tom’s campaign. Most recently, Leah joined a group of former congressional aides to help found the Indivisible Project, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering grassroots activists to resist the Trump agenda through congressional advocacy, and worked at Humanity United, a philanthropy focused on tackling difficult global problems such as human trafficking and violent conflict. Previously, she was an advisor to Tom at the Department of State and in his congressional office.
Press Secretary – Remi Yamamoto
Remi will serve as the campaign’s press secretary. She was most recently the regional press secretary for Richmond, Central, and Southwest Virginia on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in Virginia. Prior to that, she was a senior associate at Precision Strategies, where she worked for a range of political, corporate and non-profit clients. She is also an alumna of President Obama’s 2012 campaign and the White House.
Scheduler – Maggie Thornton
A former aide on Tom’s 2010 reelection campaign, Maggie will lead scheduling for the campaign. A Southwest Virginia native and UVA graduate, she previously worked on President Obama’s successful 2008 campaign in Virginia, on Creigh Deeds’ 2009 gubernatorial campaign, and most recently was deputy campaign manager for Jane Dittmar’s congressional campaign in the Fifth Congressional District. From 2011-2016, she was also an English teacher in Virginia public schools.
Deputy Political Director – Arquena “Quena” Dailey, MPA
Quena will help lead Tom’s political outreach in-state, focusing on building coalitions of support in communities across Virginia. Previously, Quena was the deputy political director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in Virginia. A Hampton Roads resident, she is an executive board member of the Hampton Democratic Committee and has previously worked for the District of Columbia and the Virginia General Assembly.