10 top RI political consultants named by Campaign & Elections
January 8th, 2013 at 11:27 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Campaigns & Elections, the bimonthly magazine for political practitioners, is out with a new list it calls “The Influencers 500″ that documents “some of the top names in the consulting business state by state.” Here’s who made the list for Rhode Island.
The Democrats:
- Devin Driscoll (consultant): “Driscoll worked his way up from the field to being the president’s man in Providence in the 2012 cycle.”
- Bill Fischer (president, True North Communications): “He’s perhaps the top Democratic consultant in the state after working every campaign cycle for the last 15 years. He does corporate work, too.”
- Eric Hyers (Cicilline campaign manager): “Hyers got ex-Providence mayor, now Congressman Cicilline to Washington and was trusted with keeping him there in 2012.”
- Stephanie Mandeville (executive director, R.I. Democratic Party): “A prodigy of Bill Fischer’s, Mandeville is expected to springboard off her party position back into the consulting world.”
- Ray Sullivan (campaign director, Marriage Equality R.I.): “A seasoned campaign pro, Sullivan was tapped to run the state’s highest-profile issue campaign of the 2012 cycle.”
The Republicans:
- Cara Cromwell (principal, Cromwell Public Affairs): “A long-time public affairs professional, Cromwell does everything from writing speeches to managing issue campaigns to consulting for candidates.”
- Patrick Mannix (consultant): “Mannix was the deputy campaign manager on John Robitaille’s 2010 gubernatorial run and remains well-respected in the party.”
- Ian Prior (NRCC): “An attorney by trade, Prior managed Brendan Doherty’s campaign for Congress and is widely considered one of the top GOP campaign managers in the state.”
- Holly Robichaud (owner, Tuesday Associates): “Robichaud has more than 20 years of experience managing campaigns from the local to the federal level. She’s worked with the RNC, NRCC and NRSC.”
- Mark Zaccaria (chairman, R.I. Republican Party): “Zaccaria’s a businessman by trade and has said he plans to return to the private sector when his term ends next March. He’ll remain an influential leader in the party.”
Who’d be on your list?
Tags: bill fischer, cara cromwell, consultants, democrats, devin driscoll, eric hyers, holly robichaud, ian prior, mark zaccaria, patrick mannix, politics, ray sullivan, republicans, stephanie mandeville
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
Peter Baptista and Nick Hemond from the Hamilton Group would be on my list. They helped re-elect Speaker Fox this past term and will probably be working in some pretty lofty places in 2014.
Where is Mike Napolitano?
Heeeeeellloooooooo Patrick. Goooooood to seeeeee youuuuuuuuu. Can I get you a cooooffffeeeeee? Hahhahha.
[...] Campaigns & Elections’ list of Rhode Island’s best GOP operatives was a bit surprising. Cara Cromwell and Ian Prior are both talented and savvy, though [...]
I worked closely with Mark, Patrick and Holly. Each of them contributed above normal effort ,intelligence and their own experience to our campaign. I wish them only the best.