Mass. political consultant aims to put Kerry campaign on right track
DES MOINES -- In his last role on a presidential campaign, Michael J. Whouley was analyzing election returns as Al Gore rode in his motorcade to War Memorial Plaza in Nashville, ready to concede the 2000 election to George W. Bush.
The Dorchester native placed a frantic call urging Gore to hold off, because late numbers from Florida cast doubt on results from the pivotal state. Gore complied, setting in motion a 36-day dispute about the Florida vote that the Supreme Court ultimately settled in Bush's favor.
Three years later, Whouley has returned to the fray with another urgent task: help John F. Kerry resurrect what was once a front-runner's campaign for the 2004 Democratic nomination. It is a task for which Whouley has seemingly been groomed.
The 44-year-old is a prototypical Boston politico who attended Boston College High School and Boston College and got his start in politics in 1979, organizing the city's Ward 15 for Joseph Timilty's race against Mayor Kevin H. White. He followed by spearheading two statewide campaigns for Kerry before going national in 1988, running efforts in three states for Michael S. Dukakis, another Bay State Democrat who wanted to be president.
In 1992, Whouley served as national field director for Bill Clinton's general election campaign, a role he reprised for Gore in 2000. In between, he served as Gore's campaign manager during Clinton's 1996 reelection effort.
Today Whouley is married to former state representative Sally Kerans of Danvers and is a political consultant with Boston's Dewey Square Group. He had been reluctant to take a leave until next summer, when he hoped the Democratic National Convention would have crowned Kerry its nominee. He decided to step in earlier in an advisory capacity after the senator fell to third place in Iowa and, more importantly, behind Howard Dean of Vermont in New Hampshire.
Whouley is part of a last-minute Massachusetts contingent joining the campaign, including new campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill; two communications specialists, Stephanie Cutter and Michael Meehan; and a press assistant, David DiMartino. His work also reunites Whouley with David Morehouse, a Kerry aide who three years ago relayed Whouley's reservations about the Florida vote to Gore.
Whouley is widely respected in Democratic circles for his organizing prowess, running aggressive field operations to canvass voters, identify caucusgoers, and rally supporters with direct mail and phone banks. He is valued also because he eschews the spotlight; he declined to be interviewed for this profile.
With his gravelly voice and no-nonsense demeanor, Whouley is also known for cutting through the red tape that can strangle a campaign. Last week, Kerry aides in Iowa were buzzing after a call from Whouley won instant approval of the state campaign's direct-mail budget, which had been tied up at headquarters.
"We're happy to have Michael helping us," said Jerry Crawford, Kerry's Iowa campaign chairman. "He certainly knows Iowa and is very well respected out here."
