Bernie Sanders hires campaign coordinator in Iowa

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has not only scheduled his first trip to Iowa since announcing his presidential candidacy, but he also has hired somebody to help build a campaign here.

The Sanders campaign said Thursday it has brought on Pete D'Alesandro to be its coordinator.

D'Alesandro, who is from Des Moines, has worked with Democratic candidates in the state for 20 years, including as the political director for former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver.

Sanders announced last month that he would run for president, and he is planning a three-day swing to the first-in-the-nation caucus state at the end of the month, after his May 26 kickoff in Vermont.

D'Alesandro said Thursday that he has been retained to put a team together in Iowa, from the state director level to field staffers. He said he also would be helping Sanders with visits to the state and putting him in touch with people.

D'Alesandro said that he has heard from people who want to work for the campaign and that he was impressed with Sanders' foresight on issues such as the rights of gays and lesbians to marry and opposing the Patriot Act and the Iraq War.

Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the only Democrats to have said they are running for the Democratic nomination, but former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and ex-Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia also are considering it. An O'Malley announcement is expected at the end of May.

Still, it's Clinton who not only has a wide lead in early polls but also is out front in seeking to organize in Iowa. As of last month, her campaign had hired more than two dozen field staff. She also has opened offices in selected locations across the state.

Other campaigns are starting to staff up, however, and D'Alesandro's hiring is a sign of that.

He did not say when Sanders would have a full staff but it would be sooner rather than later.

'There will be a team on the ground in more than enough time for Sen. Sanders to run the type of campaign Iowans expect of serious candidates like him,” he said.