Stanley to manage Culver/Judge campaign

DES MOINES – Gov. Chet Culver on Monday announced another leadership change for his 2010 re-election campaign.

Culver said Donn Stanley, a veteran Iowa political strategist, will take a leave of absence from his current post in the Iowa Attorney General's Office to become the new manager of the Culver/Judge campaign effective May 1. Stanley will replace Abby Curran and become the Culver/Judge re-election campaign's third manager in eight months.

Curran, a veteran political operative who became the Culver/Judge campaign manager last January, said she has decided to pursue new opportunities in the Washington, D.C., area, where she also will be closer to her family. She replaced Andrew Roos, who led Culver's re-election campaign from September 2009 until his departure.

Curran, a University of Virginia graduate who served as a field organizer in Iowa for presidential hopefuls former Sen. John Edwards and former Rep. Rep. Dick Gephardt, said Stanley will provide strong leadership as a veteran campaign strategist.

“We will have stable leadership under Donn Stanley. This is the right thing for the campaign and it remains in strong shape,” Curran said in an interview.

Culver, a first-term Democrat, and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge look forward to a “spirited campaign” and with their 2010 kickoff slated for mid-May “this is the right time to make changes,” she added.

In a statement, Culver wished Curran well in her new endeavors and welcomed Stanley aboard his campaign staff.

“Iowa Democrats have known Donn for more than 25 years as one of the brightest strategists in our party," Culver said in announcing the management changes.

Stanley said he looked forward to running a strong grassroots campaign that would focus on issues that matter in the 2010 election.

“I have known both the governor and the lieutenant governor for many years,” Stanley said, “the leadership and commitment they have shown during these past three and a half years have enabled our state to overcome the challenges brought on by the international financial collapse and some unprecedented weather-related calamities. Their actions have this state poised for an even greater future."

A Des Moines native, Stanley has worked and volunteered in various capacities for Democratic candidates in numerous Iowa campaigns since first serving as a field staff person and debate coach for then U.S. Rep. Tom Harkin in Harkin's first Senate campaign in 1984. He graduated from Des Moines Lincoln High School, attended the University of Iowa where he served as Student Senate president, earned a bachelor's degree in English from Simpson College and received a law degree from the Drake Law School.

Three Republicans are seeking the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nomination -- Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats, former Gov. Terry Branstad and state Rep. Rod Roberts.

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