Friday, June 20, 2008
Rasoul looks for third campaign manager
The candidate for 6th District congressman and his second manager separated amicably.
Democratic congressional candidate Sam Rasoul is looking to hire his third campaign manager since starting his campaign last year to defeat 6th District Congressman Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County.
Mario Piscatella took over Rasoul's campaign in March and left once his candidate secured the party nomination in May.
"I had my impact there," Piscatella said. "I made the decision to move on."
Rasoul's spokeswoman, Ally McIntosh, said that Piscatella was largely brought in because of his experience in caucuses, which are similar in organization to the convention that was used to nominate Rasoul.
"When we got a primary challenger it was important to get someone with caucus experience," McIntosh said. "He was great when he was here, but now that we're in the general election he was looking for something a little different and we were looking for something different, too."
Rasoul issued a statement by e-mail: "Mario Piscatella's resume when it comes to caucuses is impeccable, and we credit a great deal of the overwhelming support we received in the nomination process to his hard work. Mario is now looking for a different challenge and we are looking for someone new as we transition into the general election campaign."
Piscatella's departure lacked the controversy surrounding Rasoul's first manager, Democratic activist Rick Howell, who spent two weeks working for the campaign last summer. Howell said he left because Rasoul was unprofessional; Rasoul said Howell was forced out because of incompetence.
Since then, Howell has publicly criticized Rasoul on his blog and worked for Drew Richardson, who briefly challenged Rasoul for the Democratic nomination before withdrawing in April.
Piscatella said that while he and Rasoul had some political and strategy-related disagreements, there was no "big shock" to his decision.
"It's just time for me to move on," Piscatella said.
Rasoul's new campaign manager will face a general election not only against eight-term incumbent Goodlatte, but also independent candidate Janice Lee Allen of Harrisonburg.
Allen, 56, owns a real estate firm. She said she has policy disagreements with both Democrats -- she supports off-shore drilling for oil -- and Republicans -- she opposes the war in Iraq.
Allen said that she believes Goodlatte should have abided by a self-imposed term-limit pledge, in which he promised to step down after his sixth term. She also questioned his dedication to health care.
"His heart has not been in the medical field, to find cures for diseases," Allen said. "That's something this district and the whole world needs."
Likewise, she questioned 26-year-old Rasoul's experience level and said he'd represent only a "segment of the population."
"Sam said he'll represent the middle class. Bob represents the upper class. And I'll represent each and every class, regardless," Allen said.
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