Beverly Perdue's new deputy campaign manager is from Florida.
David Kochman, 36, will speak with the media, direct political strategy and do other work for the lieutenant governor's yet-to-be announced campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
A native of Philadelphia, Kochman has worked in the Sunshine State since graduating with a master's in political science from the University of Florida in 1995.
In Florida, he did constituent service work for Gov. Lawton Chiles, managed several legislative races and worked for Adkins and Associates, a political consulting firm in Coral Gables. In 2006, he worked for state Sen. Rod Smith's unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
Kochman, who recently moved to Raleigh, involved in Perdue's campaign through mutual friends. He said he's excited about the strength of state Democrats in North Carolina.
"It's a welcome circumstance where Democrats are able to make a real difference in both policy and politics," he said.
Comments
Re: Perdue's new deputy manager
September 6, 2007 - 1:07pm — ProctorOops! I meant to say Jeb Bush, not Zeb. Sorry, Governor! Surely this must be a testament to the enduring influence of Haywood County's venerable Zebulon Alley in any consideration or discussion of politics in Western North Carolina.
One time I was carrying a fiddle on the way to a fancy gig on one of the higher floors of a downtown Raleigh corporate headquarters building. I was having trouble finding the right elavator, but then, right around the corner came Zeb Alley himself. Surely this Haywood Honorable would help steer me in the right direction.
How do you get to that floor? I asked him.
You can't, Alley replied. You're in the wrong building.
Too bad I didn't have Zeb Alley along with me on my hike through Haywood County. He could have helped me get to Sylva with or without a stop for those "Haywood ramp scrambled eggs" that they serve to the political candidates at election time.
David McKnight
Re: Perdue's new deputy manager
September 6, 2007 - 12:26pm — ProctorIt's good to see that someone with previous political ties to Sen. and Gov. Lawton Chiles of Florida has entered the fray here in the Tar Heel State.
"Walkin' Lawton" Chiles' 1,000-mile hike through the state of Florida became an inspiration for many other "walking campaign tours" by political hopefuls in the South and elsewhere in the 1970s, including this writer's hike from Manteo to Murphy 30 years ago in 1977 in preparation for the 1978 Democratic U.S. Senate primary in 1978.
And when I reached the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, I found that Lawton Chiles had more than passing name recognition in the Tar Heel State. Not only had a goodly number of citizens in the mountains heard of Lawton Chiles, some of them said they had voted for him in Florida and planned to vote for him again--since they were still Floridians, though spending certain months of the year in Western North Carolina!
Like North Carolina's William B. Umstead in the mid-20th Century, Lawton Chiles served his state first in the U.S. Senate prior to his election as governor. Sen. Umstead won the governorship in North Carolina in 1952 but succumbed to an illness in 1954 and was succeeded by then-Lt. Gov. Luther Hodges Sr., who subsequently was elected to a full term as governor in his own right in 1956.
Zeb Bush gave Lawton Chiles a strong challenge for the governorship of Florida prior to winning the next gubernatorial election four years later.
Here's hoping Lawton Chiles' strong interest and commitments in the area of health care will be represented in North Carolina in the views and concerns of the new deputy campaign manager for Beverly Perdue.
--DAVID PROCTOR McKNIGHT