Clinton opens N.C. headquarters

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:58:00 -0400

Hillary Clinton's campaign opened her North Carolina headquarters this evening.

About 100 people attended the hourlong kickoff, including Wake County commissioners Lindy Brown and Betty Lou Ward, fundraiser Richard Sullivan and former Democratic Party chairman Tom Hendrickson, who owns the building near Raleigh's trendy Glenwood South area.

Hendrickson noted that the Clinton campaign brought in organizer Ace Smith to head up its North Carolina campaign, after similar efforts in California and Texas.

"They have sent us the A-team," he said.

Spokeswoman Cary Lindauer said that the campaign will open about a dozen offices around the state in the next few weeks, beginning with Charlotte. The state headquarters will also double as the Raleigh field office.

The crowd also included Gene Conti, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation from 1998 to 2000; Mike Schaul, a member of the N.C. Democratic Party's executive committee; and noted open space advocate Sig Hutchinson, who said he came because of his wife.

The guest who attracted the most attention, however, was Hendrickson's long-haired Chihuahua, Izzy. Several people in the campaign took turns holding the puppy during the event.