Clinton's man in Raleigh

Richard Sullivan is Hillary Clinton's man in North Carolina.

According to a 2007 profile by Rob Christensen, the Raleigh public affairs consultant is the Democratic presidential candidate's biggest booster in the state.

Although he has a low profile here, Sullivan — or "Sully" to his friends — is well-known on Wall Street, K Street and Hollywood.

The son of a South Carolina legislator, he first became involved in Dick Gephardt's 1988 presidential campaign, then became a protege of Clinton fundraiser Terry McAuliffe.

He moved to Charlotte in 1997, then to an inside-the-Beltline neighborhood in West Raleigh in 2001.

His wife, Carolina Finklea Sullivan, worked as a fundraiser for state Sen. Marc Basnight and the Democratic Senate caucus.

The full profile after the jump.

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"Even in N.C., he's loyal to Clinton"
By Rob Christensen, April 8, 2007

Richard Sullivan is Hillary Rodham Clinton's man in North Carolina.

That makes him odd man out in Tar Heel Democratic political circles, where most of the party fundraisers, elected officials and operatives support the presidential bid of John Edwards, former senator and favorite son.

But Sullivan , 43, a Raleigh public affairs consultant, rose in national politics in the 1990s as a lieutenant in the Clinton organization. And he is sticking with his friends.

Although Sullivan says he is "a big fan of Senator Edwards," his longstanding friendship with Bill and Hillary prompted him to back the New York senator's presidential bid.

"I'm a big believer in relationships, loyalty and friendship," said Sullivan , who has worked for the Clintons off and on for 12 years.

Sullivan , or "Sully" as he is known to his friends, may be able to fly out of Raleigh-Durham International unnoticed because of his low profile in North Carolina. But he is a fixture among the high rollers of Wall Street, K Street and Hollywood.

"He's wired," said Jay Dunn, who is Sen. John Kerry's chief fundraiser. "You can go to any major finance city -- New York or Miami or California -- Richard is known in all the circles and is widely respected."

By his own estimate, Sullivan has raised a half-billion dollars for Democratic presidential candidates, the party or Democratic causes since he entered the political game in 1988.

As a member of Clinton's finance committee, Sullivan estimates that he is responsible for bringing in between $450,000 and $500,000 of the $26 million that Clinton recently reported she raised during the first three months of this year.

A good mixer

Sullivan is soft-spoken and speaks hesitatingly, carefully weighing his words. With his Southern preppy look, he can easily mix in corporate board rooms. His friends call him "a Boy Scout," which is probably not the image that most people would associate with a big-time political fundraiser.

"He has a winning way about him," said former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt. "People like him right off the bat. He engenders trust. He works in a way that is pleasing to people. He has integrity. He's not loud and aggressive. He's understated."

Sullivan seems to be one of those people who is drawn to politics for the love of the game, rather than because of ideology. He describes himself as a moderate Democrat who doesn't like new taxes.

"I enjoy the competitive part of it," Sullivan says. "I enjoy the networking, the relationship building. It certainly helps you in business over the long haul."

He is comfortable in the world of big-time fundraising. Money raised, he says, is also a way of gauging whether a candidate has broad backing.

"It's clearly a measure of a person's talents," Sullivan said, "that people are willing to give money to support you as a political leader."

The son of a South Carolina legislator, Sullivan was weaned on Democratic politics. He grew up in Columbia, where he worked his way through college on the state Senate staff. He attended the University of South Carolina, which has turned out an uncommon number of political operatives, including the late Lee Atwater -- who helped elect Ronald Reagan and the senior George Bush -- and Bill Carrick, a Democratic strategist for former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt.

The art of fundraising

It was Carrick who got Sullivan connected with Gephardt's 1988 presidential campaign. While working for Gephardt, Sullivan became a protege of Terry McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman who is still the Clinton's leading moneyman.

For many people, asking for money is the most distasteful part of politics. But it is the oil that greases democracy. The first three months of this year have been known as the "money primary" because the ability to raise millions of dollars is what separates the top contenders from the also-rans.

"You can't be afraid to hear 'no'," said Dunn, the Kerry fundraiser, who, along with Sullivan , was one of McAuliffe's boys. "You are going to be told 'no' 90 percent of time. You have to do it every day. You have to go out there and not be afraid to work hard. There is no trick."

There may be no trick, but political fundraising can be tricky. After Clinton was re-elected in 1996, Senate Republicans investigated Democratic fundraising. They focused on White House coffees as well as illegal contributions from Chinese nationals that were raised by Johnny Huang, one of Sullivan 's fundraisers. The DNC returned about half of the $3.5 million that Huang raised.

Sullivan , who was the DNC finance director in 1996, was grilled in hearings led by Sen. Fred Thompson -- now a star on NBC's "Law and Order" drama and a possible GOP presidential candidate.

Sullivan held up under the questioning, but he was aghast at a scene at The Palm, a fancy Washington restaurant, where he had dinner with McAuliffe and several other Democratic fundraisers.

McAuliffe recalls spotting Thompson and several aides at a nearby table. McAuliffe orders his foes drinks and then plops down at their table to taunt them.

"Mac, are you crazy?" Sullivan told McAuliffe. "I've got to testify again tomorrow."

Too late for 3-pointers

Sullivan says the problems at the DNC came about for two reasons -- the flow of "soft money," or unregulated contributions, and the lack of check vetting by the Democratic Party.

"As a former high school basketball player, I missed out on two important things in life," Sullivan says. "The three-point line, which came about after I graduated, and the other was the elimination of soft-money contributions."

North Carolina is an unusual base of operations for a national fundraiser.

Sullivan moved to Charlotte, his wife's hometown, in 1997, before moving to an inside-the-Beltline neighborhood in West Raleigh in 2001. His wife, Caroline Finklea Sullivan , worked as a fundraiser for Sen. Marc Basnight and the Democratic Senate caucus. The couple have two children, 8 and 5.

When he's not raising money for Clinton, Sullivan , who has a law degree, works with Lovell Mitchell and Barth, a Bellevue, Wash., law firm that specializes in class action suits, and Capitol Counsel, a tax lobbying group. He also works with several real estate firms with government relations. He spends two to three days a week on the road.

But Sullivan still spends hours each week working the phones for Clinton.

"In the Clinton campaign, he is clearly one of our top fundraisers in the country," said McAuliffe, Clinton's finance chairman. "He has such great national connections. He has the ability to send people to events all over the country in all 50 states."

Sullivan said there is no mystery to why Clinton leads the Democrats in fundraising nationally. She represents the world financial capital. Thousands of people served in the Clinton administration, and countless others received fundraising help from the Clintons. Then there is the draw of the former president.

Being Clinton's man in Edwards country requires some diplomacy.

"Should [Edwards] win the nomination," Sullivan said, "I will raise as much as I can for the first event, and I will be there with a check in hand."