Retired Army Captain Hired to Manage Kucinich Campaign

Retired Army Captain Hired to Manage Kucinich Campaign
By Marie Horrigan | 5:00 PM; Sep. 14, 2007 | Email This Article

Democratic Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio has hired retired Army Capt. Mike Klein to help turn around a presidential campaign based on a platform of “strength through peace.”

It is the first time Klein, a business and communications consultant, has spearheaded any political campaign. Klein said he was brought on board to reorganize Kucinich’s campaign, bringing in new staffers, launching a new Web site and working on “branding and the messaging.”

“We definitely have a viable campaign, we’re just going through the process of proving it to the public,” he told CQPolitics.com.

Klein described Kucinich as “an honest broker,” which he said was one of the reasons he was attracted to the campaign.

Klein is taking over the reins from David Bright, an activist and organic farmer in Dixmont, Maine. Bright remained in Maine, while Kucinich campaign headquarters are in Cleveland. The New Republic reported in July that Bright was difficult to reach and rarely answered his cell phone because, as his outgoing message explained, cell phone coverage was spotty at his rural locale