Internal Changes for State Senate Campaigns

by ARLnow.com April 27, 2011 at 10:11 am 2,061 3 Comments

There have been two minor but noteworthy developments in the Democratic primary battle for Mary Margaret Whipple’s state Senate seat.

Liz Chadderdon, a consultant who had been working with Barbara Favola’s campaign, has left the campaign. Political chatter suggests she may have quit.

“You have to find the right fit sometimes,” Favola told ARLnow.com last night, without specifically addressing the circumstances surrounding Chadderdon’s departure. “It’s probably good we figured this out sooner rather than later.”

Chadderdon did not return a call for comment.

Meanwhile, Englin Consulting — run by Shayna Englin and husband Del. David Englin — has been hired to assist Army Lt. Col. Jaime Areizaga-Soto in his soon-to-be-announced run for Whipple’s seat.

“We’re psyched to work with Jaime,” Shayna Englin told the Blue Virginia blog. “He’s a tremendous candidate who’s in it to win.”

Technology consultant Ben Tribbett, a potential third Democratic candidate for the race, chimed in with praise for Areizaga-Soto’s hire.

“I think Englin Consulting is one of the best groups of Democratic consultants in the state,” he said. “I can’t think of anybody better to help guide Jaime.”

Shayna Englin

Many thanks to Ben for the kind words. We’re excited to work with Jaime.

An important point of clarification: Englin Consulting, LLC, is my firm. David runs the media relations practice of the firm and leads strategy projects for our national progressive advocacy clients.

There is a firewall between our work for Virginia candidates and David. Out of respect for David’s colleagues in Richmond and the work he does in Virginia, we have a very firm and very strict separation there. David isn’t part of our candidate work in the state, and he’s not part of the decisions about who we’ll work with.
- Joe
  
  Is there a “firewall” around the kitchen table? That would be a “no”.
  
  Shayna, OF COURSE you discuss your work for Virginia candidates with David. Of course he acts as a “senior adviser” or a “sounding board”. It would be ludicrous for you to shunt him off from knowledge of your work on those candidates. His judgment is a terrific resource, and you are in BUSINESS together.
  
  As for David, he would have to be out of his mind to say nothing about the Virginia candidates you represent. If you jump in to work for Areizaga-Soto even as Favola has Saslaw and Whipple in her corner, that means obviously David has informally signed off on that idea.
  - Shayna Englin
    
    Actually, Joe, no. The business is far, far more than the work we do for Virginia candidates and David is plenty busy with his piece of the rest of the business.
    
    I run the business, and have since 2006. David came on board last year from a role as a VP at a local media relations firm.
    
    And, it’s not an “if” we jump in to work for Jaime. We’re in.

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