The Tennessee Democratic Party announced yesterday that it is staffing up, nearly two months after it was notably staffing down, with three staffers announcing their departure in one week.
Headlining the party's four new hires is Alan Secrest, who will serve as executive director and research director starting in January 2014. This is good for the TNDP, which will soon have an executive director and research director. This is good for Alan Secrest, who will soon have a new job. This is bad for Alan Secrest because his new job is at the Tennessee Democratic Party.
The party announcement calls Secrest "a top national Democratic strategist and pollster with Tennessee ties" and includes praise from former Tennessee Congressmen Lincoln Davis and Bart Gordon, as well as former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, which you can see after the jump:
Bill Purcell: “Alan is smart and insightful and understands the issues that matter most to people. He has the ability to help this party find its way in these critical times.” Lincoln Davis: “Alan Secrest is a solid professional who knows politics as well as anyone in America. He’s a good hire.”Bart Gordon: “Alan did my polling and provided important strategic advice during some of my toughest re-election campaigns.”
For what it's worth, here are some other interesting things to note about Alan Secrest:
— Last year, Secrest's polling firms shut down due to "money problems" five months before an election. He told the Washington Post at the time that "all of the firm’s money has been used on operational expenses, leaving it no capital to continue operating." The Post added that "in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Secrest was the pollster of choice for many moderate and conservative Democrats."
— He had an infamous run in with then-Democratic staffer, since-White House Chief of Staff, and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. A story from Chicago Magazine recounts the tale thusly (with slight censoring by Pith):
During his tenure at the Congressional Campaign Committee another, at least as prominent, side of Rahm Emanuel came out in its most infamous manifestation to date. The 1988 campaign had just ended, and the Democrats had managed to eke out a net gain of three congressional seats despite failing to capture the White House—the first such gain by either party since 1960. During the campaign, Emanuel had feuded with Alan Secrest, a well-known pollster. The Democrats had lost a close race for Jack Kemp’s old seat in Buffalo, and Emanuel blamed the loss in part on a faulty Secrest poll. When the campaign was over, he sent Secrest a dead fish, accompanied by a handwritten note: “It’s been awful working with you. Love, Rahm.” Secrest responded with his own letter, six typed pages that began with the words “What a waste,” and went on to diagnose Emanuel’s supposed problems with “star-f***ing,” “hubris,” “immaturity (personalizing conflict),” and “lying.” Secrest also accused him of wanting to cook the polls to bring back favorable results. The letter became public, though both Secrest and Emanuel deny leaking it. But, afterward, Emanuel was happy to show it to people who hadn’t seen it.
Of course, as Secrest is probably already aware, Democrats in Tennessee don't send dead animals in frustration after losing an election. They just call it another Tuesday and move on.
