Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today that he has named Rick Jacobs, founder of the Courage Campaign, as deputy chief of staff for operations. The Courage Campaign is a progressive political group that has pushed hard for same-sex marriage rights and is a big part of the effort to discourage Tribune from selling the Los Angeles Times to the conservative Koch brothers. Jacobs raised a lot of money for Garcetti's campaign and previously ran the Howard Dean presidential campaign in California. He "will provide strategic counsel to Mayor Garcetti, with a portfolio that includes the Mayor's communications, external affairs, scheduling, protocol, and strategic partnerships," the release says.
"Rick brings a fresh, outsider's perspective to City Hall," said Mayor Garcetti. "His depth of corporate, non-profit, and political experience will help us make city government work better, and I'm proud to have him on our team.""I'm honored to join Mayor Garcetti's office and work with his team to improve city services and help create jobs in Los Angeles," said Jacobs. "I'm excited to get started today."
Jacobs founded the Courage Campaign, a grassroots organization with 750,000 members. He was founder and principal at RDJ Strategic Advisors, which provides financial and philanthropic strategic advice. He previously served as the California Campaign Chairman for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential bid. He launched Newstar, a Washington, D.C. and Moscow based merchant banking and investment firm, in 1991 in partnership with former Senate Majority Leader and Reagan Chief of Staff Howard Baker. Prior to Newstar, Jacobs served as Vice President of Occidental Petroleum Corporation.
Jacobs is taking a leave of absence from the Courage Campaign and will remain on its board.
* Added: The Courage Campaign has made a related announcement that the organization will now be headed by Dr. Paul Song, a member of the group's board.
Dr. Song has been involved in progressive politics, both in California and nationally, for years. More recently, Dr. Song has worked to help elect Sen. Cantwell, Sen. Hirono, Sen. Kaine, Rep. Duckworth, Rep. Garamendi, Rep. Takano, Rep. Waxman, State Controller Chiang, Attorney General Harris, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, Mayor Garcetti, Senate President pro Tem Steinberg, Assemblymember Butler and many others.
Dr. Song is a board certified radiation oncologist and tireless advocate for universal healthcare. In January 2013, he was named by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones as the very first visiting fellow in the California Department of Insurance. Song is on the faculty at the Samuel Oschin Cancer Center at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and is the Chief Medical Officer of American River Nutrition.
Dr. Song also serves as an executive board member of Physicians for a National Health Program California and on the boards of Liberty in North Korea, and People for the American Way.
Michael Finnegan notes in a blog item for the LA Times that Jacobs raised more than $2 million for the Garcetti campaign and will be a key adviser.
Jacobs’ title, deputy chief of staff for operations, belies the clout he is likely to wield as an outspoken player in the upper ranks of California politics and a longtime friend of Garcetti and his wife, Amy Wakeland. When Jacobs headed the California operation of Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential bid, Wakeland was a local advisor to the campaign.[skip]
The City Hall post will be the first government job for Jacobs, a Tennessee native who makes his living as an investor who manages the assets of a Beverly Hills philanthropist, Erika Glazer. Jacobs is known for drawing a who’s who of Democratic politics to parties that he often hosts at the Hollywood house he shares with his partner, documentary filmmaker Shaun Kadlec.
Jacobs is also a prodigious fundraiser. In the mayor’s race, he formed an independent committee to back Garcetti when it became clear that unions for city workers, Hollywood moguls and other backers of rival Wendy Greuel were going to spend heavily on ads attacking Garcetti.
The committee, Lots of People Who Support Eric Garcetti for Mayor 2013, spent $2.3 million on the campaign, putting most of it into get-out-the-vote efforts in predominantly Latino neighborhoods that Garcetti wound up winning by wide margins.
Updated post
