Jill Alper
| Jill Alper | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 12, 1965 |
| Residence | Grosse Pointe, Michigan |
| Nationality | United States |
| Education | Boston College |
| Occupation | Electoral Strategist |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Website | Dewey Square Group |
Jill Alper (born September 12, 1965), is an American political campaigner, who heads the Dewey Square Group's campaign and integrated media practice.
Alper has worked with campaigns in all 50 states and has served as an electoral strategist for the Presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Political Director where Democrats beat the '6 year itch' and Newt Gingrich had to leave office, Al Gore where she coordinated state specific media efforts, ran election day, and started the re-count effort. Gore won by a handful of votes in 6 states and Republicans responded to the Democrat's election day operation via their own study called the 72-hour report. She was electoral strategist for John Kerry where she put together the nomination plan and General Election state plans and worked for Hillary Clinton in 2008 where she was responsible for Super Tuesday Election Day efforts.
Alper was born in Hartselle, Alabama. She was formerly the Political Director of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) under Chairman Steve Grossman. She was National Coordinated campaign Director for the DNC from 1994 through 1996 where she ran field operations for the entire democratic ticket during the Clinton Gore re-election campaign. During 95-96, with colleagues, she launched a massive training program, precinct program, base vote and national voter file effort through the DNC. In 1997, she was the Director of the Clinton Presidential Inaugural Gala that raised over $10 million to help fund the Inauguration overall.
In the 1992 cycle, she was Deputy Political Director and ran candidate recruitment and incumbent protection efforts for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) overall. During this period, she also started the "Women's Council" in the wake of the Clarence Thomas confirmation to focus on electing women to the United States Senate. She currently works with women candidates preparing to run for Governor.
Alper got her start in politics at 15 when she met Governor Mike Dukakis of Massachusetts as a result of her lawsuit against the Massachusetts Senate President William M. Bulger who refused to hire women to serve as senate pages (the suit was eventually dropped when Bulger hired a woman after sustained media attention). She later served as the Deputy Iowa Field Director for his Presidential campaign. Other notable campaign experience includes: Michigan State Director for Bill Clinton in 1992; Deputy Political Director at the DSCC; Deputy Campaign Manager for Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) in one of the most competitive races of his career in 1990 against Bill Schuette; Coordinated Campaign Manager in Virginia in 1989 for Douglas Wilder, the first African American elected governor of a U.S. state; Field Director in the special congressional election upset for Jill Long (Thompson) (D-IN).
She served as strategist to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan in both of her races and is a member of the Democratic National Committee.
Alper co-founded the Women’s Information Network in 1989. In 1991, she was voted a Rising Star by Campaigns and Elections magazine. In 1993, she received the Women of Distinction Award from the American Association of University Women. In 2006, she was recognized by The American Association of Political Consultants as the “Best Democratic Campaign Manager” in the nation for Granholm’s re-election. In 2010, she was named to the Aristotle Campaign Dream Team. Actress Cheryl Kaleda was cast to play Alper in the movie Recount, a chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent recounts in Florida, starring Kevin Spacey. From 2011 - early 2013 she wrote a bi-weekly Sunday column for the Detroit Free Press, "Politically Speaking".
She married David Katz, former Deputy Wayne County Executive for Edward H. McNamara who managed the campaign of then Attorney General Jennifer Granholm for Governor in 2002, in 2004 at the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C.. They now reside in Grosse Pointe, Michigan with their son, Mac and her stepson, Danny.
She has been a guest lecturer at the University of Michigan, the American University, and Harvard University and is a frequent trainer for progressive campaign training organizations like EMILY's List.
External links
- Alper discussing the ins and outs of the Granholm contest in 2006 on Off the Record with Tim Skubick (WKAR)
- ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary