As expected, Branstad formally reveals 2014 campaign team today

Two announcements from Team Branstad today, about Terry Branstad’s (expected, not even doubted) bid to win a sixth term as Iowa’s governor. Two men who steered Steve King’s 2012 congressional campaign and are veterans of Branstad’s 2010 campaign (Jake Ketzner & Jimmy Centers) now are on Branstad’s 2014 campaign payroll. Other veterans of the 2010 campaign like campaign manager Jeff Boeyink and campaign spokesman Tim Albrecht will stay in the governor’s formal office. Boeyink has been Branstad’s chief of staff and Albrecht has been the governor’s communications director since January of 2011.

First, though, came the Branstad fundraising pitch:

Friends,

Later today my campaign committee will announce the hires of four individuals to begin laying the groundwork for a potential reelection run in 2014. Though a final decision and formal announcement won’t come until next year, we must be ready to hit the ground running.

Over the coming weeks and months, you will hear from our campaign team as they begin voter contact, outreach and community recruitment in a way no other Republican in Iowa has done before.

Can you help our team spread our message of job creation, balanced budgets, historic economic growth, increased family incomes and transformational education reform by contributing $100, $50, $25 or $10?
Over the past three legislative sessions we’ve instituted biennial budgeting giving business the predictability and stability needed to grow. Not only did we eliminate the $900 million budget deficit, our conservative budgeting practices have given us a $900 million budget surplus.

Last month, I signed the largest tax cut in Iowa history, transformational education reform that is the largest investment in Iowa’s children in our state’s history, and the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan – modernizing the way we offer health care to low-income Iowans instead of implementing Obamacare.

Our work isn’t done and we’ll continue working to bring jobs to Iowa, protect taxpayers’ dollars from frivolous spending and offer our children a world-class education.

The 2012 campaign cycle demonstrated that putting together a capable team early and harnessing evolving technologies yields great rewards. With your generous contribution of $100, $50, $25 or $10, we will be well positioned moving forward.

Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
 
Gov. Terry Branstad

Then campaign the news release:

URBANDALE, Iowa) – Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced their campaign committee – The Governor Branstad Committee – has reached $2 million cash-on-hand and has hired Jake Ketzner to serve as campaign manager, Phil Valenziano to serve as political director, Vonna Hall to serve as office manager and Jimmy Centers to serve as communications director.
 
“We are pleased with our committee’s fundraising efforts as Lieutenant Governor Reynolds and I continue laying the groundwork for a potential 2014 campaign,” said Branstad. “The 2012 campaign cycle demonstrated that putting together a capable team early and harnessing evolving technologies yields great rewards. Our team will focus on organizing, recruiting and voter outreach over the coming months ensuring we’re well-positioned moving forward.”
 
Jake Ketzner, a resident of Clive, Iowa, previously worked as a policy adviser for Branstad and Reynolds in the Office of the Governor. Prior to his work at the Capitol, Ketzner served as Rep. Steve King’s (IA-04) 2012 campaign manager against Christie Vilsack. He served as Branstad and Reynolds’ organization director in 2010.
 
Phil Valenziano moved from New Jersey to Iowa in 2010 to work for the Republican Party of Iowa’s victory campaign.  He served as Gov. Mitt Romney’s state field director for the 2012 Iowa caucus and went on to serve as Romney for President’s New Hampshire state director during the 2012 general election.
 
Vonna Hall has spent the last three and a half years serving as the Republican Party of Iowa’s office manager. Hall is a resident of Pleasant Hill, Iowa.
 
Jimmy Centers, a resident of Des Moines, served as the Northeast Iowa field director for Branstad and Reynolds in 2010. Following the 2010 race, Centers served as deputy communications director in the Office of the Governor. In 2012, Centers served as communications director for Rep. Steve King’s (IA-04) re-election campaign.

“Governor Branstad and I are pleased with the additions to our committee team,” said Reynolds. “Our robust fundraising has given us the opportunity to begin the grassroots outreach well in advance of the 2014 elections and ensures that our team will be reaching out to activists and voters in all ninety-nine counties through county festivals, parades, barbecues, and door-to-door organizing.”