ODP Names New Exec. Director

Meet Doug Kelly of the DNC, the Ohio Democratic Party's new executive Director:

Before joining ODP as its Executive Director, Kelly spent 10 years at the Democratic National Committee, first as Research Director, and later as Technology Director. Most recently, Kelly was the Director of Political Affairs for the Mario and Dana Morino Family of Cleveland. In this role, he handled strategic communications and oversaw the family's various national and state-based political activities.

Kelly, who has played an active role in the last five Presidential Elections, is eager to assist the Ohio Democratic Party in becoming a stronger, more effective organization…

Redfern continued: "Randy Borntrager has done a remarkable job as Interim Executive Director and was heavily involved in the process of bringing Doug in. I commend him for his efforts leading the staff through the transition and on his new role as Director of Strategic Planning and Communications."

Kelly will start his new role on April 2, 2007. You can reach him at Doug@ohiodems.org at that point.

Short Biography of Doug Kelly

Prior to joining ODP as its Executive Director, Doug Kelly was the Director of Political Affairs for the Mario and Dana Morino Family of Cleveland. In this role, he handled strategic communications and oversaw the family's various national and state-based political activities.

Prior to joining the Morinos in June 2005, Doug spent 10 years at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in Washington, DC. From 2001-2005, as the DNC's Technology Director, he led the reconstruction of the Party's technology infrastructure to fundamentally change the way the Party raises money, moves messages, and mobilizes voters.

Before that, Doug served as the DNC's Research Director, where he directed candidate and policy research during two presidential campaigns, headed the DNC's rapid response efforts, and directed strategic planning, messaging, and communications.

Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Tax Analysis at Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), a fair-tax group in Washington, DC. During his tenure at CTJ, he evaluated the fairness of federal, state, and local tax systems, writing reports and conducting press conferences to release tax policy recommendations.

Doug has authored numerous publications and studies, and provided the research for Paul Begala's 2000 book, "Is Our Children Learning?" A native of Adrian, MI, he holds a BA in Government from Harvard University, and lives in Cleveland Heights with his wife, Linda Sinoway, and their two children.

From what I've dug up Kelly's a big tech guy, being credited as one of the founder's of "Demzilla". I'll have more later.