John Whitehurst

John Whitehurst is a partner at Barnes Mosher Whitehurst Lauter and Partners and a veteran of more than 150 elections and has one of the best "win records" in California. Campaigns and Elections Magazine named Whitehurst a "rising star."

As a political consultant, Whitehurst wins campaigns and public affairs efforts by using a variety of successful elements. Rather than relying on a single campaign methodology or pattern, Whitehurst builds campaigns to fit the strategic situation of specific races, creating and producing award-winning direct mail, outdoor media, broadcast advertising, web pages, vote-by-mail programs and grassroots organizing efforts.

Prior to forming BMWL & Partners, Whitehurst founded Whitehurst Campaigns in 1990, which emerged as one of California's top independent political campaign and public affairs firms. Whitehurst has worked with many candidates, including California State Senate President Don Perata, San Francisco Mayors Willie L. Brown, Jr., Gavin Newsom, and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown in addition to Assemblymembers Mark Leno and Noreen Evans.

In addition to winning numerous successful candidate campaigns, Whitehurst has an unrivaled track record in municipal ballot measures on behalf of civic institutions including the San Francisco Moscone Center, the Los Angeles Zoo, the San Francisco Zoo, the San Francisco Public Library, Laguna Honda and many others. In addition, BMWL has passed numerous transportation measures, including Regional Measure 2, for Bay Area Transportation.

Whitehurst began his career in Democratic politics in 1983 on U.S. Senator Gary Hart's first presidential campaign. During that campaign Whitehurst was a state coordinator of Pennsylvania and congressional district regional coordinator in California. In 1985, Whitehurst moved to California to become the Executive Director of the Democratic Foundation of Orange County, California, where he directed political fundraising and managed voter registration drives.

At Clinton Reilly Campaigns in San Francisco, Whitehurst played key roles in overall campaign management, media buying, slate-card operations, and strategy and media development for some of the largest political campaigns in California history, including statewide ballot measures and candidate campaigns.

Whitehurst earned his Bachelor's degree in Political Science from The American University in Washington, D.C., with course concentrations in elections. Whitehurst served on the Board of Directors of the Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library. He lives with his family in Oakland and is a collector of Italian wines.

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