Woolson, Campaign Manager

Dissing the old boss? Maybe that's too strong. But it is a bit interesting. Two guys in the thick of the governor's race are running against their former bosses. A news release from Bob Vander Plaats' campaign this morning made me think of it. Eric Woolson had been handling the communications' side of the campaign. Now, he'll run the whole campaign. It's interesting since Woolson used to work for Vander Plaats' rival, former Governor Terry Branstad. Here's the release:

DES MOINES – Iowa political veteran Eric Woolson, who managed Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign to victory in the 2008 precinct caucuses, has taken on the role of campaign manager for Sioux City GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats.
“Eric Woolson has a record of results – and that’s exactly what we expect of him as he assumes responsibility for the day-to-day operations and success of this campaign,” Vander Plaats said today. "The foundation for a winning campaign has been set through much hard work and diligence by our team in 2009. We now look to Eric to successfully lead us over the finish line on June 8. He's the right person at the right time."
Woolson has been a leader in the fields of journalism, politics and public relations in Iowa for more than three decades. He was Gov. Terry Branstad’s communications director and press secretary during Branstad’s final term in office. He served as Iowa communications director to George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign and was the communications director for the Doug Gross for Governor campaign in 2002.
Woolson, a Norfolk, Va., native who has lived in Iowa since 1972, was also a member of the Iowa press corps for 20 years. He started his newspaper career in Boone in 1976 and worked for newspapers in Madrid, Guthrie Center, Webster City and Keokuk before joining United Press International in 1983. He wrote for the Waterloo Courier for 11 years, including nine as its political reporter/columnist and two years as its editorial page editor.
In 2002, he founded The Concept Works, a West Des Moines firm that provides public and government relations counsel, marketing services and crisis management for corporate, political and individual clients.

Tim Albrecht is the other interesting story. He used to be Chris Rants' communications guy (back when Rants was still "Christopher"). Now, Albrecht is handling communications for Branstad. Politics sure is interesting, isn't it? Game on.