Bonnie Campbell Joins Des Moines Firm

New Name: Former Iowa Attorney General and Democratic Candidate for Governor Bonnie Campbell has a new job. She has joined a firm that now has a mouthful of a name. Former Iowa Department of Economic Development Director Mary Lawyer is also back in town after working in Dubuque. Here's the release:

Link Strategies Announces Expansion, Will Open Government Relations and Public Affairs Firm August 1

Former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell and Iowa Department of Economic Development Director Mary Lawyer joining new firm.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Link Strategies, an Iowa-based political consulting firm announced the creation of an additional firm specializing in government relations, reputation management and public relations.

Bonnie Campbell, who served as Iowa Attorney General from 1990-1994, will join the group as Partner. Jeff Link, Matt Paul and Brad Anderson will also be shareholders in the new firm. Mary Lawyer will serve as Managing Director and will lead the firm's business development and state government relations operation.

Link, Paul, Campbell and Anderson Public Strategies will occupy office space adjoining existing Link Strategies space in the historic Northwestern Hotel Building at 321 East Walnut. Link Strategies will continue to provide clients with political consulting such as general campaign consulting, referendum and issue campaign management and political research.

"The new structure will provide our clients with a unique and value-added level of services in the public arena," said Jeff Link. "Our partnership will focus on collective expertise in public policy, media and legal affairs." Link will serve as Managing Partner of both companies, maintaining his practice in national and international political strategy.

Brad Anderson has been a partner at Link Strategies since May 2008. He got his start in politics working on former Sen. John Edwards’ successful 1998 campaign for U.S. Senate. He later became Sen. Tom Harkin’s research director in 2002 and went on to serve as communications director for Governor Chet Culver during his 2006 campaign. He stayed on as Gov. Culver’s communications director in his official office until leaving in 2008 to serve as Barack Obama’s Iowa Communications Director for the general election. Brad has helped develop communications strategies for corporate clients ranging from Verizon to NextEra Energy

Bonnie Campbell joins the firm as Partner and will provide counsel regarding legal, regulatory and reputation management issues. Campbell was the first woman to serve as Attorney General in Iowa. President Bill Clinton later appointed her the first Director of the Office on Violence Against Women in the US Department of Justice. She is a member of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

Mary Lawyer is a well-respected business and government leader in Iowa. She served in various management roles in state government, ultimately serving as Director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development. She also served as President of the Downtown Community Alliance in Des Moines and most recently served as Director of Business Development at Conlon Companies. In her new role, Mary will lead the firm's state government relations practice and provide clients regulatory and business development counsel.

Jeff Link is an Iowa native and graduate of Drake Law School.
His work in campaigns has dovetailed with his experience in government. After successfully managing Senator Tom Harkin’s 1996 and 2002 re-election campaign, Link also served in Washington, D.C. as Harkin’s Chief of Staff. Jeff also oversaw the successful campaigns of Vice President Al Gore’s Iowa caucus and the election of Congressman Bruce Braley. In 2008, Link served as a media consultant to the Obama Presidential Campaign, coordinating branding, all paid media and polling in 25 states, including seven battleground states. His work now focuses on international political clients and public affairs consulting with leading companies such as Microsoft and The Princeton Review.

Matt Paul began his career as a reporter in Cedar Rapids. In 1994, he joined the staff of Mayor Larry Serbousek, serving as the city’s primary spokesperson. He was asked to continue in that role after the election of Mayor Lee R. Clancey. In 1998, he joined the Administration of Governor Tom Vilsack serving in several key positions including Press Secretary, Communications Director and Senior Advisor. In 2007, he joined Link Strategies. Paul managed the successful re-election campaign of Senator Tom Harkin in 2008 and has provided strategic communications and public affairs counsel to clients including IBM, Alliant Energy, Abraxis BioScience and other industry leaders in healthcare, energy and finance. Paul will focus on public affairs at the federal level at LPCA Public Strategies.