Doug Schaffer of Snohomish and Kelly Chandler of Seattle met online. Now they’re making big plans to go to Washington, D.C.
Their Internet connection is not driven by love and wanderlust but by ideas and politics.
Schaffer is a first-time candidate for Congress and Chandler the novice campaign manager he hired through an ad posted on Craigslist June 13.
“I almost passed right over it,” Chandler, 30, said of the job solicitation. “I thought, ‘This isn’t how people get campaign managers. This is something weird.’Â ”
Together, they are trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash.
“I’m aware of the reality that (Schaffer) has a limited political background and I have no campaign experience and we’re running against a longtime incumbent,” Chandler said, displaying a veteran’s grasp of the race dynamics in her first week of work.
She knew nothing of Schaffer’s candidacy when she sat down at the computer earlier this month and began to poke around online for a possible job. Chandler, who has a master’s in international studies from the University of Washington, recently returned from living in China.
While scrolling through the jobs bulletin board, she saw the ad for campaign manager.
It began: “I am running for the position of representative for the U.S. House of Representatives for District 2 in Washington State. I need a campaign manager to help me plan and run my campaign and I need that person now!!!” The ad said it would pay $1,500 to $2,000 a week.
Chandler answered with an e-mail that day. She and Schaffer met Monday. They spent six hours conversing and developing a strategy for the campaign through the Aug. 19 primary.
“It is really exciting,” she said.
Schaffer, 59, said there’s nothing unusual about him seeking employees in this manner. It’s quick, easy and, importantly, free.
“I’m used to working in a world where things need to be done fast,” he said, explaining he’s most comfortable with this technology.
A few years back as owner of Best Limos of Snohomish, he used Craigslist to find and hire dispatchers and drivers.
Schaffer relied on it again to fill the ranks of his current company, The Best Consultants.
With none of his present staff trained to run a campaign, he took his search online. He received 15 responses in roughly two days, and six applicants had experience in campaign management.
He signed Chandler and is not stopping there.
“I’m now looking for a person to serve as fundraising executive and treasurer,” he said.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfieldheraldnet.com.
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