11:54 am Sep. 24, 20121
Dan Halloran is a New York City Councilman and a candidate for Congress.
This week, he hired a new spokesman who, like Halloran, will be doing work in the Council office and on the campaign.
In a brief interview Friday, Kevin Ryan, 36, told me, "I'm the director of communications on the Council side and I may have, I guess, a sort of undefined but similar role for the campaign."
One word he used to describe the situaiton was "hybrid."
Ryan's hire was first reported by Jeff Morganteen, a Columbia Journalism School student. Here's the first line of the article:
"With less than two months before the general election, the congressional campaign for Republican Dan Halloran has picked up a new spokesman."
Here is the second-to-last line in the article:
"Ryan said he hopes to start his new job on Thursday after filing paperwork with City Hall."
Referring to the article, Ryan told me, "The main point is that we have two separate offices and my two roles are entirely separate, as well."
Last month, Chris Bragg reported how Halloran's earlier campaign spokesman, Steven Stites, was on the state payroll as an employee for a state senator in Brooklyn, David Storobin.
This is a very misleading article. The article is so poorly written and has no substance, but contains snippets of an interview. Why not post the interview in its entirety? Mr. Ryan is clearly stating, as you have reported, that his roles are " entirely separate".
The author fails to state that it is common and expected for members of campaigns to have other employment including in politics. It is legally and ethically permitted as long as the positions are separate-as in the case with Mr Ryan.
Looking forward to the Capital's next article on an evaluation of some democratic campaigns!