Gayman named eastern Iowa political director for Obama

By Ed Tibbetts | Thursday, May 24, 2007

Iowa Rep. Elesha Gayman, D-Davenport, will be the eastern Iowa political director for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

The Illinois senator’s campaign announced the appointment Wednesday.

Paul Tewes, the state director, said Gayman will help the campaign mobilize at the grassroots.

Ordinarily, state legislators are sought for endorsements. But Gayman, while a freshman, has contacts with labor officials, particularly in the Quad-City area, and her campaign last year spurred excitement among many in the Democratic base in Scott County and beyond.

“I’m rather excited about it,” Gayman said.

Before being elected to the state Legislature, Gayman was a 2004 delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

She later went to work for U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign.

— Ed Tibbetts