David Trone’s congressional campaign made good use of Craigslist to hire campaign field staff during the 2016 8th Congressional District Democratic primary.
Trone’s campaign at the time posted Craigslist ads in Washington D.C. and Frederick, Md., soliciting field staff to knock on doors within the 8th Congressional District and make phone calls to Democratic primary voters.
The Trone Campaign Craiglist Hiring Campaign
“Progressive Democrat is seeking Voter Outreach Coordinators to deliver message [sic] and explain policy [sic] to voters in a competitive Maryland Congressional Democratic Primary campaign,” the hiring ad said.
The pay rate?
$13 an hour.
Montgomery County, Maryland’s minimum wage rose to $15 an hour on July 1, 2021.
Then-County Councilmember Marc Elrich (D-At Large) sponsored Bill 28-17 that raised Montgomery County’s minimum wage incrementally each July 1, reaching $15 for large county employees this July.
Elrich was elected Montgomery County executive in 2018 and is seeking re-election in 2022.
Work for a “Progressive Leader”
The campaign’s Craiglist hiring ad referred to David Trone as a “progressive leader that has created thousands of jobs locally and across the country.”
David and Robert Trone co-founded Total Wine & More, a wine, beer and spirits store, in 1991. Total Wine & More today operates 221 superstores across 27 states, according to the company’s website.
“Voter Outreach Coordinators” who will “communicate directly with voters at the door and via phone to explain policy stances and campaign message to voters across the district.”
Voter Outreach Coordinators? What’s That?
“Voter Outreach Coordinators,” the ad said, will “communicate directly with voters at the door and via phone to explain policy stances and campaign message to voters across the district.”
Outreach coordinators would make phone calls to Democratic voters in the 8th Congressional District and determine whether primary voters supported Trone or his Democratic primary rivals.
The Trone campaign hired Zero Work Solutions, a Democratic-leaning grassroots political strategy firm, to vet and hire the Craigslist applicants applying for field staff work.
Rich DiCriscio, a New Jersey native, served as the Trone campaign “Deputy Field Director” in 2016. DiCriscio was tasked with vetting and hiring Trone’s “voter outreach coordinators” who applied through Craigslist.
Anyone hired by the Trone campaign from Craigslist was trained at Trone’s Rockville-based campaign headquarters, an office building located nearby Rockville Pike and in walking distance of the White Flint Metro Station.
In addition to making phone calls, outreach coordinators canvassed neighborhoods throughout the 8th congressional district.
Maryland congressional politics then and now [2021]
Maryland’s 8th Congressional District encompasses portions of Montgomery, Frederick, and County Counties.
Then state-Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County) defeated David Trone, Katheleen Matthews, and several other Democrats in the 2016 8th District Democratic primary.
Raskin defeated attorney Dan Cox – a 2022 Maryland gubernatorial candidate, QAnon conspiracy theorist, and promoter of the false claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 general election – in the general election that year and is seeking re-election in 2022 to the U.S. House of Representatives for the third time.
David Trone won a congressional seat in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District in 2018, defeating Republican Amie Hoeber.
Trone defeated former Montgomery County Public School teacher Maxwell Bero in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Bero, a former middle and high school teacher, was sentenced on Oct. 15 to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing two former students several years ago.
Trone defeated Maryland state Del. Neil C. Parrott (R-Washington County) in the 2020 general election.
He announced in May 2021 that he’ll seek a third U.S. House term in 2022.
Ryan Miner is the Editor, Founder, and Publisher of A Miner Detail, a Maryland politics blog featuring Maryland political news, political commentary, and opinion. He is the host of A Miner Detail Podcast.
Feedback/News Tips: Ryan@AMinerDetail.com. Follow Ryan on Twitter: @RyanRMiner.
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