Garry South
Garry South | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Education | University of Montana, Missoula (B.A.) |
Political party | Democratic |
Website | GarrySouthConsulting.com |
Garry South is a Democratic
Early life
A native of eastern Montana, South's father, Vernon, a carpenter, served on the Miles City, Montana, city council for years, a seat his older brother Carroll filled when Vernon retired.[2]
South attended the University of Montana in Missoula, graduating with honors in 1976 with a BA in history and political science after serving as student body president.[8] In 2008, South was named recipient of the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.[9][10]
During his time at University of Montana, South supported long-shot former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential primary. South worked to place Carter’s name on Montana’s primary ballot and, after Carter clinched the party nomination, South became state coordinator in Montana for the general election. South served as the youngest state coordinator in the 50 states.[8]
Following his graduation and Carter’s successful presidential campaign, South worked as Midwest regional finance director of the
Gray Davis campaigns 1994-2003
Soon after arriving in Southern California, South reengaged in politics and in 1994, managed Gray Davis' winning campaign for Lieutenant Governor of California. While 1994 was a historically poor election year for Democrats nationwide--Republicans captured control of the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in decades and regained control of the Senate, Davis managed to capture more votes—aided by California’s large population—than any other Democratic candidate in the country. During Davis' tenure as lieutenant governor, South was his chief of staff.[12][13]
1998 California gubernatorial campaign
In 1998, South managed Gray Davis’ run for governor that, at many points, showed Davis trailing both of the other, well-financed Democrats in the primary and Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren in the general election. These frustrations led to many staff members leaving the campaign during the primary. Eventually, South helped guide Davis to win the primary decisively and then a substantial victory in the general election.[4] At the time, Davis was California’s first Democratic governor elected in 20 years – and the first Democratic lieutenant governor ever elected governor in his own right in the state. Davis later said, "It is entirely possible I would not have been elected governor without the strategic brilliance of Garry South."[14]
The successful 1998 race shot South to prominence in California's political circles—Republican and Democratic alike. The California Journal credited South with "one of the greatest resurrections in California political history",[15] and South was named Campaign Manager of the Year by the American Association of Political Consultants.[2] The often critical Republican strategist Jonathan Wilcox wrote, "By any objective measure, the 1998 campaign that made Davis governor was brilliant, and South deserves credit. To gain the Democrats' nomination against better-funded opposition, South deftly used radio ads, secured endorsements (and used them meaningfully) and devised the slogan that tied it all together, 'Gray Davis: Experience Money Can’t Buy.'"[citation needed]
2002 California gubernatorial campaign
Governor Davis’ most likely opponent in 2002 was moderate Republican and former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. In an unorthodox move, South and the Davis campaign spent $10 million targeting Riordan during his three-way Republican primary fight. The Davis campaign highlighted Riordan’s moderate stances on abortion, guns, and other issues important to the conservative base he was trying to court for the primary.[16] The controversial strategy worked and Riordan lost the primary to the more conservative Bill Simon Jr., 31.4% to 49.5%.[17] Up against first-time candidate Simon Jr., a son of former Nixon and Ford Treasury Secretary William Simon, Davis cruised to victory, winning 47.3% to 42.4%.[18] He was one of only two incumbent Democratic governors in the country that year to win reelection. Davis at that time also was is one of only three Democratic governors ever to win reelection to a four-year term in California’s 162-year history (the other two being Edmund “Pat” Brown and his son, Jerry).[19][13]
Following Riordan’s loss in the Republican primary that year, the Los Angeles Times opined that South had “outmaneuvered the White House, which had encouraged Riordan to run, forcing the administration into a last-minute scramble.” Robin Fields of The Times concluded that “in less than 10 years, South has rocketed from obscurity to stardom among the elite of political strategists in California and, thus, in the nation.”[4] In a profile of South after the primary election, Newsweek called him a “one-man brain trust on the battlements of Fort California” with a “knack for foiling [Karl] Rove’s plans.”[20] The August, 2012, edition the non-partisan National Journal designated the 2002 Davis campaign as one of the 10 best campaigns of the past 25 years, saying it was managed “to perfection.”[21]
2003 recall against Davis
South was not officially involved in the 2003 recall campaign against Gray Davis, as he was by then a senior advisor to presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman. In 2001, however, South did respond to Arnold Schwarzenegger—who was openly contemplating a 2002 run for governor against Davis—by faxing a “few dozen political reporters a then-current Premier magazine piece” alleging indiscretions in Schwarzenegger’s personal life. Schwarzenegger responded via his lawyer, threatening to sue South for libel.[22]
South and Schwarzenegger also exchanged other shots when Schwarzenegger was first considering a 2002 run, with South saying: "We'll be ready for him if he comes at us. We don't roll over and play dead for anybody, regardless of the size of his bankroll or biceps."[23] During Schwarzenegger’s governorship, South wrote several op-eds critical of his stewardship of the state and political moves. Among South’s critiques were that Schwarzenegger had “personified the old saw “When your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail,” and that instead of lighting “the fires of imagination among California voters… [Schwarzenegger] has become just another cog in the California Republican Ol’ Boys’ Network.”[24][25]
Presidential campaigns 2000, 2004
In 2000, South was a top advisor to
Ballot propositions
South’s political efforts included California’s robust proposition system. In 2000, South was lead strategist for the successful statewide school-bond-threshold measure, Prop. 39. South also advised the winning water and parks bond campaigns that year. In 2004, he was a strategist on the successful No on 67 campaign, working for a coalition of telecommunications providers, and the winning No on 68 campaign, a measure that would have allowed slot machines at race tracks and other venues.[29][30] In 2014, South was a top strategist on the successful No on Prop. 46 campaign, a measure that would have significantly increased the limits on how much trial lawyers could sue medical providers for.
In 2022, South was a communications-strategy consultant to Californians for Tribal Sovereignty and Safe Gaming, which opposed Proposition 27, funded by out-of-state sports-betting giants and that would have legalized online sports wagering in California. The measure was defeated by an overwhelming 18-to-82% margin, after the proponents dumped in more than $170 million.
Other campaigns
South served as senior advisor in then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s first campaign for governor, from July 2008 to October ‘09, when Newsom exited the race. South then was senior strategist in Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s campaign for lieutenant governor in the 2010 Democratic primary. In the 2006 Democratic primary election, he served as senior advisor to Controller Steve Westly’s campaign for governor. South also advised Janice Hahn in her successful congressional race in the 2011 special election.
Controversy
Despite working for progressive Democrats like Richard Celeste, Gavin Newsom and Janice Hahn, South has maintained a tense, if not sometimes biting, relationship with progressives in the liberal blogosphere. The criticisms range from his brash, fighting style—sometimes used against more liberal candidates—to his supposed call for moderating his candidates’ stances in order to “triangulate.”[31][32]
One Los Angeles Times profile of South in 2015 described him as “a famously pugilistic political strategist” with a “pile-driving personality and blast-furnace of a mouth.”[33] A 2002 profile in PRNews described him as "brash, profane and loves to trash his clients' opponents in the media."[34] In 2001, Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened to sue South for libel over an unflattering magazine article South sent out to the media with a provocative cover sheet.[35]