Kenneth Smukler (born September 6, 1960) is a political operative in Pennsylvania, President of Voterlink Data Systems and a former campaign strategist for former US Representative Bob Brady.[1]
Ken Smukler | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 6, 1960 |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania Penn State Dickinson Law |
Early life and education
editSmukler graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 1982 and went on to attend Penn State Dickinson Law. In 1987, Smukler quit his legal career to become the campaign Press Secretary for Philadelphia Mayor, Wilson Goode.[2]
Career
editSmukler is best known for his work on the campaigns for Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and Philadelphia City Councilman Rick Mariano.[3]
In 2005, Smukler co-developed a reality television program called Red/Blue where contestants would compete for $1 million to found their own 527 group during the 2006 election cycle.[3] The program was developed by Smukler and True Entertainment.[4][5]
Smukler's company, Voterlink Data Systems was used to generate content for NBC during the 2004 elections.[6] Voterlink Data Systems was used to create the national vote hotlines 1.866.MYVOTE1 and 1.866.OURVOTE.[7] The same technology was used to support the national voter hotlines 1.866.MYVOTE1 and 1.866.OURVOTE.[6] In 2005, he testified before the Commission on Federal Election Reform about the MYVOTE1 programs.[8]
He was named to the PoliticsPA list of "Pennsylvania's Top Operatives."[9] He was named to the PoliticsPA "Democratic Dream Team" of political operatives.[10]
In 2016, he co-founded the company Votecastr, to track the 2016 Presidential Election in real-time, publishing the results of turnout tracking at Poll Locations online throughout the day.[11]
Political Corruption and Federal Prosecution
editOn October 24, 2017, Smukler was indicted by federal prosecutors for allegedly making illegal campaign contributions on behalf of Congressman Bob Brady.[12]
On December 3, 2018 Smukler was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and federal campaign finance crimes in 2 congressional campaigns[13][14][15][16]
References
edit- ^ Birnbaum, Emily (2018-12-03). "Former congressional aide convicted over unlawful campaign contributions". The Hill. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
- ^ Vasserman, Kate (December 1, 2005). "Alumnus speaks of political leadership". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
- ^ a b Issenberg, Sasha (September 2005). "Power: Is Ken Smukler for Real?". Philadelphia. Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 2010-11-24.
- ^ Reid, Robit T. (September 1, 2005). "Political reality TV. Red/Blue, a reality show about politics, searching a political consultant". Campaigns & Elections.
- ^ Maynard, John (July 21, 2005). "Reality TV Gets Political Spin In 'Red/Blue' Series Proposal". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012.
- ^ a b "Kenneth Smukler (C '82)". Fox Leadership. University of Pennsylvania.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Commission of Federal Election Reform: Ken Smukler". American University. Archived from the original on 2009-09-24.
- ^ "Testimony of Ken Smukler, President, InfoVoter Technologies" (PDF). Commission on Federal Election Reform. June 30, 2005.
- ^ "Pennsylvania's Top Operatives". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-12-14.
- ^ "Democratic Dream Team". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2001. Archived from the original on 2002-08-03.
- ^ Corasaniti, Nick (2016-09-10). "Real-Time Election Day Projections May Upend News Tradition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ "2 top Brady aides charged in probe of payoff to 2012 primary rival". Philly.com. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
- ^ "Political consultant convicted in opponent payoff scheme - Philly". Philadelphia Media Network. 2018-12-03. Archived from the original on 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
- ^ Seidman, Andrew; Roebuck, Jeremy (2018-12-03). "Bob Brady aide Smukler found guilty on 9 of 11 counts in campaign finance case". Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
- ^ Montellaro, Zach (2018-12-04). "How Democrats lagged with Florida Hispanic voters". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
- ^ "Political Operative Convicted of Federal Campaign Finance Crimes in Two Congressional Campaigns and of Obstructing Investigation by Federal Election Commission". U.S. Department of Justice. 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
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