New Executive Director Tapped by DPOC

Gerrie Schipskie

We got this note from DPOC chair Frank Barbaro:

I am pleased to announce that Gerrie Schipske is the new Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Orange County. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-47th CD) says, “I join with Orange County Democrats in extending a warm welcome to the Honorable Gerrie Schipske and congratulate the Democratic Party of Orange County on its selection of Ms. Schipske to serve as the DPOC Executive Director. I look forward to working with her and the DPOC in helping to elect Democrats as we move forward to the November 2010 elections.”

 “Gerrie is a great organizer, she will be a tremendous asset to the Democratic Party of Orange County and I look forward to working with her,” said Rick Eiden, President of the Orange County Labor Federation and Executive Vice President of UCFW Local 324.

 A native of Orange County, Schipske is a long time activist and public servant who has accomplished a great deal for progressive and Democratic ideals. She was first elected to public office in 1992 and served on the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees until 1996. Since that time, she has run against Steve Kuykendall for state Assembly and Steve Horn and Dana Rohrabacher for Congress. During her congressional race in 2000, she received the support of President Bill Clinton, and narrowly lost to moderate incumbent, Steve Horn by less than 1% of the vote. Her race was the 5th closest in the nation.

 Schipske has continuously served her community. She has served on Long Beach City committees, commissions and boards, as well as her current position on the city council. She was selected as a White House Fellow National Finalist, and afterward, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Attorney General Janet Reno’s Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women in 1998. She was appointed by the California Senate Rules Committee in 2007 to the California Medical Board where she serves as the first registered nurse to sit on the Board which licenses and disciplines California’s 117,000 physicians.

 Schipske is also the author of a book about “Rosie the Riveter” which honors those thousands of women from Orange County and Long Beach who stepped forward during World War II, taking jobs at Douglas Aircraft Plant in Long Beach , the largest wartime plane manufacturer, to help produce the aircraft needed to end the war.

 “I am honored to be hired as the next Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Orange County and to be asked to carry out a winning strategy to ‘Turn Orange County Blue’ again through programs to increase voter registration, fundraising and candidate support,” said Ms. Schipske.  Please join me in welcoming Gerrie Schipske as our new Executive Director.

6 Comments

  1. @Dan is this a crush or what? Could you make that hideous mug any bigger? I think it’s really funny that the oc democratic party, my democratic party hired a professional loser to run their affairs. The only thing she will be turning blue is the face of real liberal progress here.

    • Revan, is she the new Executive Director or a candidate for Miss America? Do you ever complain about the appearance of Frank Barbaro or Scott Baugh? I never once heard a derogatory comment about George Andrews looks when he was ED of the OCGOP.

      And by what measure is Schipske a “professional loser?” She has been elected to two different offices and very nearly beat an incumbent member of Congress. Hardly the definition of “loser.”

      How many offices have YOU run for, by the way?

  2. Are you kidding me? I know Gerrie Schipske and have watched her many campaigns. She lives in Long Beach and represents 5th district on Long Beach City Council, which is one of the most conservative and less diverse districts in the city. Maybe her appeal to that demographic is qualifications to run the DPOC?

    She has often had more support from the Howard Jarvis, LBReport.com crowd and self-declared populists (read: gadfly’s). She has an anti-tax, anti-establishment populist rhetoric and has had a sometimes contentious relationship the Long Beach Democratic Club and her democratic peers. She has been accused by opponents of race-baiting, gay-baiting and although she is now repairing some of those relationships, she has a questionable history on some critical issues and with core constituency groups.

    What does she know about the OC? When was the last time, besides running her own losing campaigns, has taken a leadership role in OC Democratic politics? She is ok city council person, but a serious and strategic organizer of democrats in the OC? I don’t see it. This is more likely, just a political hire intended to give her greater visibility and to groom her as \moderate\ democrat for a future campaign that will require significant OC support.

  3. Frank B has had bad selections of recent EDs. This choice wil not change the political environment in OC. Another hope goes south.

  4. REVAN – I can’t believe the idiotic sexist comments. What are you doing reading THE LIBERAL OC ????? Why don’t you start a FASCIST OC blog???

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