Wunderkind or Wonderland?
While some see a political prodigy in Arthur Leopold, others point to spotty record
February 11th, 2008
Aside from the elected officials at the Sunday afternoon City Hall rally for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D) the week before Super Tuesday, most in the crowd were dressed casually. Not the young guy in the tie, working the crowd, spinning the press. He may have looked like he was just out of high school, but he was acting like he was preparing to run for City Council.
Nineteen-year-old Arthur Leopold transformed an internship with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D) in 2006 into a role in New York politics that few his age would even care to achieve. At a time when most of his peers are worrying about term papers, whether or not to pledge a fraternity, or the girls down the hallway in their dorm, Leopold is instead planning fundraising events and making his name known.
Not all of what he has made his name known for, though, is complimentary.
The son of an Upper East Side real estate developer who worked on the Senate Watergate Committee and was an executive assistant to former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Leopold originally set out on the competitive skiing circuit. But after graduating from the Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont, a back injury caused him to rethink his plans to join the U.S. Olympic ski team.
Leopold joined Maloney’s district staff as an intern and then moved over to her 2006 campaign office. After her previous campaign manager went back to college, Maloney asked him to be campaign manager. With Maloney being a virtual shoo-in for re-election, the role of managing the campaign meant helping her plan fundraising events to assist other candidates and organizing grassroots efforts in the district.
Then in December of 2006, Leopold was approached by Obama associates for help planning the Illinois senator’s first New York campaign event last spring. Though advised by some to stick by hometown favorite Sen. Hillary Clinton, Leopold went with Obama.
By his estimate, Leopold raised over $100,000 between that event and others, aided by his father’s connections. He has helped organize the Obama efforts on the Upper East Side, and become a frequent spokesman for the candidate on local political blogs.
Leopold’s youth has attracted attention from other sources as well. He is the subject of a video profile by a group of Columbia undergraduates, now available on YouTube, and a television masters project by graduate students at the Columbia Journalism School about the Obama campaign is expected to feature Leopold prominently.
Trying to capitalize on this exposure and experience, he delayed his start at Duke for the fall to start his own political consulting firm, which he says is focused on assisting candidates with event management and fundraising. Last year, he helped coordinate a fundraising event for Maloney and another for Rep. Steve Israel (D-Suffolk). He put together a fundraiser for Assembly Member Jonathan Bing (D-Manhattan) featuring a celebrity chef.
Bing sings his praises.
“He did a fantastic job,” he said. “He had the maturity and confidence of someone many years older.”
Others who have worked with Leopold are less enthusiastic. While he claims continuing relationships with past clients, both Maloney’s office and Israel’s confirmed that there are no plans to use him again. The campaign operation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, for which Leopold volunteered in 2006, has severed ties.
And then there is the experience of City Council Member David Weprin (D-Queens), who briefly retained Leopold for help on his campaign for city comptroller. The Jan. 10 fundraiser set to feature celebrity chef Daniel Boulud at the Carlton Hotel got a lot of hype, but the event was cancelled at the last minute—with some invitees left uninformed of the change until they arrived at the Carlton that evening—and no date has been set for another.
Leopold said the decision to delay the event was because it was coming after several other Weprin events and it was not selling that well. Others have assigned the blame to Leopold.
One Weprin staffer laughed when Leopold’s name was mentioned. The Council member himself, however, refused to discuss Leopold.
“I don’t want to talk about Arthur Leopold or fundraising,” he said when asked.
Though Leopold continues to claim Weprin as a client, Lisa Hernandez Gioia confirmed that her Esler Group remains Weprin’s official fundraiser.
Leopold admitted that his short career in politics so far has had its pitfalls.
“I’ve definitely made my mistakes and I’ve learned from my mistakes,” he said.
He is continuing to seek out new clients, and does not expect his departure for North Carolina in the fall will keep him from building on the foundation he has created already. He says Jim Neal, the Democratic challenger to North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R), has retained him to coordinate New York fundraising events this fall, and that he will soon be announcing contracts with other out-of-state clients looking for help in New York.
Keeping up from North Carolina will require some effort. He has requested a single dorm room to make it easier to use his bedroom as an office. A lot of work can be done via phone and e-mail, he said, and if needed, he can always catch a plane back to New York. After all, he pointed out, other students manage to balance their course work with trips to the airport.
“People travel for sports all the time,” he said.
Nineteen-year-old Arthur Leopold transformed an internship with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D) in 2006 into a role in New York politics that few his age would even care to achieve. At a time when most of his peers are worrying about term papers, whether or not to pledge a fraternity, or the girls down the hallway in their dorm, Leopold is instead planning fundraising events and making his name known.
Not all of what he has made his name known for, though, is complimentary.
The son of an Upper East Side real estate developer who worked on the Senate Watergate Committee and was an executive assistant to former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Leopold originally set out on the competitive skiing circuit. But after graduating from the Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont, a back injury caused him to rethink his plans to join the U.S. Olympic ski team.
Leopold joined Maloney’s district staff as an intern and then moved over to her 2006 campaign office. After her previous campaign manager went back to college, Maloney asked him to be campaign manager. With Maloney being a virtual shoo-in for re-election, the role of managing the campaign meant helping her plan fundraising events to assist other candidates and organizing grassroots efforts in the district.
Then in December of 2006, Leopold was approached by Obama associates for help planning the Illinois senator’s first New York campaign event last spring. Though advised by some to stick by hometown favorite Sen. Hillary Clinton, Leopold went with Obama.
By his estimate, Leopold raised over $100,000 between that event and others, aided by his father’s connections. He has helped organize the Obama efforts on the Upper East Side, and become a frequent spokesman for the candidate on local political blogs.
Leopold’s youth has attracted attention from other sources as well. He is the subject of a video profile by a group of Columbia undergraduates, now available on YouTube, and a television masters project by graduate students at the Columbia Journalism School about the Obama campaign is expected to feature Leopold prominently.
Trying to capitalize on this exposure and experience, he delayed his start at Duke for the fall to start his own political consulting firm, which he says is focused on assisting candidates with event management and fundraising. Last year, he helped coordinate a fundraising event for Maloney and another for Rep. Steve Israel (D-Suffolk). He put together a fundraiser for Assembly Member Jonathan Bing (D-Manhattan) featuring a celebrity chef.
Bing sings his praises.
“He did a fantastic job,” he said. “He had the maturity and confidence of someone many years older.”
Others who have worked with Leopold are less enthusiastic. While he claims continuing relationships with past clients, both Maloney’s office and Israel’s confirmed that there are no plans to use him again. The campaign operation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, for which Leopold volunteered in 2006, has severed ties.
And then there is the experience of City Council Member David Weprin (D-Queens), who briefly retained Leopold for help on his campaign for city comptroller. The Jan. 10 fundraiser set to feature celebrity chef Daniel Boulud at the Carlton Hotel got a lot of hype, but the event was cancelled at the last minute—with some invitees left uninformed of the change until they arrived at the Carlton that evening—and no date has been set for another.
Leopold said the decision to delay the event was because it was coming after several other Weprin events and it was not selling that well. Others have assigned the blame to Leopold.
One Weprin staffer laughed when Leopold’s name was mentioned. The Council member himself, however, refused to discuss Leopold.
“I don’t want to talk about Arthur Leopold or fundraising,” he said when asked.
Though Leopold continues to claim Weprin as a client, Lisa Hernandez Gioia confirmed that her Esler Group remains Weprin’s official fundraiser.
Leopold admitted that his short career in politics so far has had its pitfalls.
“I’ve definitely made my mistakes and I’ve learned from my mistakes,” he said.
He is continuing to seek out new clients, and does not expect his departure for North Carolina in the fall will keep him from building on the foundation he has created already. He says Jim Neal, the Democratic challenger to North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R), has retained him to coordinate New York fundraising events this fall, and that he will soon be announcing contracts with other out-of-state clients looking for help in New York.
Keeping up from North Carolina will require some effort. He has requested a single dorm room to make it easier to use his bedroom as an office. A lot of work can be done via phone and e-mail, he said, and if needed, he can always catch a plane back to New York. After all, he pointed out, other students manage to balance their course work with trips to the airport.
“People travel for sports all the time,” he said.
