Sanders Campaign Press Release - New Hampshire for Bernie Announces Political and Field Hires

MANCHESTER, N.H. – New Hampshire for Bernie announced Wednesday a new round of senior hires in the political and field departments. The senior hires represent new and returning campaign staff with extensive experience in progressive electoral politics, community organizing, issue advocacy and local, state, and federal government work. The announcements come on the heels of a successful two-day swing through the state by Senator Sanders, reaching 2400 Granite Staters in 48 hours.

"We are building a robust and diverse team who brings a wealth of experience not just in New Hampshire politics, but in the deep community organizing and field work necessary to win the Granite State. We're taking nothing for granted, and look forward to talking and listening to the voters of New Hampshire to win their support for Bernie on Primary Day," said Joe Caiazzo, State Director.

Here are the details:

Will Bateson, Political Director

A nine-year veteran of the US Marine Corps Reserve, Will comes to the campaign from Sen. Maggie Hassan's Nashua senate office where he handled military, veteran, and first responders outreach and constituent services. Will brings more than seven years of democratic campaign experience to the team. He previously worked as an Assistant to Mayor Donchess in Nashua, and in 2016 managed Dan Weeks's campaign for Executive Council in NH's 5th district.

Mo Baxley, Political Outreach Coordinator

Mo has been an activist and leader in the LGBT and progressive communities for 30 years at the local, state, and national level. As the former Executive Director of NH Freedom to Marry, she led the successful fight for marriage equality in the Granite State, the first to pass marriage equality at the legislative level without the threat of judicial action. A former state representative, she has been a city and county Democratic Party Chair and was most recently a Second Vice Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. She was a Sanders delegate to the 2016 DNC Convention.

Suraj Budathoki, Political Outreach Coordinator

A leader in New Hampshire's New American community, Suraj is a founding member and previous Executive Director of Building Community in NH (formerly known as Bhutanese Community of NH), a community-based nonprofit serving refugee and immigrant populations in central NH. A former refugee from Bhutan, Suraj was expelled at age nine with his family during a government campaign of ethnic cleansing. He lived in a refugee camp in Nepal for 19 years before coming to the US in 2009. In addition to founding the International Campaign for Human Rights in Bhutan, Suraj serves as a member of the Conduct Board for the City of Manchester and as the NH delegate for the US Refugee Congress. He was honored as a member of the 2015 class of the Union Leader's 40 Under Forty.

Sean Ward, Field Director

Sean is an accomplished grassroots specialist with experience in electoral and union organizing campaigns with six cycles of experience in seven different states. He most recently managed Working America's midterm electoral program in Pennsylvania, netting an 89% win rate. A 2016 NH for Bernie veteran, Sean worked in the North Country as a Regional Field Director. He went on to work for the campaign in Nevada and Pennsylvania, and was part of the field leadership team that narrowly won Michigan by 1.42% in one of the greatest political upsets in Democratic primary history. In the 2016 general election, He served as the Deputy Field Director for the Nevada Democratic Party.

Caty Wagner, Deputy Field Director

A native New Englander, Caty comes to the campaign from NextGen America, where she served as a Regional Organizing Director for the Central Valley of California. She is an experienced community organizer focused primarily on immigrant rights and environmental issues, including helping to get a buffer zone of protection against pesticide spray around schools in California, and ban fracking near drinking water in the rural Central Valley community of Arvin. A former social worker, she previously worked in Haiti, Uganda and Colombia on issues of poverty, trafficking and human rights.

Michael Ortiz, Deputy Field Director

An alumnus of Bernie 2016, Michael brings significant field experience in multi-candidate primary campaigns. He served in leadership roles on the campaigns of two historic candidates in Cook County, IL: Kevin Morrison, who defeated the Chair of the Illinois Republican Party to become the first openly LGBTQ County Commissioner, and Fanny Lopez Benitez, the first Latina Trustee in Hanover Park, IL. On Bernie 2016, he was a field organizer in Iowa, and Regional Field Director in Illinois. Most recently, Ortiz served as the Campaign Manager for Illinois State Senator Cristina Castro.