Betsy Myers shares lessons on winning with New Democrats

HALIFAX – A rapt crowd of New Democrat delegates were offered an intimate insider’s look at how the Obama campaign won a historical victory by Obama for America Chief Operating Officer Betsy Myers.

“I had the privilege to be one of the first people hired when President Obama decided to run for election,” said Myers. “In ‘08 I travelled the country and that’s where I had the unique opportunity to see our campaign from top down in Chicago and bottom up.”

The Obama victory took a tremendous amount of organization, fundraising and volunteers.

“When you talk to everyday people they’ll give you the answers,” said Myers. “It’s about the human element. I have thought about this as I travelled the country and talked to people. Fundamentally what I saw in the campaign is the humanness in each of us, we never stop hoping and we never stop believing that tomorrow is going to be better than today. That’s what we tapped into in the Obama campaign.”

Myers was joined in conversation by Brian Topp, campaign director for the New Democrats.

Before joining the Obama campaign, Myers was the executive director of the Kennedy School of Government’s Centre for Public Leadership at Harvard. She worked in the Clinton Administration and is renowned for her innovative thinking and strong leadership.

Brian Topp was the campaign manager for the federal New Democrats at the 2006 and 2008 elections.