McDERMOTT FOR INDIANA MAKES TWO IMPORTANT STAFF HIRES

As Mayor Tom McDermott’s campaign continues to gain momentum and he travels around the state meeting Hoosiers who are fed up with Washington DC’s partisan gridlock, his campaign has been busy hiring two staffers with amazing backgrounds in organizing and getting out the vote.

McDermott for Indiana formally engaged Arielle Brandy as its Director of Voter Engagement. Arielle’s experience with several campaigns including Pete for America most recently has made her a very sought after staffer. “We are so excited to have Arielle on board with our campaign,” said Mayor McDermott. “Arielle brings the energy we will need to get out the vote in 2022 and her organizing skills will ensure my name is on the ballot next year.” Mayor Tom was introduced to Arielle as a result of a mutual friend who graduated with Arielle’s class of women in Hoosier Women Forward. “Arielle’s passion on women’s issues and empowering young people and people of color into leadership and mentoring will make sure those issues continue to be important parts of my campaign,” said Mayor McDermott. Arielle is a native of South Bend, Indiana and a self-described “pound Afro-Latina voting rights advocate and community organizer.” She was recently elected as National Secretary of the Young Democrats of America. She is the mother to two young daughters and strives to ensure that our communities are educated, empowered, and full of diverse leadership. “I’m very excited to join McDermott for Indiana and to begin the work to get Tom elected to the Untied States Senate. Tom’s message is one that resonates with Hoosiers and his common sense approach to issues will make him Indiana’s next great Senator,” said Ms. Brandy.

Also joining McDermott for Indiana this week was Joseph Shepherd, as its Rural Outreach Director. Currently a junior at Iowa State University, Joe grew up in Hammond and the western suburbs of Chicago. His young age may fool a lot of people though, as Joe has become a force to be reckoned with when it comes to grass roots organizing and getting out the vote in rural areas. He is the founder of Untied Rural Democrats (URD), a coalition to raise awareness to help rural and Democrats organize to their best capacity and create a system that recognizes the importance of rural issues and making sure they have a seat at the table. In just over a year URD has over 23,000 twitter followers and has organized in several Midwest states, helping to get rural democrats organized and to the polls. “I’ve know Joe for almost a year and having him jump on board to make sure the campaign is fully present in every rural county in Indiana is going to make a big difference in this election,” said Mayor McDermott. “When I took office as mayor several rural areas around Indiana were Democrat. That’s changed over the last 18 years and it’s time to get those areas back. Democratic ideals are important to rural Hoosiers and I’m not going to ignore their voices and votes,” said Mayor Tom. “I’m ready to make a difference for Tom in this election. I’m looking forward to help bring this campaign and its values to all 92 counties to ensure we are competing in every one of them,” said Shepherd.