Leona Consulting, political gaffes thrown in for free

Some new cool political gaffes are on the horizon as
Lindsay Berschauer leaves the Oregon Transformation
Project and takes on her new political consulting venture.

If Lindsay Berschauer is running the show, Leona Consulting may soon be Oregon's preeminent political gaffe machine.

Berschauer announced in a press release yesterday, that she is leaving the Oregon Transformation Project as its Executive Director.

This news is on the heels of Rob Kremer who announced in mid-December he was leaving to pursue a new venture with a charter school foundation. Rob Kremer had escaped pressure from Republicans in November to step down from the group because it had published a voter's guide that endorsed Democrats. Some Republicans felt it was an unforgivable mistake for Kremer who, at the time, was also the State Republican Treasurer.

That same voter's guide faux pas caused Allen Alley, the Oregon Transformation Project founder and the Oregon State Republican Chairman to sever all formal ties with the project.

The voter's guide problem was only the tip of the iceburg when it came to 2012 political gaffes while Berschauer was at the helm of the Oregon Transformation project.

Lindsay Berschauer's "not currently dating him" comment
was the match that turned her campaign into
the Hindenburg.

The most glaring political miscalculation was when Berschauer ran for the Republican nomination to fill the vacancy left by the sex-scandal-ridden Wingard in the 26th Legislative District. It came out during her campaign that she was the former girlfriend of Wingard--and that didn't go over well with the Precinct Committee Persons. They were trying to move the party past the sex scandal, not turn it into a menage a trois. Not to mention, everyone in Wilsonville already knew she was dating Wingard and her "not currently dating" line in the paper was the match that turned her campaign into the Hindenburg.

2012 turned out to be an impressive string of political gaffes for Berschauer, but it wasn't a very impressive year advancing candidates. In fact, she was much more likely to back a losing candidate than a winning one. The only two Berschauer-backed candidates that made it into office were Tootie and Ludlow who were elected as Clackamas County Commissioners assisted by the deep pockets of Stimson Lumber CEO Andrew Miller.

Andrew Miller is a business owner, and entrepreneur. If he is going to pay a political consultant, then he certainly wants results. And if he doesn't get results, then he'll give money to candidates directly--which is what he did recently. Andrew Miller contributed $25,000 into the campaign coffers of Minority House Leader Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte) without any assistance from The Oregon Transformation Project or Berschauer. Apparently, Miller has learned how to write checks to candidates directly and save the consultant's fee.

What's left of the Oregon Transformation Project? The Project still houses Bridget Barton and Jim Pasero. They have communicated 2013 will be a "quiet year".

Rumors are that Lindsay Berschauer has hitched her horse to Matt Wingard, and they will be pursuing political consulting together. Will it become a Leona-Beambo Consulting company? It may be too early to tell how the Berschauer-Wingard relationship pans out, but one thing is sure--they are so toxic to Republicans that it will be a miracle if they land a client.