Giuliani Hires a Rove-Linked Consultant

(from the NYT) January 19, 2007, 8:34 am
Giuliani Hires a Rove-Linked Consultant
By Patrick Healy

Rudolph W. Giuliani has hired Olsen & Shuvalov, a prominent Texas consulting firm with ties to Karl Rove, to assist his presidential exploratory committee with fundraising, voter outreach, and development of his political message, according to campaign officials.

The hire is part of an expansion of staff and operations that Mr. Giuliani’s team plans to announce in the next few weeks. The plans include adding finance officials for the campaign, and more senior staff members to help organize strategy and field work in Iowa, New Hampshire, and elsewhere.

While Mr. Giulaini has tapped a respected Republican strategist, Mike DuHaime, to serve as executive director of his exploratory committee, the team has not expanded as swiftly as those of two potential rivals in 2008, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

Indeed, Mr. Giuliani’s inner circle is still dominated by people who worked for him at City Hall when he was mayor of New York City, from 1993 to 2001. Some Republicans close to Mr. Giuliani have said that he must build an impressive political operation more quickly if he wants to be taken seriously in the early nominating states.
Mr. Giuliani’s timetable for making a final decision on the presidency has been somewhat fluid, but he is expected to make a decision by the spring.

Olsen & Shuvalov is a communications and political strategy firm in Austin, Texas, that grew out of the old Karl Rove & Company direct-mail fmarketing firm. When Mr. Rove joined George W. Bush’s presidential campaign in 1999, he sold the assets of his firm to Todd Olsen and another former employee.

Mr. Rove, now a top aide to President Bush, no longer has any formal ties to the firm.