Chuck Finnie, Director, Media and Communications
Chuck Finnie, one of San Francisco’s most recognized and respected public affairs journalists, devises and executes media and communication strategies for BMWL & Partners and its clients. During a 20-year newspaper career, Chuck led local government and political reporting for the Hearst Corporation’s San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner newspapers as a City Hall beat writer, investigative reporter and finally as City Editor. Previously, he co-authored a political column for SF Weekly; covered the court system and legal affairs in the Bay Area and Washington, DC, for the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Daily Journal and Legal Times; and reported for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times and Fresno Bee. He is a 1988 recipient of a Master of Arts degree from the renowned University of Missouri School of Journalism, and a 1983 graduate of Saint Michael’s College of Vermont. As a consultant to BMWL, Chuck helps our business, union and campaign clients tell their stories on their terms in a fast-changing media landscape.
Lisa Hanson, Production Manager
Lisa Hanson provides production support for a wide variety of BMWL campaigns. She has extensive political and campain experience at local, state and national levels. Lisa previously founded and ran her own East Bay political consulting firm and managed a number of successful candidate and ballot measure campaigns, including Mike Sweeney’s successful 1994 bid for state Assembly, Rusty Areias’ victorious 1992 state Assembly campaign and winning city council campaigns for Joanne Lothrop and Shelia Young in San Leandro. A native of Chicago, Lisa attended Indiana University.
Rufus Jeffris, Vice President, Communications
Rufus Jeffris is responsible for editorial communications at BMWL & Partners in support of public affairs and lobbying. He has more than 17 years experience as a writer and editor, with more than 12 years working for various Bay Area daily and weekly newspapers as an award-winning reporter and editor covering local government, politics and other community issues. He most recently worked as chief Web editor for Bank of America responsible for all marketing and other Web site content and for managing a team of six writers. Born in San Francisco and raised in Santa Barbara, Rufus received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of California at Davis.
Sam Lauter, Principal
Sam Lauter is a public affairs professional with more than two decades of experience in local, state and national politics. Sam, a fifth-generation San Francisco native, utilizes his years of experience to manage Barnes Mosher Whitehurst Lauter & Partners’ public affairs and lobbying business.
Sam specializes in putting together public affairs strategies that include building relationships with the community and navigating the corridors of city halls or the state Capitol. Additionally, Sam has built an extensive network of contacts in Washington, D.C.
Sam came to BMWL & Partners from Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) where he served as primary strategist in government and community relations for both San Francisco and San Mateo counties.
Prior to PG&E, Sam worked for the San Francisco public relations firm of Barnes, Clarke Inc. His clients included energy companies, commercial and residential real estate developers and neighborhood small business owners. Sam’s work in public affairs, business and community relations has earned him prestigious Silver Anvil Awards from the Public Relations Society of America.
Sam’s background gives BMWL & Partners unique experience in the public affairs arena for land use and corporate clients.
Sam has staffed a variety of Democratic officeholders, including California Lt. Governor Leo McCarthy, where his responsibilities included field strategy, advance work, fundraising and speechwriting. Sam also worked in Washington D.C. on the presidential campaign and on the Senate staff of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), where he served as the Senator’s personal assistant. While in college Sam served on the staffs of Congressman Philip Burton (DCA), and his wife and successor, Congresswoman Sala Burton. Sam’s responsibilities included constituent services, veteran’s affairs, environmental issues and organizing for the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.
Sam is a key voice and fundraiser for the organized Jewish community in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C. Among Sam’s affiliations: Chairman Emeritus, Jewish Public Affairs Committee; Vice-Chair of the Northern California Region of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC); and member, National Executive Committee of AIPAC. He also serves or has served on several other boards, including the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning, the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, the BayKeeper and the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR).
Sam graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
Mark Mosher, Principal
Mark Mosher is an award-winning campaign manager with 17 years of experience as a journalist, media relations executive, political campaign manager, and trade association director. As partner, he has many roles, including creative director for the firm's media. He is a principal strategist to the business community of San Francisco.
Prior to forming Barnes Mosher Whitehurst Lauter & Partners, Mark was Executive Director of Committee on Jobs, a coalition of CEOs of San Francisco's largest corporations. He acted as analyst, spokesperson, and City Hall lobbyist on a variety of complex public policy issues. At Committee on Jobs, Mark also helped manage several successful ballot measure campaigns and created the local business community's largest and most effective Political Action Committee (PAC).
Mark began his career in New York as an associate reporter for Fortune magazine, and then moved to San Francisco as a senior account executive at the Osborne Group, a public relations firm specializing in media relations. At Solem & Associates, a public affairs/political consulting firm, he developed award-winning communications and community outreach plans for clients, including corporations, political campaigns, public agencies, and development interests.
Mark has also organized civic and charitable projects for the corporate community. He founded San Francisco Works, the innovative welfare-to-work initiative launched by Committee on Jobs, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way.
Mark attended the University of Michigan and the London School of Economics and holds a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Journalism. He is a graduate of the CORO City Focus public affairs leadership training program.
Jill Nelson, Senior Associate
Jill provides BMWL clients with a wide range of strategic communications, political and campaign expertise. Jill has a diverse background in local government and electoral politics, ranging from policy research to field organizing. She relocated to San Francisco from New York, where she gained extensive experience as a political strategist and senior government aide in a variety of key positions. Jill most recently served as Chief of Staff for New York City Council Member David Yassky and then as Political Director for his campaign for New York City Comptroller. Previously, she was the Director of External Affairs for Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. Jill got her start doing research and communications strategy for the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee in Albany, NY. She has a BA in Political Science from Emory University in Atlanta.
John Whitehurst, Principal
John Whitehurst is a founding partner of BMWL & Partners and its campaign consulting subsidiary, Whitehurst Campaigns. John is one of the leading political campaign and media strategists in California. A veteran of more than 200 political campaigns, John has an unrivaled win record and holds the distinction of being named one the industry’s “rising stars” by well-respected Campaigns and Elections Magazine.
John wins campaigns by tailoring unique and creative strategies that meet the particular needs of each client he serves. John does not rely on a single campaign methodology or pattern; he builds campaigns to fit the strategic situation of each race. In addition to his expertise in political strategy, John brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in creating and producing a wide variety of compelling campaign media, including award-winning direct mail, outdoor media, broadcast advertising, web sites, vote-by-mail programs and grassroots organizing efforts.
John focuses mainly on local ballot measures, including public finance measures that help communities build, improve and expand their infrastructure and vital public and civic institutions. Over the past 20 years, his winning campaigns have helped raise billions of dollars for local schools, hospitals, libraries and transportation and transit systems.
John played a leading role in the successful 2006 campaign in support of statewide infrastructure bond Propositions 1A-1E. Other prominent campaigns for which John has developed the winning strategy include Regional Measure 2, Contra Costa County Measure J and Alameda County Measure B. He has also guided successful municipal ballot measures on behalf of civic institutions, including the San Francisco Moscone Center, the Los Angeles Zoo, the San Francisco Zoo and the San Francisco Public Library.
John began his career in Democratic politics in 1983 on U.S. Senator Gary Hart’s first Presidential campaign. During that campaign, John served as a Congressional District Director for the Iowa Caucus, state coordinator of Pennsylvania and congressional district regional coordinator in California. After Senator Hart’s campaign, John was the Executive Director of the Democratic Foundation of Orange County, California, where he directed political fundraising and managed voter registration drives. At Clinton Reilly Campaigns in San Francisco, John played key roles in overall campaign management, media buying, slate-card operations, and strategy and media development for some of the largest political campaigns in California history, including statewide ballot measures and candidate campaigns.
John has worked with many candidates, including former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr., California State Senate President Don Perata, former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and state Assembly members Mark Leno and Noreen Evans.
John earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from The American University in Washington, D.C. When John is not leading winning campaigns, he spends time crafting his own wines, which can be found at www.whitehurstwines.com.
Brad Witherspoon, Vice President, Operations
Brad Witherspoon joined Barnes Mosher Whitehurst Lauter & Partners in May 2001. His responsibilities include handling the firm's financial, campaign, and lobbying reporting, as well as managing human resources.
Brad has more than 25 years of accounting and human resource experience, having worked in such diverse fields as e-commerce, health care, education, for-profit and non-profit professional organizations, and the retail and restaurant industry.
Brad was a Managing Partner and Director of Accounting and Audits for Il Fornaio, a restaurant and wholesale bakery company. During his 11-year tenure with the company, he helped open 15 restaurants, taking the company to over $100 million in revenue. He was voted "Corporate Employee of the Year" in 1996 and given the company's "Yes, We Can" award for outstanding service in 1997.
Since joining BMWL & Partners, Brad has served as Assistant Treasurer on a number of campaigns, including most recently the successful Regional Measure 2, a seven county transportation ballot measure, and San Franciscans Against Proposition 54.
