Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: BearStar Strategies

69. BearStar Strategies

One of the conundrums we run into every year is how to determine which one, two or three folks from a powerhouse organization to put on this list (also known as the Aaron Read & Associates Dilemma). Such is the case with Bearstar Strategies, which features three of the most powerful and successful campaign strategists in the game: Ace Smith, Juan Rodriguez, and Sean Clegg. All have been on this list at various times, and for good reason. The trio are all trusted campaign voices in Newsomland, as they are for some other folks you might have heard of: Jerry Brown, Alex Padilla, Kamala Harris, Xavier Becerra, Holly Mitchell and Tony Thurmond to name just a few. After deep consideration we opted to break our own rule and put the trio on here as a unit. Oh yeah, we should note that Bearstar had an uncharacteristic loss last year when client Rick Caruso spent over $100 million in the LA mayors’ race only to get trounced by Karen Bass. Win some, lose some.