Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Doug Herman

58. Doug Herman

What if you ran a mayoral campaign where your opponent burned through $100 million dollars, outspending your candidate by about 11 to one? Moreover, the strategist for the opposition is Ace Smith (no. 69), one of the most successful campaign strategists in California history. Given all that, you’d probably expect to get your hind quarters kicked. Last year, however, Doug Herman of the Strategy Group’s LA office was the one doing the kicking. His stewardship of Karen Bass’ Los Angeles 2022 mayoral campaign upended Democrat (or Republican, depending on who you ask) billionaire developer Rick Caruso’s megabucks bid to lead the City of Angels, making her the first female mayor of the nation’s second largest city. This was of course not Herman’s first rodeo. He was previously the lead mail strategist for the Obama for America campaigns in 2008 and 2012, and played a lead role in defeating 2012’s Proposition 32, which would have barred unions from using payroll-deducted funds for political purposes. Herman has also been an advisor to the likes of former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and former Assembly Speaker John. A. Pérez.