I should have known something was up when Eric Conrad abruptly cancelled a coffee meeting set for Thursday morning.
Conrad has left his spokesperson position with Charlie Crist’s gubernatorial campaign a little more than a week after being added to the staff. Conrad said he left the campaign to pursue other opportunities.
Conrad was heavily involved Enroll America, one of the organizations pushing marketplace enrollment under Obamacare. Conrad said he’s still catching his breath from that effort.
The campaign confirmed Conrad’s departure.
Crist’s critics will point to Conrad’s leaving as yet another odd personnel move for a campaign that has, at times, struggled to assemble its staff.
In December, campaign manager Bill Hyres was un-hired by Cristworld. Michael Hoffman, who was at first listed as Deputy Finance Director, but also doubled as Crist’s body man, was let go in January.
Named one of Florida’s “30 under 30” by SaintPetersBlog, Conrad ‘s most significant political experiences were roles in both Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and his 2012 re-election efforts, acting as Deputy Press Secretary in Florida. Later, Conrad became Deputy Communications Director for the Florida Democratic Party.
