Head of Brown’s Election Effort Quits Umberg Campaign Post

Clint Reilly, chairman of Democrat Kathleen Brown’s campaign for governor, has stepped aside as the top campaign strategist for Assemblyman Tom Umberg, the Orange County Democrat who is seeking to unseat Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren in November.

Reilly said that it had become hard for him to do both jobs.

Veteran political consultant Richie Ross of Sacramento will become Umberg’s chief campaign consultant and election strategist.

“We’re doing a disservice to Umberg. . . . He deserves to have someone who can focus on his campaign,” Reilly said, adding that “there have been some things that have fallen through the cracks.” Reilly will continue to be a consultant to the Umberg campaign.

“The client has to feel they’re getting 100% from you and your firm,” he said. “Given our responsibilities (in the Brown campaign), we need to do the right thing and let him have somebody who’s totally focused on his race.”

Umberg’s staff said the change in consultants would not interrupt the campaign.

“We’re not skipping a beat,” said George Urch, Umberg’s campaign manager. “Richie Ross is one of the best consultants in the state and we’re looking forward to working with him and also with Clint to defeat Lungren this fall.”

Sources close to the campaign said that Umberg had been dissatisfied with the amount of attention Reilly had devoted to his campaign. One bone of contention, the sources said, was a campaign brochure Reilly produced in which Umberg’s eyes appeared to be closed.

Reilly said he ordered that brochure reprinted with better photographs at his own expense.

“I think the most unhappy person,” he said, “was me.”