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Meet the Women Who Power Maryland’s Political Campaigns - Baltimore Banner
A handful of women are the most sought-after — and effective — campaign fundraisers for races in Baltimore and across Maryland.
Sophia Silbergeld joined Adeo Advocacy in 2019, after a decade working for Martin-Lauer. The firm is a force to be reckoned with: Each of Adeo’s 2022 clients won their races. “I slept for about two months straight after everyone got inaugurated,” she said.
Of all the things that have to happen on a campaign, fundraising is the most tangible, Silbergeld said: Day to day, week to week, and month to month, she can assess whether a candidate is hitting their goals or whether it’s time to course-correct.
“I guide and motivate some of the most talented and passionate people in our state to do something no one likes to do — ask other people for money — while keeping it as organized, focused and pleasant an experience as possible for them,” she said.
Silbergeld was drawn to fundraising after a summer internship at the Office of the Attorney General and a year spent as an aide to a senior staffer in Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith’s administration. Witnessing the direct impact that elected officials have on their constituents’ lives spurred her to get “even closer to the work of getting those people into office.”
She likens fundraising to both an art and a science. There’s the data collection and analysis component, from conducting to polls to testing messages with the electorate, but other components are based on intuition and experience.
Silbergeld consults some of the state’s most well-financed campaigns, including U.S. Rep. David Trone, Gov. Wes Moore, and Baltimore City Council members Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer and Zeke Cohen. The firm also founded and operates a super PAC that supports Sheila Dixon’s mayoral run, funded largely by Sinclair television executive and Baltimore Sun owner David Smith and developer John “Jack” Luetkemeyer Jr.
“I describe myself as very progressive and wildly pragmatic,” Silbergeld said. “I like working with candidates who understand the job that they are running to do.”
Adeo Advocacy’s other clients include Freedom In Reproduction − Maryland, a statewide ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in Maryland’s constitution; Attorney General Anthony Brown; Comptroller Brooke Lierman; Senate President Bill Ferguson of Baltimore; Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.; Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy; Baltimore Sheriff Sam Cogen; and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who is running for Virginia governor.
Author - Emily Sullivan - The Baltimore Banner
Read the full article in the Baltimore Banner here.
