Ken Snyder is a principal and co-founder of SnyderPickerill Media Group, a political media firm that specializes in the production of television advertising for political campaigns and candidates. Snyder was formerly a prominent press secretary and public relations manager. He is best known for his work with Democrats, including

John F. Street John Franklin Street (born October 15, 1943) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 97th Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. He was first elected to a term beginning on January 3, 2000, and was re-elected to a second term beginn ...

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...

, and

Vince Fumo Vincent Joseph Fumo (born May 8, 1943) is a former politician, lawyer and businessman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A Democrat, he represented a South Philadelphia district in the Pennsylvania Senate from 1978 to 2008. On March 16, 2009, he w ...

. He earned a master's degree from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

and pursued a Ph.D. at

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He began his career working on John F. Street's first campaign for

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...

. In that position, he became known to Senator

, who hired Snyder to work in the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee. During the

2002 United States Senate election in New Jersey The 2002 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 5, 2002. The race was to originally feature Democrat Robert Torricelli against former West Windsor Township mayor Douglas Forrester, who had won the Republican nomination ...

, he managed the campaign for Bob Torricelli, a job that

PoliticsPA PoliticsPA.com is a website centered on the politics of Pennsylvania. Content The website reports on political and campaign news in Pennsylvania, from the state legislature up to federal races. The editors write occasional features, like the we ...

called "masochism" and "a challenge and huge opportunity." After Torricelli was replaced by

Frank Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was orig ...

on the ballot, Snyder stayed on the campaign and helped achieve victory. Immediately following the Pennsylvania gubernatorial election in 2002, Fumo lent Snyder, who was one of Fumo's "key political staffers," to

, where he worked as acting press sectary for the Governor-elect from November 2002 to March 2003. He then returned to work in the private sector. In 2009, he was hired by the Governor to serve as communications employee charged with publicizing the state's take of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

. The controversial hiring, which appeared to violate Rendell's well-publicized state hiring freeze during the 2009 Pennsylvania budget impasse, was questioned by government reform advocates, including

Eric Epstein Eric Epstein is a former teacher, college professor, state Senate candidate, self-employed consultant, government reform activist, radio host and nuclear watchdog from Pennsylvania. 2004 Senate Election In 2004, Epstein lost to State Senator ...

. Later in 2009, he took on an expanded portfolio as interim press secretary with the departure of Chuck Ardo, Rendell's long-time press secretary. He is "considered by many ... to be among the most intelligent spokesmen and strategists around." Within political circles, he is "widely regarded and respected by Republicans and Democrats alike." Overall,

called him "One of the best political press secretaries in the state." In 2010, ''Politics Magazine'' named him one of the most influential Democrats in Pennsylvania. In July 2010, Snyder and fellow political consultant Terrie Pickerill formed SnyderPickerill Media Group. They met while working for David Axelrod on John Schmidt's unsuccessful 1997 gubernatorial campaign, and both cite him as a mentor. Snyder's commercials for Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez were deemed "brilliant" by the Reader's Mick Dumke, and a reason Alvarez, a political unknown, was able to win her race in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Ken Living people Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania political consultants American public relations people Year of birth missing (living people)