Signals indicate that a Mitt Romney GOP presidential candidacy is just around the spring-time corner. Who are the powerhouses standing in the wings waiting to raise the curtain and turn the spotlight on his nationwide campaign?

Here’s a backstage look at three individuals who rolled up their sleeves in the past to help Governor Romney and who are willing to do so again. Names you may be familiar with, they now comprise the three year old, noteworthy Shawmut Group – Peter Flaherty, Beth Myers, and Eric Fehrnstrom. Shawmut was formed after Romney’s presidential efforts ended in 2008, and when the time comes, they’re ready to help put Governor Romney center stage:

The Shawmut Group’s principals are Flaherty, Myers, and Eric Fehrnstrom. [...]The trio worked in and around Massachusetts politics and public service in the 1980s and 1990s before coming together as the Romney camp claimed Beacon Hill. Their skill sets compliment each other, as do their personalities and, after working together for the past eight years, Flaherty, Fehrnstrom and Myers say they have become like a family. For it to work, they said, their relationship with the client has to be seamless, as well.

Senator Scott Brown and Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC are Shawmut clients:

One of their first clients was Brown, who quickly evolved from little known state Senator from Wrentham to the truck-driving everyman overcoming the odds to claim the U.S. Senate seat long held by Ted Kennedy, the senate’s liberal lion.

“He was a canary in the coalmine for what was going on in Washington,” said Beth Myers, one of three principals for the Shawmut Group. “Scott was the first Republican to come out of this cycle.”

Another key client is Romney and his PAC, which is devoted to supporting Republican candidates and conservative principles.

“We were a real force in the last two election cycles,” Myers, a Brookline resident, said.

[...] “It has to be a good fit,” said Flaherty. “When you have a client like Mitt Romney or Scott Brown, it makes it an easier relationship.”

Brown’s election was good for Republicans across the country, and it was good for the Shawmut Group’s business development. They were in-demand during the past election cycle and worked with several candidates, in addition to those supported by Romney’s PAC.

“[Brown’s] election really changed the political landscape,” said Flaherty. “It gave a lot of would-be candidates a reason to believe.”

[...] Republicans who are loyal to the party, Fehrnstrom, Flaherty and Myers were drawn to Romney because they believe he is the kind of leader they want running the country they will turn over to their children. And their relationship with Brown began when Romney supported him as a candidate for the state Senate.

(my emphasis)

Ofttimes, when Republican campaigns have unfolded and voters have compared candidates, more than a

Gov Romney speaks on phone & confers with press secretary Eric Fehrnstrom while grandson Parker Romney gives him a hug. Michigan primary day 1/15/08

“People who come out of Republican politics in Massachusetts are a different breed than those who come out of more traditionally Republican states,” said Fehrnstrom. “I think it makes you more aggressive, thicker-skinned and a better all-around strategic thinker. … When a Republican wins in Massachusetts, it’s never a cakewalk, but we’re not complaining about it.”

Brown and Romney winning office were big deals, both here and on a national scale. However, the lack of press and nature of coverage during Brown’s latest primary indicated just how blue the commonwealth can be.

On primary night, Dec. 8, 2009, the Shawmut team was in Brown’s suite awaiting the result — just them and the family — and found themselves assuring their client the coverage from there out would be 50-50. The next morning, however, a Boston daily splashed an “It’s Coakley” headline across the front page.

“And you had to go to like page 27 of the Metro section to see Scott,” said Flaherty. “As far as your client goes, it can be pretty tough sledding when there is no focus or coverage.”

But they were able to turn that around thanks to some morale building, creative advertising, and an energetic candidate with a truck who didn’t quit. The race really began to turn after a Rasmussen poll showed Brown narrowing the gap to 9 percent, and then Fehrnstrom designed the killer Kennedy-morphs-into-Brown campaign ad.

“It made the point that Eric wanted it to,” Myers said. “It was bold, and it got people’s attention.”

What’s next on the docket for The Shawmut Group? They’ll be promoting Senator Brown’s new book, Against All Odds, and Governor Romney’s paperback version of No Apology: The Case For American Greatness (a must-read for anyone serious about presidential politics!). Romney’s paperback will be released on February 1st and coincides with his appearance on The View that same day.

Governor Romney’s choice of seasoned individuals such as Ferhnstrom, Myers, and Flaherty, along with recent dynamic newcomers (with more to come), ensure he’ll have a stellar cast to help him with the challenges of cinching the White House title role.

Looking forward to getting this show on the road! Any exact-date guesses as to when the BIG announcement will be?


UPDATE – From DenverPost.com re Colorado political operative Rich Beeson, a new hire for Romney (see ‘newcomers’ link above):

“A GOP source who worked against Romney in the last campaign said Beeson was a savvy hire for Romney’s team, as he brings an outsider perspective to Romney’s Boston inner circle,” RCPolitics reported.

“Rich is one of the best operatives in the country,” said former state Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction. “Good news for Romney, bad news for everyone else.”

► Jayde Wyatt

The Washington Post has an excellent article today on Romney’s inner circle. They have some quick pot-shots they take but for the most part this is great information.

As we noted last week about Spencer Zwick, Team Romney has a very distinct aura – a good one in our book.

* Beth Myers: The first among equals, Myers is Romney’s campaign manager and closest aide. She was Romney’s chief of staff during much of his term as governor, after having served a stint as a top adviser to Massachusetts Treasurer Joe Malone. Myers — like many top GOP operatives in the ’08 campaigns — is an acolyte of Karl Rove, having served under him in the 1986 campaign of former Texas Gov. Bill Clements (R).

* Peter Flaherty: As director of Romney’s outreach to conservatives, Flaherty may well hold the key to the governor’s chances of winning the nomination. Prior to joining the campaign, Flaherty was Romney’s deputy chief of staff in Boston. His background is in law, but Flaherty also served a stint at the movie production company Walden Media, which is run by his two brothers.

* Alex Castellanos: A well-regarded Republican media consultant, Castellanos has already been hard at work crafting Romney’s image with a series of television ads aimed at introducing the governor to voters in early states like Iowa and New Hampshire. Castellanos comes to the campaign with a reputation for pointed (and effective) ad-making on behalf of a bevy of candidates, including President George W. Bush, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) and former Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.).

* Jan van Lohuizen: If you don’t know who van Lohuizen is, that’s just how he likes it. One of the lowest-profile pollsters in politics, van Lohuizen is also one of the most highly regarded. He was a key member of the Bush polling team in 2004 and has had a hand in any number of major GOP victories, including victories by Govs. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R-Calif.) last November.

* Alex Gage: Microtargeting — the process of collecting vast amounts of information on potential voters and then using the gathered data to tailor messages to them — became all the rage in 2004 after President Bush found thousands of new supporters using it. And Gage, the founder of TargetPoint Consulting, is widely seen as a microtargeting guru. Bush paid $3 million to Gage’s firm in 2004 and reaped huge rewards; Romney hopes to follow that blueprint in ’08.

* Spencer Zwick: No one (besides Romney) deserves more credit for the candidate’s $21 million first-quarter fundraising haul than Zwick. A wunderkind in his late 20s, Zwick is Romney’s national finance director and a past deputy chief of staff in Romney gubernatorial office. Zwick, who met Romney while he was a student at Brigham Young University, enjoys such a close personal relationship with the candidate that he is often referred to as Romney’s sixth son, according to the New York Times. (If you’re a subscriber to National Journal, check out Shira Toeplitz’s recent profile of Zwick.)

* Carl Forti: Forti, the campaign’s political director, is a newcomer to Romney’s universe, having spent the last several cycles as communications director at the National Republican Congressional Committee. Forti also headed up the NRCC’s independent expenditure program — directing tens of millions of dollars in television and radio ads as well as direct mail into districts across the country.

* Matt Rhoades: Rhoades isn’t as well-known to the wider world as some of his counterparts on other campaigns, but he is regarded very highly by political professionals. Rhoades served as research director and deputy communications director at the Republican National Committee in the 2006 cycle and research director for the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in 2004. Rhoades also enjoys a friendly relationship with Matt Drudge — founder of the Drudge Report — an indispensable connection in the modern “freak show” world of politics.

* Kevin Madden: The telegenic Madden was a staple of Capitol Hill in recent years as the public face for former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and current Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). Madden has brought his friendly demeanor to Romney’s operation, sending out a daily rundown of key clips and appearances by the former governor. Don’t let the smile fool you though — Madden is a New York native not unfamiliar with the rough and tumble of politics.

* Barbara Comstock: Comstock is a household name inside the Beltway as a former head of the Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs and research director at the Republican National Committee. Comstock rose to prominence as a master of the art of opposition research; in a 2001 profile of Comstock, Post reporter John Mintz wrote that Comstock had “done more than any other GOP operative to skewer Bill Clinton, Al Gore and their congressional allies.”

* Eric Fehrnstrom: Fehrnstrom, as Romney’s traveling press secretary, probably spends more time with the candidate than any other member of the Inner Circle. Prior to joining the campaign, Fehrnstrom was Romney’s gubernatorial spokesman and deputy campaign manager for Romney’s 2002 governor’s race. Fehrnstrom, like Myers, has ties to former state Treasurer Joe Malone, for whom he served as a press fla