A McMillan associate has been named deputy campaign manager for front-running Toronto mayoral hopeful George Smitherman.
Amanda Klein, a 2008 call who started at the firm as a summer student in 2006, was brought onto Smitherman’s team at the request of the former deputy premier’s new campaign manager, Bruce Davis. So far, she has been working on policy and has served as a member of the debate committee.
But the bulk of her responsibilities lie ahead. “The campaign has already attracted hundreds of volunteers across the city,” Klein says. “My job, working with Bruce, will be to lend some structure to the operation so that we can be as efficient and effective in helping George get his messages out.”
Although this may be the most prominent political job of her career so far, Klein is no neophyte. She also pitched in on a riding campaign in the last federal election, sat on a fundraising committee for an MPP and worked on a federal Liberal leadership campaign.
Klein will be taking a leave of absence during the campaign from her corporate and commercial litigation practice at McMillan, but she’s enthusiastic about her boss for the next six months and her new job’s potential. “[Davis] is a talented individual and I feel fortunate to be working alongside him,” she says. “I am excited about having this unique opportunity to learn even more about our great city and hopefully help shape its future success.”