Special Report

ON THE COVER

Political

nsiders

In this historic election year, young Metro Detroit Jews
play key roles in presidential race.

Sen. Obama with Lisa Ellman of Bloomfield Hills

Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News

T

hey are working around the
clock: eating, sleeping and
breathing presidential politics.
Some are paid staffers, helping plot
strategy and making important behind-
the-scenes decisions for the presidential
campaigns of Senators Barack Obama,
D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz. Others
are volunteers, working the phones,
handing out flyers and going door-to-
door encouraging voters to register or
support their chosen candidate.
While they're on opposite ends of the
political spectrum, young Metro Detroit
Jews lining up behind McCain and
Obama have at least one thing in com-
mon: a passionate desire to help shape
our country's future.
"It's exhilarating because the stakes

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October 2 • 2008

"For eight months,
I was on the road from
state to state." - Lisa Ellman

are high:' says Bryce Sandler, 37, of Royal
Oak. "You're literally involved in electing
the leader of the free world."
Sandler is president of Sandler &
Associates, a Bingham Farms-based firm
he started in 2001 specializing in politi-
cal fundraising and campaign manage-
ment. He was hired by McCain's camp
as a senior finance consultant, raising
money and organizing events for the
Republican candidate's Michigan cam-
paign stops, a tough task in the midst of
the state's struggling economy.
"You have to work 24-7 because you're
meeting with donors and talking to peo-

Sen. McCain and his wife, Cindy, flank Diane Sandler of Rochester Hills and her son,
Bryce, of Royal Oak

ple all hours of the day and night trying
to get time on their calendars:' Sandler
explained. "For a presidential race in
a state like Michigan, you need to pull
together $6-8 million. At times, it's a bit
exhausting, but it really is a privilege'
On any given day, Sandler can be
found having breakfast, lunch and din-
ner with potential donors, attending
political events and charitable fundrais-
ers, and spending any "downtime" on the
phone. Back in May, he had the chance
to talk briefly with McCain face-to-face
after an event in Washington, D.C.
"I said, 'Thank you for hiring me and
thank you for voting pro-Israel:" Sandler
recalls. "What I like about McCain on
the international front is his 25-year
record of being unabashedly pro-Israel.
On the domestic front, he's very good on
economic issues; he's been a consistent
tax-cutter and a leader on reducing gov-

"It's exhilarating
because the stakes
are high." - Bryce Sandler

ernment spending. He has a reputation
as a straight-talker and that's really what
he is."

Life Changing
Lisa Ellman, 30, of Bloomfield Hills
initially threw her parents for a loop a
year and a half ago when she left her
good-paying job as an attorney with
the Washington, D.C., law firm Mayer,
Brown, Rowe and Maw to join Barack
Obama's campaign. She says she jumped
at the chance to work on behalf of the
Democratic candidate who was once her
constitutional law professor at University

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