Dan Rottenstreich has over a decade of experience leading campaigns and creating impactful direct mail, digital ads and TV for Democratic candidates, labor unions and affordable housing advocates in Southern California and across the nation. Cycle after cycle, Dan has achieved electoral victories that defy the conventional wisdom, including:

 

In 2022, leading the Yes on Measure D campaign to a landmark victory for organized labor, overcoming a $1.6 onslaught of opposition spending and successfully overturning the city’s anti-worker ban on union project labor agreements, and guiding District Attorney Summer Stephan to a historic victory as the first Independent to win a DA’s race in San Diego history.

 

In 2020, electing Marni von Wilpert to the San Diego City Council in the most deeply conservative district previously held by arch-conservative Carl DeMaio, and leading the labor coalition that won the first-in-a-generation Democratic majority on the Board of Supervisors.

 

In 2018, electing the first Democrat in a generation to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, overcoming $1 million in negative spending, and attacks from both the right and left, for a stunning first place primary finish and commanding 2-1 general election win.  

 

In 2016, engineering the come from behind win for underdogs Mara Elliott for City Attorney and Georgette Gómez for City Council, both of whom prevailed over better-funded opponents by employing creative messaging, unconventional advertising and relentlessly data-driven strategies. The Voice of San Diego wrote: “Both Elliott and Gómez were considered unlikely to advance out of the primaries, let alone win. They did both.” In 2014, Dan managed the campaign for now-US Senator Alex Padilla in his winning run for California Secretary of State.

 

Dan’s electoral experience includes ballot initiative victories, among them numerous revenue measures securing over $3 billion in public school funds, protecting term limits from political foul play and the only successful initiative campaigns to overturn union PLA bans in California.

 

Dan’s wins also extend to the cause of affordable housing. Dan’s political strategy and communications paved the way forward for the largest single affordable housing project in all of California – 2,250 new affordable homes now coming to San Diego’s Sports Arena site.

 

Dan has received multiple Pollie Awards from the American Association of Political Consultants for his ads. Voice of San Diego has called Dan a ‘rising star’ and the San Diego Union-Tribune named him ‘one of the region’s top political consultants’.

 

Previously, Dan worked for Rose Kapolczynski Consulting in Los Angeles and Ambrosino Muir & Hansen in San Francisco. Dan’s political roots lie in the labor movement where he cut his teeth in the political department of the nation’s most powerful, dynamic union – Culinary Workers Local 226 in Las Vegas.  Dan is a graduate of New York University and lives in San Diego with his wife Brigette, their two children and rescue dogs Max and Lola.