Sheesh, does anyone do background checks? Oh never mind, she is behind the ‘ban the box’ program just like Obama is. That means don’t do criminal background check.
Anyway, this guy is a real prize.
A senior communications official that just joined the Hillary Clinton campaign has an interesting criminal history:
The new head of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s “rapid response” team has a skeleton in his own closet: a 2013 arrest for drug possession.
Zac Petkanas, who was hired just days ago for the senior post on the Clinton camp’s communications team, was arrested at an Atlanta hospital at 4:55 a.m. Aug. 17, 2013, and charged with possessing methamphetamines, according to a police report.
A nurse who searched Petkanas while he was being admitted to the Grady Hospital found two “small baggies of a controlled substance [in] the right back pocket of the accused,” according to the report.
It isn’t known why Petkanas went to the hospital at the pre-dawn hour.
No further court documents are available, and it wasn’t clear how the case was resolved.
He was working for the Nevada Democratic Party at the time of the bust.
His drug history aside, conservatives should be encouraged that Clinton hired someone from the Wendy Davis campaign. Davis became a national hero for her abortion filibuster, and there was hope that her national celebrity and good looks would make her a real challenger in deep red Texas, where Democrats have been attempting to make inroads for the last several years. She failed miserably, and the Washington Post characterized it as beset by “staggering internal dysfunction.”
He is not bashful either when it comes to his timeline on Twitter.
He also worked for Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Georgia Senator, Sam Nunn I her failed attempt at a run for U.S. Senate.
There is much more…. Hat tip to Heavy:
The newly hired director of rapid response for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was arrested for possession of methamphetamine in 2013, the New York Post reports.
Zac Petkanas, 30, was hired by Clinton’s campaign as part of an overhaul of its communications staff, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
Petkanas was arrested in August 2013 after he was found to be in possession of drugs at an Atlanta hospital, the Post reports.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Petkanas Completed a Pre-Trial Program & Went to Rehab
Petkanas was arrested on August 17, 2013, at Grady Hospital in Atlanta after a nurse found “two small bags” of methamphetamine in his pocket, according to a police report obtained by the Post. Petkanas had been admitted to the hospital for an unknown reason at 4:55 a.m. He was working for the Nevada Democratic party at the time.
The drug possession charge against Petkanas was eventually dropped after he completed a pre-trial diversion program, the Clinton campaign told the New York Post. He also attended a voluntary rehab program in New York.
2. He ‘Has Made a Full Recovery’ in the Years After His Arrest
The Clinton campaign told the New York Post that the rehab program in his home state of New York helped Petkanas get clean.
“This was a bad choice that he of course regrets,” campaign spokesman Brian Fallon told the Post. “But the matter is resolved and he has made a full recovery in the years since. We are very glad to have him on our team.”
3. He Has Worked for Senator Harry Reid, Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Wendy Davis & Media Matters
Petkanas is a veteran of several campaigns, and has most recently worked for Media Matters.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Petkanas was working for as the vice president of communications at Media Matters, a job he started in January, before he was hired by the Clinton campaign.
Petkanas previously was the deputy campaign manager for Wendy Davis when she ran for governor in Texas in 2014. Prior to that, Petkanas worked in the office of Senator Harry Reid, D-Nevada, from 2011 to 2013 as a senior communications advisor, and as director of communications for his campaign from 2010 to 2011.
4. He Got His Start in Politics Volunteering for Howard Dean’s Presidential Campaign
Petkanas graduated from George Washington University in 2007. His first job, according to his LinkedIn profile, was as a scheduler and new media assistant for Rep. Hilda Solis, of California. He also worked as press secretary for the House Committee on Rules from 2007 to 2008, and then as the communications director for Ann Kirkpatrick’s Arizona congressional campaign in 2008.
He returned to Washington, D.C. in 2009 as the communications director for Pennsylvania Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper.
Petkanas told The Hill in 2009 he volunteered for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign as a college freshman.
5. He Left Behind a Career as an Opera Singer to Enter Politics
Petkanas sang arias as a professional boy soprano, he told The Hill in 2009. He spent one year at Boston University in its music school before transferring to George Washington University to pursue a career in politics.
He played a young Scrooge for two seasons in the Madison Square Garden theater’s A Christmas Carol, had a boy soprano role in an opera in North Carolina and even went international, in a leading role as a boy soprano in an opera in Italy.
He also had a brief role on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, when he was 8.
“I had to go hug this woman — that was my direction,” he told The Hill. “I was 8 years old. I had my own dressing room.”
