Features

SAN FRANCISCO — Former White House press secretary Mike McCurry is bringing his silver tongue to the Internet start-up gold rush as CEO of Grassroots.com, a San Francisco-based political communications venture. 

McCurry, 46, has taken over for interim CEO and Grassroots.com co-founder Craig Johnson. 

Grassroots.com is a political Web site offering a range of services – from voter issue forums to a service that coordinates political action alerts for advocacy groups.  

Another service allows California lobbyists to file state-mandated disclosure forms online. 

The company was founded in September, 1999.  

McCurry joined its board of directors in July. After leaving President Clinton’s press office in 1998, he became president of Public Strategies Group, a Washington, D.C.-based communications consulting firm. 

McCurry’s first task will be to launch Grassroots.com Mobilize, one in a series of new online advocate organizing services the site plans to introduce by next spring, the company said in a statement. 

Time was, the revolving door led from government to a lobbying, consulting or academic post. McCurry, though, sees the Internet as the new direction for political strategists. 

“There is an old politics based on the conventional way of doing business in Washington, D.C. and there is an emerging new politics that is based on the savvy use of the Internet,” he said. 

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On the Net: 

http://www.grassroots.com