Alper Strategies and Media is a Democratic consulting firm created in 2017 by longtime Democratic strategist Jill Alper, with headquarters in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. ^[1]  Alper Strategies was involved in a 2020 election controversy involving a supposedly non-partisan voter education effort funded by $2 million from an initiative funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. ^[2]

Jill Alper

Jill Alper is a consultant and strategist who has worked in seven presidential elections for Democratic candidates and committees. ^[3] She was the former political director of the Democratic National Committee and a national electoral strategist for President Bill Clinton and unsuccessful Democratic candidates John Kerry, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. ^{[4] [5]}

Before starting Alper Strategies, Alper was a partner at Dewey Square Group, a political consulting firm that includes high-level Democratic Party strategists, according to the Tampa Tribune. ^[6]

Controversy
In 2020, Alper Strategies was involved in a controversy involving Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook founder and his wife, Priscilla Chan, gave a $69.5 million grant via the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to the Center for Election Innovation & Research. The purpose of the grant was to “provide non-partisan voter information” and to promote safe voting in states during the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[7]

The Center for Election Innovation & Research then gave a grant to the Michigan Center for Election Law and Administration (MCELA). ^[8] Ned Staebler, who is MCELA’s treasurer, ran as a Democrat for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2010 but was defeated in the primary. ^[9]

The Michigan Center for Election Law and Administration then paid Alper Strategies $2,088,000 in 2020. ^[10] These consulting fees were used for television and radio advertisements that encouraged citizens to get out and vote, as well as text messages sent directly to voters who had not yet voted. ^[11]

The Tennessee Star reported the “unusual arrangement” and suggested MCELA was a “pass-through vehicle” to get money to the Democratic consulting firm. ^[12] Phill Kline, executive director of the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society, told the Star that Chan-Zuckerberg used “pop-up non-profits” to turn “government election offices into partisan political campaign offices to benefit” the presidential campaign of Joe Biden. ^[13] The Star reported concerns that the text messaging phone lists used by Alper Strategies were lists of partisan Democratic voters. ^[14]

Voters Not Politicians

Alper Strategies worked on the “Voters Not Politicians” campaign in 2017 to support Michigan Proposal 2, which created a 13-member redistricting commission to redraw the state’s congressional districts. In 2018, Michigan voters approved Proposal 2. ^{[15] [16]}

Several left-leaning funders supported Voters Not Politicians, including Sixteen Thirty Fund, the National Redistricting Action Fund, SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, the Quadrivium Foundation and top National Education Association union officials. ^[17]

In Michigan, Voters Not Politicians raised $13.9 million to pass Proposal 2 while the opposition raised $3.2 million. ^[18]

Political Campaigns

Alper Strategies received $75,000 in 2020 from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s failed presidential bid, for which Alper served as a senior adviser. ^{[19] [20]}

Bloomberg ended his run for president in March 2000. ^[21]

Suneel Gupta (D), a failed candidate for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, paid Alper Strategies $91,613 in 2018 and $3,325 in 2019. ^{[22] [23]}

People

In addition to Alper, Alper Strategies employs associates Allaire Donohue, Angela Shiue, and Casey Hansen. ^[24] Alper Strategies works with other political strategists that it refers to as collaborators.

Minyon Moore is the former political director for former President Bill Clinton and a close confidant of Vice President Kamala Harris (D). ^[25] Moore is a principal at Dewey Square Group, which employs high-level Democratic Party strategists, according to the Tampa Tribune. ^{[26] [27]} She was picked by Harris to assemble her team of vice presidential advisors. ^[28]

Celia Fischer is a political strategist and writer and has worked in media relations for several Democrats. ^[29] Fischer is a partner at Alexion Fischer, a political consulting firm. ^[30] She was special projects coordinator for the Democratic National Committee and was the state director for Pennsylvania for the Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign. ^[31]