Michael A. Shea, Sr. Michael A. Shea, Sr. served as lead strategist of the winning “Vote Yes for Unity” campaign in 2000, which secured the historic unification of the Louisville and Jefferson County governments. The Louisville / Jefferson unification represented the first time in nearly three decades that any metropolitan area successfully merged their governments. During the 2000 campaign, Mr. Shea spearheaded several unique and complex strategies which led to the passage of the unification, a ballot question which had met opposition in two previous attempts. As a result, Mr. Shea is currently applying his expertise on government mergers in six states. Mike Shea’s political career has spanned three decades, beginning in 1974. He has served as Executive Director of the Jefferson County (KY) Republican Party, Director of the Jefferson County Board of Elections, Special Assistant to Mitch McConnell (now the US Senate Majority Whip) and Senior Policy Advisor to the President of the Kentucky State Senate. During his tenure on the McConnell staff, Mike was Political Director of McConnell’s 1981 reelection campaign and Finance Director of the 1984 McConnell Senate Committee. Mr. Shea was a Presidential Elector in 2000. Since 1985, Mr. Shea has been a consultant for numerous political campaigns and referenda, and served as the General Consultant to the Republican Party of Kentucky. As of 2006, Mr. Shea had consulted at one level or another in more than one hundred different campaigns. In addition to his current role in government mergers, Mr. Shea is managing partner of Public Affairs Strategies LLC, a government relations/issues management/grasstops-grassroots firm in Louisville/Frankfort KY, serving a broad-based clientele that includes Altria (Philip Morris/Kraft), BellSouth and Ford Motor Company. He is also a partner in Government Strategies LLC, one of Kentucky’s most prominent state and federal government relations firms, representing a wide array of clients including General Electric, Brown-Forman Corp., Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Greater Louisville, Inc. and Keeneland Racecourse, among many others. Mr. Shea also serves on the Board of the Kentucky Derby Festival, the Louisville Zoo Foundation Board, Cup Experience PR Committee (Ryder Cup 2008) and the Bellarmine University Board of Overseers. (for references about Mike Shea regarding Louisville’s city-county merger, please call:
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