PART 2
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) suffered from a surprise leak of private emails in 2016. In an effort to effectively manage public affairs and save face, the DNC rushed to limit the damage, with many figureheads, such as Deborah Wasserman Schultz, being forced to resign. Unbeknownst to the democrats, their problems were not yet over, as Russian hackers managed to obtain the emails of Clinton’s campaign director, John Podesta, and leak them on Wikileaks. Despite there not being any major scandal uncovered in the emails, much of the embarrassing information was used by the press, and created an awkward situation for Hillary and her team when she was questioned about the material in the emails. The hacks served as a reminder of the growing need to educate employees about security risks, and have a better, well thought out, plan for managing public affairs in the case of a crisis.
North Carolina “Bathroom Bill”
Governor Pat McCrory has sparked extreme controversy with his HB2 resolution to regulate use of public facilities by transgender individuals. This bill lead to his electoral defeat by one of the slimmest margins in history. The governor attempted to portray the “Bathroom Bill” as a method of protecting individual privacy, however his controversial perspectives angered many LGBTQ rights groups as well as big businesses, resulting in an economic boycott of the state and the loss of a potential $600 million in revenue. After McCrory’s defeat, a path was cleared to prevent the bill from being passed.
With a talented and experienced public affairs manager, such as Desiree Peterkin Bell, many of these disasters could have been avoided. To find out more about Desiree Peterkin Bell, and the services of her company DPBell & Associates, visit her website.