MWW Group Hires Leading Political Consultant, Tony Bawidamann as Vice President in Its Public Affairs Practice

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- MWW Group (http://www.mww.com/), one of the nation's top ten public relations firms, today announced the hiring of Tony Bawidamann as vice president in its public affairs practice. Bawidamann brings 17 years of experience leading political campaigns in New Jersey and throughout the nation. Throughout his career, he has managed high-profile political campaigns across the United States and has held senior positions in government on both the state and federal levels. In 1998, he was named "Rising Star of Politics" by Campaigns & Elections magazine. At MWW, he will support public affairs programs at both the state and federal levels for some of the firm's top clients.

"Tony has a remarkable background, extensive national contacts on both the local, state and national levels, and has created a name for himself by leading successful political campaigns in key states throughout the country," said Michael W. Kempner, president and CEO of MWW Group. "His incredible passion, determination, and wealth of political experience make him a tremendous addition to our team."

Bawidamann joins MWW directly from two successful New Jersey State Assembly Campaigns -- Assemblyman Frederick Scalera and Assemblyman Gary S. Schaer, during which he helped elect Democrats in Republican legislative districts and turned one of the Republican 36th district seats into a Democrat seat. Previously, he was the political director and general consultant for the Florida House Democratic Caucus, where he managed 10 campaign managers, trained candidates on grassroots campaigning and field operations, and acted as a statewide spokesperson for the caucus.

The numerous campaigns that Bawidamann has managed include Paul Sarlo for New Jersey State Senate; Doria and Perez for Assembly in New Jersey; John Smith for Congress in New Mexico; Keith Butler for Congress in Oklahoma; Steve Sweeney for State Senate in New Jersey; Susan Bucher for Representative in Florida; Ed Houck for State Senate in Virginia; Robert Wexler for Congress campaign in Florida; Dr. Ben Graber for Congress in Florida and Vince Whibbs for Congress in Florida.

Bawidamann has served as a legislative assistant for several Democratic Florida Congressmen including Congressman Robert Wexler, Congressman Earl Hutto and Congressman Charles Bennett. Previously, he spent four years as executive director and communications director at the South Carolina Democratic House Caucus. In 1990, he worked as the assistant county coordinator for the Chiles/McKay for Governor Campaign in Florida, and in 1988 was a staff assistant for Rosario Kennedy's campaign for Congress.

Bawidamann holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Florida State University and a master's degree in political management from The George Washington University.

About MWW Group

This is the third consecutive year that MWW Group has been honored with the #1 ranking in the 2005 Holmes Report/Kelly & Lugbauer agency client satisfaction survey. MWW achieved top rankings in the categories of account leadership, strength of account team, creativity, strategy and planning, and program execution.

MWW is one of the nation's top ten public relations agencies and is known for its results-driven approach to public relations. The agency is nationally recognized for its work in consumer marketing, corporate communications, investor relations, public affairs and government relations, technology and healthcare. Headquartered in East Rutherford, N.J., MWW has eight full-service offices representing national and multinational companies, including Sun Microsystems; McDonald's; Nikon; Bally Total Fitness; Sara Lee; Deloitte & Touche; Amazon.com; FreshDirect; New Jersey Lottery; Dassault Falcon; Trans World Entertainment; Scottish Enterprise; Verizon; CIT Group, Inc.; Oxford Health Plans; Roche; The Mills Corporation; The Palm Restaurants and many Fortune 1000 clients in the consumer, professional services and industrial sectors. MWW is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies . For more information on MWW Group, visit http://www.mww.com/.