Management Style Sticking Point, Says Ex-Manager For Chenoweth

Management style, not issues, sparked the parting of U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth and campaign manager Frank Anderson, Anderson said Tuesday.

Chenoweth fired Anderson last week, about a month before the end of his 90-day probation. “These conversations were initiated by Helen,” Anderson said.

“We never had any disagreements over the issues or her presentation of them,” he said. “We just decided it would be to the benefit of the whole (campaign) for her to have someone in that position who knew, on a more instinctive level, what she wanted.”

Chenoweth, who often is criticized for staff turnover, described the departure a little differently. “If it works out mutually, then they stay with us, and if, for some reason we decide that it’s not going to work out, then we go our separate ways,” she said. “I look forward to working with him in the future.”

Anderson, 29, is a Coeur d’Alene real estate broker. He moved to Idaho from Florida in April and says he was approached by the Chenoweth camp.

He worked on several Florida state campaigns, including the successful 1992 campaign of U.S. Rep. John Mica. Anderson went to work for Chenoweth because of her “firm commitment to conservative ideals and her integrity,” he said.

The Chenoweth campaign even paid to send Anderson to a campaign leadership school in Washington, D.C., in August. Working with Chenoweth, “I learned to admire her more,” Anderson said.

Despite the parting of the ways, Anderson says he remains one of Chenoweth’s staunchest supporters.

“I believe the spine Helen Chenoweth exhibits is a refreshing break from the mishmash many Americans have become accustomed to from politicians in general,” Anderson said.

This is the third staff member to leave the Chenoweth camp this year. Press secretary Khris Bershers, a Coeur d’Alene High School graduate and one of Chenoweth’s longtime workers, quit in late June.

The manager of Chenoweth’s North Idaho office, Heather Sawyer, left during the same period. There was no explanation for either departure.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Ken Olsen Staff writer The Associated Press contributed to this report.