Ken Snyder

Ken Snyder is a principal and co-founder of SnyderPickerill Media Group, a political media firm that specializes in the production of television and digital advertising for political campaigns and candidates. Snyder was formerly a prominent press secretary, campaign manager and public relations manager. He is best known for his work with Democrats, including former and current Mayors, Governors, Senators and Congresspeople.

He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin, a master’s degree from Loyola University Chicago and pursued a Ph.D. at University of Wisconsin.[1] He began his career working on U.S. Senator Paul Simon’s (D-IL) Campaign in 1990. He worked for President Bill Clinton’s Illinois Campaign in 1992, and then worked in Washington for U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley.  He moved back to Wisconsin in 1994 as the Political Director for Herb Kohl’s first re-election campaign in 1994 and then served as his State Director.  He managed the successful campaign in 1998 for John Stroger Jr, who was the first African-American elected as Cook County, President.  Snyder then moved to Philadelphia to manage John F. Street's first campaign for Mayor of Philadelphia.[2] In that position, he became known to Senator Vince Fumo, who hired Snyder to work in the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee.[2] During the 2002 United States Senate election in New Jersey, he managed the U.S. Senate campaign for Bob Torricelli, a job that PoliticsPA called "masochism" and "a challenge and huge opportunity."[3] After Torricelli was replaced by Frank Lautenberg on the ballot, Snyder stayed on the campaign and helped achieve victory.[1][3]

Immediately following the Pennsylvania gubernatorial election in 2002, Snyder served as Communications Director for Ed Rendell’s transition team, and then worked as press sectary for the Governor until March 2003.[4] He then returned to work in the private sector.[5]

In 2009, he was hired by the Governor to serve as communications employee charged with publicizing the state's take of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[6] The controversial hiring, which appeared to violate Rendell's well-publicized state hiring freeze during the 2009 Pennsylvania budget impasse, was questioned by government reform advocates, including Eric Epstein.[7] Later in 2009, he took on an expanded portfolio as interim press secretary with the departure of Chuck Ardo, Rendell's long-time press secretary.[6]

He is "considered by many ... to be among the most intelligent spokesmen and strategists around."[1] Within political circles, he is "widely regarded and respected by Republicans and Democrats alike."[3] Overall, PoliticsPA called him "One of the best political press secretaries in the state."[2]

In 2010, Politics Magazine named him one of the most influential Democrats in Pennsylvania.[8]

In July 2010, Snyder and fellow political consultant Terrie Pickerill formed SP Media Group, based in Chicago, IL. They met while working for David Axelrod on John Schmidt's unsuccessful 1997 gubernatorial campaign, and both cite him as a mentor. Snyder's commercials for Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez were deemed "brilliant" by the Reader's Mick Dumke, and a reason Alvarez, a political unknown, was able to win her race in 2008.  

He also created a much-touted ad for Toni Preckwinkle, the first woman to eve r get elected Cook County President, featuring an actor dressed as Benjamin Franklin to highlight Preckwinkle’s background as a history teacher and her vow to eliminate her predecessor’s penny tax increase.

Along with his business Partner Terrie Pickerill at SP Media, he produced hundreds of winning ads all over the country up and down the ballot.  In 2012, he helped produce the winning ads for Tammy Duckworth in IL-08 who defeated incumbent firebrand Congressman Joe Walsh, and in 2016 he played the same role on Duckworth’s campaign to defeat incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Kirk.  He played the same role again in Duckworth’s first reelection Campaign in 2022.

As a media consultant for the Illinois Senate Democrats, he, and his Partner Pickerill, won dozens of state senate races since 2010, helping them to win a super majority in Illinois.  He recently helped to shoot and produce the winning ads for the current Governor of Hawaii, Josh Green and his predecessor David Ige.

Snyder has been married to Jackie Rubin Snyder, an American Airlines executive, since 2000.  He has two daughters Sofia and Daniela.

References

Living people
Pennsylvania Democrats
Pennsylvania political consultants
American public relations people
1966 births