Paging Congressman Wu: call what's left of your office.

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One has to wonder: why didn't we hear about this stuff during the campaign?

When the wheels start coming off, it's hard to put them back on.

U.S. Rep. David Wu loses staffers, political team amid complaints of public behavior

By Janie Har, The Oregonian
Published: Tuesday, January 18, 2011, 7:57 PM Updated: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 9:37 AM

The Oregonian Congressman David Wu (D-OR1)

Since the November election, U.S. Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., has lost at least six staffers plus the leadership of a veteran campaign team that guided him to a seventh term amid complaints about his public behavior.

The exodus includes Wu's longtime chief of staff, Julie Tippens, and communications director, Julia Krahe, both in Washington, D.C. Krahe left without securing a job while Tippens took a similar position with a lawmaker with far less seniority.

In addition, Wu has lost virtually his entire political team -- people who have been with the Democrat for more than a decade -- including his chief fundraiser, Lisa Kurdziel, and chief pollster, Lisa Grove, who told The Oregonian she wouldn't work for him again.

"It is highly unusual for successful campaigns to change teams after the election," said Michael Meehan, a veteran Democratic consultant who was a senior adviser to Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Wu declined to be interviewed for this story but in a written statement praised his employees. "I have only the utmost esteem for every member of my staff, present and past," he wrote.

But the staff departures come amid questions about Wu's behavior during the campaign. On Oct. 27, he gave a speech so negative and loud that a Washington County Democratic Party member complained formally to his office.

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