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“CN4 Partners is my go-to team and they've never let us down, even with last minute, complicated projects.”
“We've worked with CN4 Partners on many campaigns. Smart, targeted, data-oriented, they are a great choice for candidates and organizations.”
“CN4 Partners helped us beat an initiative that would have threatened school budgets and infrastructure spending for two generations of Montana children. With their help, we moved the electorate from a 27% NO vote to a 58% NO vote.”
“We worked together closely on two ballot measures in Montana, in 2016 and 2018 and I have been consistently impressed. Their firm's creative work is top notch, helping cut through the noise and catch the attention of voters, and their personal touch and customer service can't be overstated. I especially appreciate CN4's approach to being a team player and lending their insights to a campaign and putting winning above their bottom line.”
“They best captured the zeitgeist of this election.”
“CN4 Partners goes hunting ... hunting for red seats in rural areas to flip. They're our go-to firm for these hard to win, difficult races.”
“CN4 Partners' Principal Dean Nielsen has the rare ability to analyze the political landscape, build a strategy, advise the candidate, and remain objective about what it will take to win.”
“It’s been said that the only limited resource in a political campaign is candidate time. Dean and the CN4 team help make the most of that time with clear and reliable advice on priorities, help with tracking and management, and support for decision making on design and messaging.”
“One of the best political consulting firms I have ever worked with: smart, strategic, data-driven, creative. The team brings a deep well of experience to bear on your campaign, combined with state of the art digital, mail and targeting.”
“Looking for a political strategist to authentically connect your campaign to voters in your target universe? Hire Dean and his team at CN4. Since our days at Progressive Majority, we bonded over our commitment to ensure professional grade services for ALL candidates. We both still lead on this value.”
“I was at an association of Washington cities meeting this week after the election. The mailer you created was talked about by people from Spokane to Ilwaco. Tt was the strongest piece of mail across the state this cycle. Damn good work!”
Dean M. Nielsen
Westley Bayas III
Ansley Mendelson
Breann Pugnetti
Michael Garcia Kolenc
David Dettman
Ari Levin
Mike Snyder
Dean M. Nielsen
Dean Nielsen, since starting his political career in 1992 working for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, has worked on political campaigns in 35 states on every level of campaign, from school board to Congress to Governor to President as well as advising candidates and political parties in Eastern Europe. He is a leading expert in direct mail, political trainings, social pressure campaigns, data informed voter contact programs and other cutting edge campaign tactics.
At CN4, Dean Nielsen has helped hundreds of candidates and organizations find success at the ballot box. He frequently runs campaigns on behalf of groups such as SEIU, AFSCME, Conservation Voters, AFL-CIO, UFCW and other progressive organizations to help elect candidates such as Governors Phil Murphy (NJ), Tony Evers (WI), Gretchen Whitmer (MI), Jay Inslee (WA), members of Congress and state legislators.
In previous careers, he was National Political Director for Progressive Majority, an organization that recruits, trains and elects progressive champions. He also worked in Washington DC for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, building and directing a federal grassroots and grasstops lobbying program for legislation on FDA regulation of tobacco products, clean indoor air, tobacco tax increases, appropriations to the Department of Justice tobacco lawsuit and other issues.
He founded the Washington Institute for a Democratic Future (WAIDF) and served as its first Executive Director. He currently serves on the board of Fuse Washington.
Email: Dean@CN4Partners.com
Westley Bayas III
Westley Bayas III is a Vice President of CN4 Partners, working directly with candidates to create, deliver and execute winning paid media campaign strategies. He worked with candidates like Rep. Summer Lee, Texas Senator Molly Cook & Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey to help them secure historic electoral victories.
Westley brings extensive political experience as a general consultant, direct mail vendor and data director for campaigns across the United States. In addition, he has served as a trainer on political campaigns and data for a variety of organizations such as Wellstone Action, Change the Game, Move On, Our Revolution – Louisiana & Emerge Louisiana.
Westley is a life member of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. and holds a B.G.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Louisiana State University & A&M College. He currently resides in New York City.
Ansley Mendelson
Ansley T. Mendelson is an award-winning political strategist specializing in direct mail. A Georgia native, her full-service approach to campaigns focus on Election Day victories and building lasting success for clients.
Working in over 15 states, Ansley has flipped seats in red states like Tennessee and Texas, led IE efforts to protect our elections, passed Ranked Choice Voting in Maine and New York City, re-elected progressive prosecutors, and developed hard and soft side programs for swing state legislatures in Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Ansley has a particular focus helping young and other first-time candidates run for office, helping to elect the first Muslim woman to the Georgia State House. In 2024, she won “Best Mail Piece – Overall” from Campaigns and Elections magazine.
Ansley is the proud graduate of two SEC schools – the University of Georgia and the University of Florida, and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Joel, and their dog, Murphy.
Breann Pugnetti
Breann Pugnetti is a Colorado-native who brings a blend of legislative policy and campaign experience to CN4. Her problem-solving, creativity and calm-in-the-storm attitude makes her an asset to every team she joins.
After starting as an intern with U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, Breann hit the campaign trail with the House Democratic Campaign Committee, working to flip seats in LD 30. Later, she staffed Rep. Kristine Reeves in Olympia before rejoining electoral politics.
Breann started with CN4 Partners as an Associate in 2018. Now a Partner and our Operations Director, Breann ensures that every CN4 client has a winning experience.
Email: Breann@CN4Partners.com
Michael Garcia Kolenc
Michael is laser-focused on elevating campaigns and causes. He started in politics as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Fellow for the National Education Association, rising up the ranks to run statewide funding measures and help foster pro-public education candidates. Michael’s experience managing candidate campaigns, ballot measures and independent expenditures has pushed progressive policy and elected compelling public servants.
At CN4, Michael is using his political strategist and communication experience to lead innovative projects for clients in his home state of Texas and across the country.
Email: Michael@CN4Partners.com
David Dettman
David Dettman has more than 30 years of experience in political campaigns, public affairs, government relations, and strategic communications. He has managed and advised campaigns at every level, from local races to presidential campaigns, and has worked with political parties, advocacy organizations, elected officials, labor unions, and civic institutions in the United States and more than 20 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
He has held leadership positions with Aristotle International, the National Democratic Institute, Democracy International, and the American Bar Association. His international work focused on political party development, elections, coalition building, voter engagement, strategic communications, and democratic governance. He served as NDI’s Country Director in Ukraine during the period surrounding the Orange Revolution, Regional Political Advisor for the Levant based in Jerusalem, and Chief of Party for a democracy assistance program in Bangladesh.
In Ohio, David served as Ohio State Director for Progressive Majority, helping recruit, train, and elect candidates to state and local office. He later managed Jennifer Brunner’s U.S. Senate campaign, chronicled in Cupcakes and Courage, and served in the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, where he worked on election administration, voter education, and public policy initiatives.
David’s work has been featured in George Packer’s The Assassin’s Gate and Mark MacKinnon’s The New Cold War. In 2005, he received the Heroic Order Medal from the Government of Ukraine for his contributions to democratic development.
A native of Cleveland, David grew up in a union household where he learned that the power of organizing can overcome even the most entrenched obstacles. As a fan of Cleveland sports teams, he learned the importance of allowing hope to triumph over experience.
Ari Levin
Ari, a recent Spelman College graduate, is passionate about advancing progressive policy. She’s worked on campaigns for Stacey Abrams, Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff, and Kamala Harris, to name a few. Ari has served as Chair of the Young Democrats of Georgia Black Caucus and currently serves as the Executive Director of HBCU Votes.
At CN4, she aims to elevate campaigns and achieve electoral victories at the ballot box! Through highlighting young progressive candidates both professionally and through volunteerism, Ari has honed her communication skills and campaign infrastructure experience.
Mike Snyder
Mike Snyder brings three decades of direct experience with campaigns and elections to the table, along with stacks of maps, spreadsheets, detailed analysis and fundamental planning aimed at achieving the next victory.
As a grad student at LSU and Indiana University, Mike targeted the collapse (albeit after the fact) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Next, he ran phone banks in Indiana for successful Democrats in tight local and congressional races and did field for Paul Simon for President (1988) in Iowa, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. Then, working from 1990 forward from the Pacific Northwest as a writer, researcher, analyst, election observer, campaign strategist and consultant for Democratic causes and candidates including US Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, WA Governors Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire, US Representatives Jim McDermott and Jay Inslee. Mike’s also worked for state parties, legislative committees and candidates, coordinated campaigns, statewide, county, city and other local races, plus on the progressive economics, education, environment and equality side of state and local ballot measures.
Mike boasts a complete set the Almanac of American Politics from 1972 to date. Besides that, he’s noted for on-going contributions to campaign strategy planning, computer mapping of census returns and election results, analysis of political and demographic trends, precinct and voter-file targeting of likely voters and households for polling, canvassing, direct mail and applied technology via the full range of modern media.
Our work
CN4 Partners creates award-winning media for campaigns nationwide. With an impressive 69 Pollie Awards—hailed as the “Oscars of Political Advertising” by the American Association of Political Consultants—and 27 Reed Awards from Campaigns & Elections magazine, our excellence speaks for itself. Our work has also been spotlighted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Ad Age.
