Contact:	Suzanne Trimel					For immediate release
		(212) 854-5573					May 15, 1997
		smt4@columbia.edu

(Editor's Note: Jefrey is correct)



Political Consultant Graduates In Off-Year Elections


	What does a young political consultant do between elections?
 	For Jefrey Pollock, 25, whose clients past or present include an aspiring 
mayor and New Jersey governor, three members of Congress, and President 
Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic, the political off-season has meant 
studying politics and public policy at Columbia University's School of 
International and Public Affairs.  On Wednesday (May 21), after four years of 
part-time graduate study, he will earn a master's degree in public 
administration.
	But he will not be away from campus for long.  Next spring, he will return 
to Columbia as an adjunct faculty member to teach a nuts-and-bolts course on 
political campaign management.

	Pollock is a partner in the Global Strategy Group, a Manhattan-based 
political consulting and polling firm, which largely represents New York 
metropolitan area Democrats. During the 1996 elections, he did polling for the 
New York State Democratic Party and for Carolyn McCarthy, the Long Island 
political novice who captured a seat in Congress.
	 Although she would later change parties, Mrs. McCarthy began her 
campaign as a Republican.  Pollock's decision to represent her was a departure 
from his Democrats-only rule.  But, like many voters, he was moved by Mrs. 
McCarthy's demonstrated strength and composure following a commuter train 
shooting rampage, in which her husband was killed and her son gravely
wounded. "Sometimes you just have to do the right thing," Pollock said.  "She was 
so credible as a candidate."
	This year, Pollock is working for Michael Murphy, who is seeking the 
Democratic gubernatorial nomination in New Jersey.  Until he abandoned his 
New York City mayoral run, he had also represented Bronx Borough President 
Fernando Ferrer.  "It's unfortunate," said Pollock.  "But that's politics."  In 
addition, Pollock does weekly political commentary for the MSNBC network.
	Pollock, who grew up in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. and is a graduate of 
Germantown Academy, got his start in political polling while an undergraduate 
at the University of Pennsylvania.   He was tutored by Frank Luntz, then a faculty 
member at Penn and a Republican political pollster.  Pollock formed his own 
Democratic firm soon after graduation in 1992.  In addition to Representative 
McCarthy, his congressional clients include Major Owens and Michael McNulty, 
both New York Democrats.
	Columbia Professor Robert Lieberman said Pollock is an example of the 
kind of top-notch professional that Columbia's graduate programs attract.  "Here 
is someone who contributed so much to our discussion because he was so close to 
the nitty gritty of a political campaign.  It was great to be able to take advantage of 
that in the classroom."

5.15.97											19,129