Spring 2023 Fellow
Bill Carrick is a strategic and media consultant for candidates and ballot initiatives in California and nationally.
Bill is the founder of the firm, Carrick Consulting, Inc., which specializes in the creation, production, and placement of advertising for candidates, ballot initiatives, and organizations.
Clients have included: Senator Dianne Feinstein’s campaigns for Senate and Governor, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and former LA Mayors James Hahn and Dick Riordan, President Bill Clinton, Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt, House Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.. In California, Carrick has handled over a dozen successful campaigns for Democratic Candidates running for Statewide Constitutional Offices. Most recently, Carrick worked for Los Angeles Sheriff-Elect Robert Luna.
Bill Carrick has developed communications and advertising strategies for several ballot initiatives, including defeating tort reform initiatives, school vouchers, San Fernando Valley and Hollywood secessions from Los Angeles, Governor Schwarzenegger’s redistricting scheme, and he successfully managed the passage of a New LA City Charter. In addition, he created the advertising campaign and strategy for New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s successful education initiatives.
In 2016, Carrick was the strategic and media consultant for the passage of Los Angeles County’s Measure M, the largest local infrastructure measure in the nation, winning over 70% of the vote. In the 2017 LA City Elections, he supervised and created the television and on-line advertising for the No on Measure S campaign. He was also lead strategist and media consultant for Mayor Eric Garcetti’s 2017 re-election and served in that capacity for Senator Dianne Feinstein’s 2018 re-election.
Bill grew up in South Carolina where he began his career in politics and advertising. He went on to work in Washington, DC as Senator Ted Kennedy’s political director and later as campaign manager for the 1988 Gephardt for President Campaign before moving to California.
Study Group: All About Campaigns
“All About Campaigns” did a deep dive into all aspects of local, state, and federal campaigns. It examined strategy, tactics, messaging, organizing, fieldwork, coalition building, media and advertising, issues, and policy. Students created and developed rival campaign plans.
Spring 2023 Semester Recap
Bill Carrick said this about his experience at USC’s Center for the Political Future: “My favorite part of being a CPF Fellow was interacting with USC students on politics and current events. I found the students’ curiosity about our volatile political climate and their intense interest in the difficult issues we face now and in the future very encouraging. Hopefully, my students are representative of a generation who will be focused on making our world a much better place.”
One of the USC students in Bill’s study group shared this about their experience:
“I learned a great deal of methods to build political influence prior to a campaign for office, a greater understanding of the careers for campaign staff, and a nuanced political perspective from our conversations. My favorite part was seeing the two political advertisements Bill created for Dianne Feinstein featuring her daughter. Seeing her at a young age and a second time as an adult demonstrated the length of Bill’s tenure in consulting and was very impressive.”
Bill shared his thoughts on the importance of politics, his first political experience, and his advice for having respectful political discourse in his “Quick Takes: Q&A with CPF Fellow Bill Carrick” video.