Jonathan R. Snowling, a senior partner at SR Strategic Communications and George Mason MBA alum, was honored with the 2015 American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) Campaign Excellence Award for International Consultant of the Year.
Winning this award wasn’t easy, and neither was Snowling’s task of steering Juan Carlos Varela’s presidential campaign in the Republic of Panama. A U.S. invasion in 1989 ended the dictatorship of Manuel Noriega in the country. Since then, there have only been 5 free elections. So Snowling spent two years on the ground as a general consultant and campaign director, guiding Varela’s campaign to victories in both the 2013 presidential primary and the 2014 general election. Under Snowling’s watch, Varela’s stunning upset win represented a major victory for democracy in Latin America as Panama’s 5th successful transition of power from a governing party to an opposition party.
According to a press release on the George Mason website, AAPC Campaign Excellence Awards “recognize those individuals that have significantly contributed to the success of a candidate or public affairs campaign and whose conduct has been consistent with the professional code of ethics of the AAPC.” This year, the organization received 108 nominations from the AAPC membership and political consulting community at large in 8 different categories.