Ferhnstrom has worked on former Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) communications teams since Romney took over the Massachusetts statehouse and is a communications adviser to Romney's Free and Strong America PAC, which is considered a precursor to Romney's 2012 presidential bid.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Romney's first a a presidential candidate, Fehrnstrom, a hard-driving former reporter, earned a reputation for aggressively defending Romney's interests.
"He will get in your face and say that 'You're not being professional' - that 'You're expressing your opinion,'" one reporter told the Boston Phoenix. "Fehrnstrom does a very good job for Romney."
Fehrnstrom is a Boston native: he grew up in Brookline, attended Boston University and spent nearly a decade as a reporter at the Boston Herald. He began at the paper as a general assignment reporter but later moved to the politics beat, before rising to become the state House bureau chief.
In 1994, Fehrnstrom took a buyout being offered by the paper's owner and crossed to the other side of politics, as a press aide to State Treasurer Joe Malone (R). In 1999, he began a stint in the private sector, but he returned to political communications in 2002, as Romney's communications director. He's been working with Romney in some capacity every since.
In the 2008 campaign, Fehrnstorm worked under Matt Rhoades and Kevin Madden, and ended up manning the front lines of the daily battle with the press. After Romney left the race, Fehrnstrom signed on as an adviser to his PAC.
A few months later, along with two other veteran Romney staffers, Beth Myers and Peter Flaherty, Fehrnstrom created The Shawmut Group, a consulting firm. The group worked most notably on Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) election race: Fehrnstrom told WhoRunsGov that Brown's victory was the best comeback he'd been a part of
Piece of Advice: "There's no such thing as off the record."
Favorite TV campaign: "Apple 1984. Nothing like it before, or since."
Lowest Moment: "Losing. I don't take it very well."
Best Comeback: "Scott Brown, down by more than 30 points, written off by everyone, shocking the world by winning the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Ted Kennedy."
In His Own Words
"Someone needs to keep reporters honest. I'm not shy about making the argument on behalf of Mitt Romney. I'm not a shrinking violet."
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