Campaign manager dies

By SHERRI DAY
Published November 11, 2006

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TREASURE ISLAND - Campaign workers at Max Linn's office knew something was wrong Friday when Doug Friedline didn't show up for work.

The workers found Friedline, campaign manager for Linn's failed gubernatorial bid and a political strategist for some of the nation's top independent and third-party candidates, about 2 p.m. He was dead in his Treasure Island condominium.

Friedline, 49, had a long history of health problems, including quadruple bypass surgery, Linn campaign officials said. Authorities do not suspect foul play, the campaign said.

In recent weeks, Friedline had not been feeling well, said Liz McCallum, a campaign spokeswoman.

Before joining Linn's campaign in July, Friedline's clients were a who's who of third-party and independent politics. He worked on Ross Perot's 1992 presidential campaign and helped former wrestler Jesse Ventura become Minnesota governor in 1999.

"Politics was truly his life," Linn said in a statement. "He worked tirelessly for our campaign. ... He cared deeply about American politics and he felt that the only way to fix our broken political system was through third parties."