United States Representative Anthony D. Weiner, seeking to bolster his mayoral campaign, has hired a Democratic strategist who is credited with helping engineer John Kerry's come-from-behind victory in the Iowa caucuses last year.
The strategist, Michael Whouley, is a Boston-based consultant with a reputation as a field general rallying troubled campaigns. A political organizer, he helped marshal support in Iowa for Mr. Kerry, who surged past Howard Dean and won the caucuses on his way to the nomination.
Mr. Whouley, who began work earlier this month, is also known for overseeing Al Gore's victory over Bill Bradley in the 2000 New Hampshire primary, after sending workers out on the streets on Primary Day when word spread that Mr. Bradley was ahead in voter surveys.
Mr. Weiner, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, is trailing in the polls, far behind two of three major Democratic opponents.
But Weiner strategists portrayed Mr. Whouley's hiring as a sign of strength, saying he will be invaluable in identifying ways to win new supporters and deploy workers in the field.
"We hired him because he has a great mind to get the message to voters directly, wherever you are," said Tom Freedman, Mr. Weiner's general consultant and himself a veteran of the Kerry campaign.
Weiner campaign leaders said they hoped hiring Mr. Whouley would help dispel rumors they attributed to rival camps that Mr. Weiner did not have enough help to collect the required 7,500 signatures on petitions between July 11 and 14 to qualify for the ballot.
Mr. Whouley, who usually keeps a low profile, did not answer a message left at his office.
The campaign also plans to announce the hiring of Mark Benoit as campaign manager. Mr. Benoit is a veteran of New York campaigns, most recently serving as the state director of Wesley Clark's Democratic presidential campaign last year.