12 August 2007

Robert James Gould, 1958-2007


Charleston lawyer Robert James "Bob" Gould had just scored another plum in a lengthy career as a GOP politico: chair of the West Virginia campaign for Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani. Gould helped arrange the Aug. 3 fundraiser featuring the former New York mayor at The Greenbrier.

But that coup was soon followed by a bombshell: a cancer diagnosis. Friends reported to The Associated Press his death Saturday from the disease.

Gould graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson and earned his law degree at Syracuse. His career ranged from posts in Reagan's Department of Housing and Urban Development, to a 1992 run for West Virginia attorney general, to counsel for Republicans in the state Senate.

But before signing on with Giuliani, Gould had worked on or helped manage all manner of GOP campaigns: Pat Robertson for president in 1988, Jon McBride for governor in 1996, even a 2006 gubernatorial race in Colorado.

"Gould is survived by his wife Denise, two daughters and a son," AP reports. "A visitation and funeral service are scheduled for Thursday in Charleston."

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