A political group’s hiring of Mark Halperin draws protests from staffers

Junior staffers at No Labels objected this week when the organization hired Halperin, co-author of the best-selling campaign chronicle “Game Change.” The internal dissension grew so heated that two employees who complained were granted paid leave — to consider whether they want to stay, the organization said — and a third is considering resigning over it. “A small number of our colleagues are still working through how they feel about this,” a senior official at No Labels, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel decisions, said Thursday, “and we are respectful of that.”... Some staffers questioned why No Label’s founder and chief executive, Nancy Jacobson, was determined to hire Halperin, despite his baggage, when other experienced and capable political communicators are available. Jacobson told several people that she could hire Halperin at relatively low cost because he is eager to regain a foothold in the mainstream political world, said people familiar with the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve their relationships.