Terence Tolbert

Terence D. Tolbert (1964 – November 2, 2008) was an American political operative who was the Nevada state director for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and an aide to Joel Klein, the New York City School Chancellor. Tolbert's death came two days before the 2008 presidential election, where he was a classmate of Christopher "Kid" Reid, the rap musician and actor, and John T. Georgopoulos, a fantasy sports writer. He later earned a bachelor's degree from Hunter College.

After leaving the Edwards campaign in 2004, Tolbert was the Nevada state director of America Coming Together, a 527 group dedicated to get out the vote efforts, primarily for Democratic candidates. Tolbert served as the liaison to ethnic, religious and cultural groups in the city for Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg in his bid for a second term in the 2005 mayoral election. with the Democrats making a strong effort in a state that had traditionally been solidly Republican. Barack Obama took Nevada's five electoral votes, defeating John McCain by a 56%-42% margin, carrying Nevada by 120,000 votes in a state the George W. Bush had won by 20,000 votes in the 2004 election.

On the evening of November 2, 2008, in North Las Vegas, Nevada, Tolbert suffered a heart attack while driving alone near the Obama campaign offices.

Legacy In a press release, Mayor Bloomberg described Tolbert as one of the most likeable and hardworking people in the world and "a valued member of our administration" who "had become a personal friend". Schools Chancellor Klein eulogized Tolbert as someone "who believed deeply that government can and must play a constructive role in improving the lives of its citizens" in his role as Executive Director of Inter-Governmental Relations. A statement issued by the Obama campaign characterized Tolbert as "a strong force in this campaign, with a positive outlook that brought people together."

He was survived by his wife and mother.