DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth Chief Administrative Officer David Montgomery talked publicly Sunday for the first time since the Star Tribune broke the news Friday that a committee, he appointed had chosen an Arizona firm to handle Duluth’s next multimillion-dollar tourism marketing contract – something Mayor Roger Reinert said earlier in the year should be handled by Duluth talent.
“We feel this was a tremendously fair, open, straightforward process, and we stand by it. I selected the team. There were no politics involved,” Montgomery told FOX 21 Sunday.
Selection Committee Members:
Tom Werner, Executive Director, Duluth Airport Authority
Elena Foshay, Director of Workforce Development, City of Duluth
Dan Hartman, Executive Director, DECC
Andrew Field, Financial Analyst, City of Duluth
Briana Johnson, Development Director, American Heart Association
Haley Hedstrom, Executive Director, Lake Superior Zoological Society.
Meanwhile, Duluth firms are disappointed Madden Media of Tucson, Arizona is the No. 1 finalist for the two-year, $3.6 million dollar tourism marketing contract after Mayor Reinert said the following statement during a press conference in March.
“I fundamentally believe, and I said this over and over again during the campaign and so walking that talk here today, that it’s hard to tell an authentic Duluth story if you’re not a Duluthian. So, we have a ton of talented creative people that already live in this community. So, I am hopeful as they pursue their work and consider the RFP that we will end in a place where tourism tax dollars that are generated in Duluth end up being directed and spent in our community as well,” Reinert said.
Reinert’s comments in March came after former mayor Emily Larson was heavily criticized in 2021 for putting out a first-ever request for proposals in 2021 for the city’s marketing contract instead of continuing with Visit Duluth as the sole marketing agency of 85 years.
The contract went to Bellmont Partners out of the Twin Cities.
Visit Duluth has continued in a smaller fashion to attract conventions and act as a visitors’ bureau.
As for Madden Media, Montgomery told FOX 21 26 strong candidates were blindly scored by his committee that did not include Mayor Reinert and was chaired by Duluth Airport Authority Director Tom Werner.
The list was dwindled down to five candidates, which is now down to one after presentations to the committee. 
Montgomery said local finalists were given extra points right off the bat because he said Reinert preferred a local agency. But after scores were tallied, Madden Media won fair and square.
“Absolutely no hiding on this process, no subterfuge. This was an open, fair, straightforward process that everybody knew the rules and everybody had the same opportunity to respond. And we should be doing this, and the mayor is committed to doing these kinds of open processes with all of our significant, you know, contract situations, because that’s best for the city. It’s best for the process. It’s best for the taxpayers,” Montgomery explained.
One of the top five candidates was Duluth-based AIMCLEAR Marketing Agency. Founder Marty Weintraub told FOX 21 his company’s clients have included Martha Steward, Uber, Amazon, Famous Dave’s and Venmo, among others.
Weintraub said the decision to award $1.8 million a year to an Arizona company for two years takes significant dollars away from our local economy, including five to eight high-paying jobs, as he calculates it. He said Madden Media also markets destinations that compete with Duluth.
“Duluth deserves the company that’s loyal only to Duluth and doesn’t market competitors in the Twin Cities or other places. Door County, one of the new agency’s clients, also targets Minneapolis, St Paul and other overlapping geographic audiences, which are crucial to Duluth tourism, in many cases, for similar destination experiences,” Weintraub explained. “So, will the new Arizona agency advertise Duluth in Minneapolis-St. Paul versus their other client, Door County? What about Chicago, Madison, Eau Claire, etc. How do they decide who gets top billing? Door County even advertises in Duluth, the new agency’s new dual representation client.”
City councilors will see a presentation on Madden Media at a committee-of-the-whole meeting Dec. 5 before voting for or against the contract at the next council meeting Dec. 9.
Montgomery said the city would need to start a new RFP process all over again if the council chooses against the six-person committee’s pick of Madden Media.
Meanwhile, Montgomery said Visit Duluth as we know it isn’t going anywhere. It will be a key partner with Madden Media and the city. He said Visit Duluth is working on more staffing and what he called “appropriate experience” at the board level and within the operations.
As for Mayor Reinert, his spokesperson, Kelli Latuska, told FOX 21 on Sunday that Reinert has no plans to hold a press conference about the marketing finalist and is not granting one-on-one TV interviews because she said he was “uninvolved in the selection by design.”
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