By Charles Pope and Janie Har

Since the November election,

, has lost at least six staffers plus the leadership of a veteran campaign team that guided him to a seventh term amid complaints about his public behavior.

The exodus includes Wu's longtime chief of staff, Julie Tippens, and communications director, Julia Krahe, both in Washington, D.C. Krahe left without securing a job while Tippens took a similar position with a lawmaker with far less seniority.

In addition, Wu has lost virtually his entire political team -- people who have been with the Democrat for more than a decade -- including his chief fundraiser, Lisa Kurdziel, and chief pollster,

, who told The Oregonian she wouldn't work for him again.

"It is highly unusual for successful campaigns to change teams after the election," said Michael Meehan, a veteran Democratic consultant who was a senior adviser to Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Wu declined to be interviewed for this story but in a written statement praised his employees. "I have only the utmost esteem for every member of my staff, present and past," he wrote.

But the staff departures come amid questions about Wu's behavior during the campaign. On Oct. 27, he gave a speech so negative and loud that a Washington County Democratic Party member complained formally to his office.

The outburst was followed two days later by an episode at Portland International Airport, where Wu used his influence as a member of Congress to enter a restricted area and campaign for votes from off-loading passengers. One passenger filed a complaint, and a Transportation Security Administration employee was later required to be retrained for his lapse in letting Wu past security.

The exodus



Tippens was Wu's chief of staff from his first term in office until she left to serve as chief of staff for freshman U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii. Wu's spokeswoman of three years, Krahe, stopped working for him Jan. 5. Both women declined to comment.

Kelly Scannell Brooks and Stephen Marx, of Wu's Portland office, and Nils Tillstrom, from his Capitol Hill office, left for jobs in Portland. The sixth Wu staffer to leave is Scott Olson, a legislative assistant who resigned to follow his wife to a new job abroad.

Grove confirmed in a brief interview last week that she no longer works for Wu and that she does not intend to work for him again. Beyond that, she would not comment. Kurdziel declined to comment.

Those not affiliated with the office called the departure of campaign staff and consultants noteworthy, especially at a time when successful Democratic candidates are scarce.

"Generally, folks in politics are pretty loyal, particularly to paying customers, and consultants try pretty hard to keep them happy," said Rick Desimone, former chief of staff to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and now a consultant and lobbyist. He has never worked for Wu.

Wu, who has represented Oregon's 1st Congressional District since 1999, has been less known for his legislative achievements than his strident opposition to China and bursts of puzzling public behavior. In one instance, he warned of

in the White House during a floor speech in 2007. In 2003, as the House was convulsing to pass the Medicare prescription bill, Wu fell into a state that one colleague described as "

," according to The Washington Post, as Democratic leaders frantically tried to get him to vote for the bill.

During the 2010 election, Wu faced a credible Republican candidate, Rob Cornilles, in what was considered an up year for Republicans. Wu struggled to raise money and cycled through three campaign directors, a high number for any candidate. In his personal life, Wu and his wife legally separated in August.

Erik Dorey, Wu's new spokesman, acknowledged the tough nature of last year's race, saying in an e-mail: "It was a hard-fought campaign, as so many were last year across the country." Wu ended up winning about 55 percent of the vote.

Political professionals at all levels noticed the stress, especially the fact that Wu did not hold a single public event on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before the election. Wu did not resurface until after 10 on election night.

Bob Tiernan, outgoing chairman of the

, said the other Oregon Democrat in a competitive re-election race --

-- ran a "full-blown, personally involved campaign."

"He had a lot more events, a lot more in the district, I think he was walking door to door," Tiernan said. "The only direct way we got through to him (Wu) was through the Democratic Party of Oregon. I'd classify his campaign as 'stay out of the state.'"

Odd outbursts



Wu did make two public appearances before the election. Both were problematic.

In a speech before Washington County Democrats, he blasted his opponent as a telemarketer, The Oregonian as unfair and the Republican candidate for governor as stingy with tips. Wu also disclosed that he stopped drinking July 1.

Phyllis Kirkwood, a Democratic precinct leader in Washington County, was alarmed enough to send Wu a letter after the Oct. 27 event. In it, she said she wanted to hear of his accomplishments, gratitude for their hard work and reasons why they should continue working on his behalf.

"But you gave us no reason in that speech to support you at all," she wrote in the letter, which she confirmed for The Oregonian. "... You sounded bitter and angry, blaming in loud, fearsome tones your possible defeat on your opponent and the media."

In an interview, Kirkwood said Wu "yelled a lot, which I didn't think was necessary. In fact, I almost got up and said, 'Hold on now, Mr. Wu, we are all your friends.'"

Two days later, Wu planted himself at a United Airlines gate and introduced himself to passengers fresh off a flight from D.C.

According to an incident report filed with

police, Wu identified himself to TSA officials as a congressman and requested access to a secured gate. Wu said he was at the airport to meet his young children, who were arriving from Washington, D.C., accompanied by an adult staffer. A security officer initially refused to let Wu pass, citing security rules. According to the report, Wu told the officer "You know me ... do me a favor, bend the rules."

Wu eventually gained access, with the help of a TSA duty manager -- the one who later would be retrained -- in violation of security rules. Once at the gate, Wu started greeting passengers. The children he had come to meet ran ahead and out of the concourse, nearly two minutes before their father.

"As I'm getting off, he's greeting people saying, 'Vote for me.' I said to him, 'I will never vote for you,'" said Todd Newton, a Sherwood resident who filed the complaint with airport police.

"I think it's illegal for a person, for a congressman or a senator, to accept gratuities from the airline. Or if he was using his position as a congressman to attain entry into a secure area, that's wrong too."

Dorey called the incident "unfortunate" and said Wu "is always eager to greet and engage his constituents, but Congressman Wu sincerely regrets if his actions at PDX were at all inappropriate."

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of The Oregonian contributed to this report.

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; @charlieindc

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@janiehar1