CAMPAIGN ’88 : Staff Changes Made

In addition to the stock market and Persian Gulf, several presidential candidates devoted time to building campaign organizations as they announced staff appointments and changes this week.

Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, whose campaign hinges on a strong showing in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses next Feb. 8, has moved to bolster his organizing efforts in the state in the face of toughening competition from Illinois Sen. Paul Simon and Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.

So he has replaced Bill Fleming, his initial Iowa state coordinator, with 36-year-old Steve Murphy, who was previously the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Caucus, which is headed by Gephardt. Murphy, who took over in Iowa two weeks ago, has extensive experience in field organizing for both presidential and congressional campaigns. Fleming has now moved to Gephardt’s Washington headquarters to become a deputy national campaign manager.

In Boston, Dukakis appointed Paul Jensen as his new national political director. Jensen, 42, is a veteran of national politics and a senior associate at Public Strategies, a Washington-based consulting firm. He replaces Paul Tully, who resigned three weeks ago after admitting that he lied to the press about his involvement in distributing a videotape that undermined Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidential campaign.