Or more properly, an internship, kind of. I haven’t nailed down whether I’m getting paid yet.
A week and change ago, I received an email from Gene Hart, the guy running for the Democratic nomination for the 26th district of Virginia’s House of Delegates. (Well, he has no competition, so he doesn’t need to worry about getting nominated, but I digress.) A while after I read that email, I went to his site. He had his bio and a few positions up, a couple of which I liked and none of which I disliked. At this point, I pretty much shrugged. I was willing to work for his campaign, but I’d be just as glad to volunteer for the governor’s race instead.
A couple of days after that, I went back to his site, and he had several more statements on what we believed. I liked them. A lot. Well, for the most part. He’s more conservative than I would like, but I’m pretty liberal, and this area is not. So I emailed his campaign manager late Thursday night and talked about some of the stuff that struck me as particularly sensible, as well as offering my services. I expected a reply in maybe a few days.
I got one a few minutes later, agreeing with what I had said and asking what I could do for the campaign, since the way I had written my email strongly implied that I was good for more than walking door to door or dropping literature. I explained my interest in polls and electoral data, giving a very brief analysis of some of the political climate of the district and its implications for strategy. She said she wanted to meet me soon, and saw me as potential intern material. We set up a meeting for Sunday, and I did a little more research before then.
We talked on Sunday for a half hour, since she was very busy, and we discussed the race, what our strategy would be, and what part I would play. She doesn’t like numbers, and I do, so she was glad that I could handle that part, and I was glad that I would be free to do only that.
I’ll basically be starting after my semester ends, though there won’t be as much work until after June. We didn’t discuss my payment, but that can come later, and I’m not sure if they have it in their budget. This is pretty much my ideal job, and I hope I can go from this into a full-time career in campaign advising after next year, when I finish college.
Questions? Comments? Advice?
