the june 14,2010 issue of the capitol

www.nycapitolnews.comJune 2010

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rising starsalbany’s next generation of political leaders

www.nycapitolnews.com2 JUNE 2010 THE CAPITOL

Violet Moss’ interest in politics began at home.

“We always had interesting discussions at the dinner table. We’d talk about the Oliver North hearings, or the hostage crisis in Iran. My dad gave me the yellow ribbon to wear to school,” she says. “When you grow up in an African-American family, you talk about politics—things like current events, international issues and race relations.”

While at SUNY Albany, Moss began working for the New York State Assembly as a research analyst focused on environmental issues and hazardous waste. She eventually landed on Speaker Sheldon Silver’s staff, and remained there for eight years, working as an analyst for alcoholism and substance abuse issues, before rising to become the senior analyst for the Assembly Health Committee.

That role started Moss on a long path of health care advocacy, leading to a sting at the Children’s Health Fund.

“I could never demonstrate that I actually was responsible for the passage of S-Chip reauthorization,” she said, “but I helped create the groundswell for it. I organized town hall meetings and I wrote position papers.”

Eventually, she landed at the Parkside Group, coming on as a vice president just over a year ago.

These days, Moss says she leans, “more toward advocacy. I do a lot of lobbying, but I’m a very good advocate. I like to fi ght for people who don’t have a voice, like children and members of underserved populations. I’m looking for more of those types of clients.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “It was just a natural progression. My job in the Assembly led to lobbying. I think I’m tenacious and focused, and everything I’ve done has been coordinated.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I would own a bed and breakfast by the ocean. It would have books, and fl owers, and a bakery, because I love to bake.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Owner of my own business.”Who would play you in the movie? “Lena Horne”

Joseph BurnsAge: 31Deputy Director of ElectionOperations, New York StateBoard of Elections

Joe Burns fi rst got involved in local politics as a high school student in Syracuse, stuffi ng envelopes for then-Rep. Jim Walsh’s

campaign. He stayed active, and after law school Burns

signed on as legislative counsel for State Sen. John DeFrancisco, where he remained until taking a position at the State Board of Elections, where he currently serves as deputy director of Election Operations.

In his role there, Burns deals with a wide variety of issues that pertain to election law. Things will be especially busy around the offi ce for the next few months.

One of Burns’ major responsibilities at the Board of Elections is overseeing the state’s transition to optical-scan voting machines. He cited the recent special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District as an example of a race in which many counties rolled out the optical-scan voting machines, and said that, for the most part, the shift had been effective.

“So far, it’s been quite a success,” said Burns. “It’s a big change, and the technology is new for a lot of people. But I’m confi dent that once everyone gets their feet wet and has some practice they will all be comfortable with it.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Working for Sen. DeFrancisco and in the State Legislature gave me an education that I could never have gotten in college and in law school. I learned things there that directly led to me getting here.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I would hope I’d be coach of the Syracuse men’s basketball team. But I know that Jim Boheim is doing a better job than I would, and I know that Mike Hopkins will do a better job than I would when he becomes head coach.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I’m not exactly sure what it will say, but I know that I will be working somewhere in the public policy process. No doubt about that.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Stanley Tucci or Joe Pantoliano. I think it would have to be somebody bald like that.”

overnment can be grubby work. The hours are long, the pay is poor and the rewards of all the hard work not apparent often until decades later.

And in New York, working in politics can bring its own special

kind of hardships. Politicos must explain to out-of-town relatives about working in an environment that has descended into a state of national ridicule. They must fi eld questions about indictments, and coups, and dysfunction.

But still, each year thousands of young people from across the state embark on and pursue careers in Albany and elsewhere and dedicate themselves to making government work better. Their work impacts millions of people’s lives. All of them deserve to be commended.

This year, in The Capitol’s second annual list of Rising Stars in politics and government, we highlight 40 people under 40 years old,

all toiling away in statewide politics or for state government. The competition was fi erce—hundreds of e-mails and phone calls suggesting people for the list streamed in to the offi ce, and we spent many hours trying to cull the list down to just 40.

Those who made it onto the pages that follow represent a broad cross-section of political life in the Empire State. Featured are several elected offi cials who people in Albany say have an especially bright future ahead of them. Also included are policy analysts who make sure that all the numbers add up, advocates who aim to make the voices of the people heard, lobbyists who knows the ins and out of the legislative process, and yes, even a few hardened political scribes who are tasked to cover the whole thing.

All of them are still in the early stages of their careers. But if the past is any kind of predictor, their future—and the state’s future, with their help—is looking up.

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Profi les by Johanna Barr, Chris Bragg, David Freedlander,Colby Hamilton, Andrew J. Hawkins and Katie Honan.

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Violet Moss AGE: 38Vice President, the Parkside Group

Photos byAndrew Schwartz.

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Alexander Betke IIAge: 33Of Counsel, Wilson Elser MoskowitzEdelman & Dicker LLP

Alex Betke has politics in his blood. He grew up as a member of a highly political family in the Town of Coxsackie, where

his grandfather served as both the mayor and town supervisor. Currently serving as supervisor himself, Betke’s fi rst of several elections—to a town board position—was way back in 1999, when he was just 22.

“It’s a small town, so you’re exposed to a lot of different things, be it local legislation that affects a local municipality or the administrative side of running a community, running a town,” Betke said.

Betke’s duties as supervisor intersect with his role at Wilson Elser, where he is of counsel. Betke specializes in governmental and corporate matters and devotes much of his time to municipal issues, such as zoning and land use.

The wide variety of issues handled keeps things interesting at Wilson Elser, which is lucky for Betke, since he has worked there his entire adult life. He began working there as an offi ce clerk while he was a student at Siena College, where he majored in history, and continued while he attended Western New England Law School at night. Betke joined the fi rm full-time upon graduation.

“I’ve literally worked here from the ground up,” he said.

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I started here as a runner while I was at Siena College and stayed on as a law clerk while I was at law school. It was really the encouragement of the partners in the fi rm that led me to law school and to continue to work under them.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing?“I’ve never really thought about it. But to be honest with you, I really

wanted to be a professional baseball player.”Five years from now, what will it say on your business card?

“Regional Managing Partner at Wilson Elser.”Who would play you in the movie? “Al Pacino. He’s cool.”

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Tara Lai QuinlanAGE: 32Legislative Director and General Counsel, New York StateTrial Lawyers Association

At her dinner table growing up, while talking about her day, Tara Lai Quinlan’s parents, both public-school teachers in San Francisco,

encouraged her to do good work for those less fortunate, she said.

“The fi ght-for-the-underdog mentality was instilled in me early on,” she said.

Quinlan went on to UC Berkeley, where she did volunteer work counseling prisoners. After college, she worked for two years with HUD, and later clerked at the second court of appeals in Manhattan.

Now, Quinlan is the legislative director and general counsel at the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the state. She helps write memos for gun safety and patient rights.

Quinlan said she uses her infl uence to continue to work for the underdog. “You defi ne yourself by who is on the other side of the coin of what you’re doing. On the fl ip

side of what I’m doing is big-tobacco and anti-consumer groups,” she said. “I feel we’re on the right side of the issues.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “All of my jobs have helped me understand the issues here and really help me feel connected. And, practically speaking, I’ve done so much writing as a clerk and as an attorney that’s come in handy with what I’m doing now.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’m happy where I’m at now. I have entertained the idea of working at a civil rights agency, though.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Legislative director of some kind.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Rachel Weisz. I loved her role in The Constant Gardner.”

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WE NEED REFORM FOR NEW YORK’S BROKEN NO-FAULT SYSTEM. AND WE NEED IT NOW.

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Alison Badgett has only been the executive director of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing since April, but her background in the issues dates back to when the New Jersey native got a job with a

community-based organization in Trenton that ran homeless shelters out of

Alison BadgettAGE: 33Executive Director, New York StateAssociation for Affordable Housing

college. She became immersed in many of the issues plaguing the city and saw how much of a problem affordable housing was to Trenton.

Badgett went on to hold posts as executive director of Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness and, more recently, worked as the senior policy advisor to former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, where she focused on housing, land use and redevelopment policy.

At her current job at the NYSAAH, which is the largest affordable housing trade association in the country, she lobbies legislators on affordable-housing issues. She is also looking to expand the membership base of the group and hopes to open up more chapters all over the state.

Badgett says the best part of her job is working with developers and legislators who are all trying to fi nd creative solutions to building more affordable units.

“I get to work with creative people who share similar goals,” she said. “We’re making an impact on people’s lives, on a larger scale.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I’ve always been able to work with people who are mentors in this industry, and that experience helps me now.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d be working for a public-policy think tank.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “One never knows. I hope to have a long, illustrious career.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Diane Keaton”

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Gwen RoccoAGE: 25Communications Director,Senate Deputy Majority LeaderJeffrey Klein

Some people get bitten by the political bug right away. For Gwen Rocco, it took some time. She was hoping to be on the

other side of the equation, writing policy papers and sifting through the nitty-gritty of city and state government.

“I thought I would be doing something on the research track,” she said. “Who knew?”

But she has no regrets, she says. Rocco got her start as a press aide to Bill de Blasio in the City Council, eventually shifting to press secretary, then transitioning to de Blasio’s public advocate campaign in 2009. She worked briefl y as advance director for former City Comptroller Bill Thompson’s mayoral campaign. And last February, she made the move to Senate Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein’s offi ce as communications director.

“It’s exciting,” she said, “being involved in day-to-day activities at the Capitol. As deputy majority leader, Sen. Klein is involved in everything from budget negotiations to helping his constituents in the Bronx.”

But with the budget still locked in limbo, and Senate Democrats hanging on to their majority by a thread, Rocco said she anticipates a busy summer.

“I try to take deep breathes when needed,” she said. She says she has no political aspirations herself, preferring

to work behind the scenes as much as possible. And even though her roots are in Pasadena, Md., Rocco says she is in an Empire state of mind.

“I’m in love with New York,” she said. How did your past jobs get you to where you are now?

“I have been very fortunate to work for some of the hardest- working elected offi cials in New York City and state, who have been willing to give me amazing opportunities to take on new challenges, learn and grow in their offi ces.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “Probably some sort of public-policy research, and still trying to fi gure out what I really want to do with my life.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I’m sure something related to politics. Right now, I’m just looking forward to the weekend.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Allison Janney”

Eric PhillipsAGE: 29Communications and Policy Director,Kathleen Rice 2010

Eric Phillips was weaned on politics from a young age. His mother, Kathleen Falk, was an active political presence in their home state of Wisconsin, serving as public intervenor, a sort of statewide ombudsman

for natural resources, until the position was eliminated in 1995. Falk was elected Dane County executive two years later, but clearly had designs on higher offi ce. Phillips’ fi rst offi cial political gig was working for his mother’s gubernatorial run in 2002. And while Falk ultimately lost to Jim Doyle, Phillips parlayed the experience working on his mother’s campaign to land a wide variety of gigs in his home state.

Enter Kathleen Rice and her campaign for Nassau County district attorney in 2005. A friend in Long Island recommended Phillips fl y out and join Rice’s underdog bid. He did, and has never looked back.

“Nobody thought she was going to win,” he said. “She defeated a 31-year incumbent, and I was fortunate enough to be a part of that.”

Now part of Rice’s attorney general campaign, Phillips said he sees similarities between many of the communities around New York and those in his native Wisconsin, which is similarly comprised of struggling rural areas. There is also the added bonus of being involved in the only competitive statewide Democratic primary race this year. But developing policy and dealing with New York’s robust (and persistent) press corps often keep Phillips away from his true love: the golf course.

Such is politics. And then there is the recurring theory that Rice is Andrew Cuomo’s

favored candidate in the race, despite the attorney general’s continued refusal to endorse so far.

Phillips insists this does not make his job any easier.“It just makes it a little more unique,” he said. “I’ve been in situations

where no one was paying attention to my candidate, and I’ve been in situations where my candidate was the perceived frontrunner. Both situations are challenging.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I was a wood-fl oor sander. I think that

when you’re sanding fl oors its all about changing your method and technique, depending on the fl oor and its condition. And that’s what politics is.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d probably be a reporter, either on the political or baseball beat.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Hopefully, still helping people in government and politics effect positive change in the world. That’s why I got into this job, and that’s why I’ll stay in it.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Bradley Whitford”

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“I was in the trenches in 2006, when Andrea Stewart-Cousins won. I was in the trenches in ‘07, when Craig Johnson got elected in a special; in ‘08, when Darrel Aubertine got elected in his special,” Chris Higgins said,

listing his formative experiences. “I have been there.” His Democratic campaign roots, though, go back deeper than that. In the

mid-’80s, his father won his seat on the Dutchess County Legislature by only one vote. After law school, where Higgins specialized in civil litigation and election law, he briefl y worked in private practice and for the state Board of Elections before becoming a legislative aide to then-Assembly Member (and future Suffolk County Executive) Steve Levy. He shifted chambers in 2006, working as an assistant counsel to the Senate Democrats, a job that was eventually re-branded as “team leader.”

He consults for Senate Democrats, going through their campaign petitions to make sure no errors slip through, as well as providing research assistance and legal advice for important statewide issues like racing, gaming and wagering.

Not content to just work for state lawmakers, Higgins was elected to the Albany County Legislature three years ago, where he set out sponsoring legislation to ban text messaging while driving and requiring plastic-bag recycling outside big-box stores.

“I’m relatively young,” he said. “I have a lot of energy. I don’t have any kids. I don’t have a wife. I don’t have a fi ancée. I’m able to dedicate a tremendous amount of my time to public service.”

In the face of plummeting public opinion and a growing anti-incumbent mood, Higgins is a staunch defender of the Senate’s rank-and-fi le members—possibly because he may want to be one someday? He won’t say, but he will readily point out that his website, HigginsForAlbany.com, is offi ce-neutral, leaving open the door for a future run for an undisclosed position.

“It doesn’t say ‘Higgins for County Legislature,’ does it now?” he said coyly.

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Someone at the State Board of Elections told me about this position with the Senate minority at the time. I applied and wiggled my way in the door. I like to think my

Chris HigginsAGE: 30Team Leader, Senate Democratic major-ity/Member, Albany County Legislature

expert interviewing skills and my work ethic got me the rest of the way.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d probably be a pilot. When I was in college, I worked for a helicopter company.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I defi nitely have higher political aspirations, but I don’t think I want to tip my hand quite so early.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Jonah Hill”

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Allison WeingartenAGE: 23Legislative Director, Assembly Subcommittee on Workplace Safety

Allison Weingarten fi rst realized she had a thing for labor while attending the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. After a summer

internship in Sen. Chuck Schumer’s Washington offi ce, she knew she wanted to pursue her political interests after school.

Landing a position with Assembly Member Rory Lancman’s brand-new subcommittee put her at an ideal intersection of labor, legislation and policy, as the only legislative director for an Assembly subcommittee. Among her various duties over the past year, Weingarten drafted the subcommittee’s reports on H1N1 in the workplace and violence against workers in the juvenile justice system.

The juvenile justice report, in particular, has already had an impact.

“I have gotten calls from just regular workers who have said they see my work and they’re very happy with it and that it’s helping them,” she said.

While the work has at times been overwhelming, the experience has solidifi ed Weingarten’s interest in labor issues. She would eventually like to work for a union or labor-advocacy group.

“I want to stay in the labor movement. I think it needs more young people,” she said.

Until then, Weingarten said her focus will remain on keeping New Yorkers safe on the job.

“Everyone really does deserve to come home after a day at work safely to their family and loved ones,” she said.

How did your past jobs get you to where you are today? “I’m still learning what I need for this position but, if anything helped me, it was my different internships.”

If you were not working in politics, what

Heather EvansAGE: 36Governmental Analyst, Hinman Straub

Growing up in the tiny town of Valley Falls in Rensselaer County, Heather Evans was not exposed to a large

variety of ethnicities, races or ideologies until she began attending SUNY Albany’s diverse campus.

Meeting those new people inspired Evans to get involved with SUNY Albany’s Student Association, and eventually led her to work in government. She worked with other students and state legislators on public education issues, stressing fair access and affordability of education for all residents.

“The diversity of the university system is what got me involved in politics,” she said.

While there, she met Assembly Member Ed Sullivan, of Manhattan, who was then chairman of the Higher Education Committee. They worked together on issues involving PELL grants. After she graduated, Sullivan asked Evans to join his staff.

When Sullivan retired, Evans signed on as a registered lobbyist and Legislative Director with Barrett Associates. Evans now works as a governmental analyst at Hinman Straub, working with education and government lobbying. Most of her work involves analyzing and drafting legislation for clients and dealing with strategic plans for campaigns, though her practice recently has gotten her back to her roots.

“Instead of doing just direct lobbying, or dealing with people on a business level, I’ve been working on a grassroots level,” she said.

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I’m thankful that Michael Barrett of Barrett Associates gave me the opportunity to test the waters outside of politics.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I like organizing—I think in some capacity I’d be doing something with that or with advocacy.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I hope in fi ve years I’m here at Hinman Straub—whether it says principal or analyst, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s a good working environment.”

Who would play you in the movie? “I’ll go with Angelina Jolie, because I’d like to be an action hero.”

would you be doing? “Talk show host or a waterslide tester.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I’m hoping it will say ‘Legislative Director’ for a union.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Ellen Page”

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Richard C. Iannuzzi, President

Representing more than 600,000 professionals in education and health care

www.nysut.org

New York State United TeachersAffiliated with AFT • NEA • AFL-CIO

www.nysut.org

We’ve faced tough times before — including the Great Depression and two world wars. And, like ourparents and grandparents before us, we’ve worked hard to build a better future for our kids, the next generation of New Yorkers, a future made strong through public education.

Yes, times are tough — we’ve already lost more than 5,000 education jobs over the past year. Further cutsto education are the wrong way to go.

Gov. Paterson’s proposal to slash $1.4 billion in education funds would force schools to lay off educators,eliminate programs and derail the substantial progress students have made statewide. The plan would alsofurther burden local property taxpayers at a time when they can least afford it.

Hope for the future starts in our public schools. Urge legislators to do the right thing. Reject education cuts.

OUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE ... PUBLIC SCHOOLS


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Jimmy VielkindAGE: 25Reporter, Albany Times-Union

Jimmy Vielkind was looking for a summer job between high school and college and only asked that it pay

more than minimum wage. He ended up at the Glen Falls Chronicle, expecting to do layouts. His fi rst call to the editor placed him in a different position.

“I asked him if I was going to do layouts,” he recalled. “He said, ‘No, you’re a reporter.’ So I was.”

Vielkind is now in charge of Albany Times-Union’s political blog, “Capitol Confi dential,” bringing skills he picked up blogging at the Observer’s “PolitickerNY” to his hometown paper. He has covered the Senate coup and subsequent shakeup, budget woes and the governor’s scandals.

Vielkind said he has always been a “geek” for state politics.

“Growing up in Albany, with no sports team, you follow the State Legislature instead,” he said.

His goal now is to make government more understandable for readers, noting that his most important role is informing citizens about candidates.

Currently also pursuing a Masters in Urban Planning at SUNY Albany, Vielkind continues to search for the clearest explanation of the often confusing issues happening in the government.

“I write for the paper that my mother and my kindergarten teacher read,” he said. “When writing about an issue, I think, ‘How does this affect them?’”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are

now? “All of the papers I’ve worked at have given me valuable experience as a writer.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’ve always wanted to be a barber. Either that or an aerospace engineer.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I’ll be a journalist somewhere, probably writing about government. At some point it would be fun to be a columnist of some sort.”

Who would play you in the movie?“A young Robert Redford or Matt Damon, because they’re the good-looking blonde guys.”

Michelle GrossAGE: 25Finance Director,Democratic State Senate Committee

For Michelle Gross, the fi nance director for DSCC, the bright spot of her job is not, in fact, raising money.

“Candidate recruitment is the best part of the process,” she said, adding that her position in fi nance means she gets to know aspiring elected offi cials early.

As the Democrats fi ght to retain and expand their majority in the Senate, Gross said she is proud of the slate of candidates they have for the 2010 election—and also of her role in getting them elected.

“There’s a lot that goes into a campaign that people don’t know about,” she said. “New Yorkers need a state government that works. The only way to do that is to run good campaigns, and that all requires money.”

Gross fi rst got into politics through volunteering on Eliot Spitzer’s 2006 campaign for governor, working with Cindy Darrison, the managing director of the campaign. After graduating, Gross joined the newly-formed Darrison Barrett and Associates and continued to raise money for Democrats throughout the state, including Cy Vance and Carolyn Maloney.

The New Jersey native is now fi rmly rooted in New York, having worked with some of the top fundraisers in the state. She’d like to continue her work in state politics, but wouldn’t mind working on a presidential campaign in the future either.

“I like the everyday elements of the job—sometimes it’s crazy, sometimes it’s anything but glamorous,” she said. “But it’s knowing that once November comes, whether you win or you lose, you’ve done everything you could.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “What I’ve taken from each job—the people I’ve met, the work I’ve done and the lessons learned from the experiences—have been integral steps along the path

towards where I am today.” If you were not working in politics, what

would you be doing? “I’d be a chef or a doctor.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I’d like it to include something with New York State. Maybe a re-election campaign.”

Who would play you in the movie?“Natalie Portman”

Melinda Person stayed up the entire night before last month’s deadline to submit the state’s Race to the Top application, helping hash out a deal between the

Assembly Democrats and the Senate on lifting the charter-school cap.

Those who know Person say, though, that such feats of endurance are not surprising: she is an avid triathlete, competing in Ironman competitions. So pulling an all-nighter at the Capitol seems easy by comparison.

“I feel like, ‘If I can do an Ironman, there’s nothing I can’t do,’” Person said.

As a lobbyist for one of the state’s most powerful interest groups, Person said she spends her time doing retail lobbying with lawmakers as well as helping with the union’s political action efforts, such as its well-known phone banking operation.

She has a long background advocating for education issues. Before joining NYSUT, Person worked as a staffer for the Assembly Ways and Means Committee on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case.

But Person said her new job allows her to spend much more time with the union’s members and on the ground learning about their needs.

“Being outside, I felt a little more connected with the real-life impact of things than I did in the Capitol,” Person said.

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I was a teacher in south Boston, and working in a school that had real needs in terms of getting funding.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I would be teaching, probably social studies or political science.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I will either be in the same position, or another position advocating for educational

Melinda PersonAGE: 33Lobbyist, NYSUT

opportunities for kids.”Who would play you in the

movie?“Sandra Bullock”

THE CAPITOL JUNE 2010 11www.nycapitolnews.com

Betsey BallAGE: 36Chief of Staff, State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Betsey Ball is happy to be called an optimist. “You can never narrow expectations. I think the

best way to inspire people and keep them motivated is to believe that even the smallest change has a ripple effect,” Ball said.

Ball has been having a ripple effect on local, state and national politics for years. She fi rst got involved in politics as an intern for DC 37 straight out of undergrad at SUNY Albany. Her work there led to a position with the lobbying fi rm Yoswein New York, where she focused on, among other things, intergovernmental affairs and community organizing.

In 2000, Ball made the jump to presidential politics, joining the Gore/Lieberman campaign.

“It’s almost indescribable, the highs and lows of that experience,” said Ball, who stayed with the campaign all the way through the controversial Florida recount. “I look at it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Since then, Ball has been involved with numerous campaigns and elected offi cials, from Liz Krueger’s successful 2002 bid for State Senate to Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s re-election last year. She has served as Stewart-Cousins’ chief of staff since 2008, after working on her 2006 campaign.

Over time, Ball has shifted toward more staff positions than campaign positions, but she remains fulfi lled working for the same goals that motivated her to walk down to the DC 37 offi ce years ago.

“I’ve been very, very lucky in terms of knowing what the right moves are at the right times,” she said. “I just hope it never gets boring. I don’t think it will.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Collectively, all of my experiences—how hard I’m working and what I do everyday—and that changes every day.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I would be extremely happy having anything to do with the Buffalo Bills.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I would hope that the underlying message was that I was still working on the dream, to borrow from Bruce Springsteen.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Julia Roberts. I’ve always thought she played real-life people very well.”

José PeraltaAGE: 38State Senator, Queens

When José Peralta joined the State Senate in mid-March, he went from being one of 150 Assembly members to one of 62 senators. His staff size

more than doubled, from fi ve to 12. But the biggest change since Peralta replaced

Hiram Monserate has been in the way the Democratic conference started operating, he said, unifying on everything from lifting the charter-school cap, to preventing park closures, to a landmark bill protecting domestic workers.

“It was sort of like tranquility and happiness came over everything,” Peralta said. “Now, we’re getting down to business and have started voting in a bloc. The Amigos have calmed down to the point where people are saying that John Sampson has the ability to move big votes.”

Peralta is also already making a mark as the new chair of the Consumer Protection Committee, with a bill protecting consumers from bed bugs infestation moving quickly through the legislative process. He is fi ghting the potential merger of the state’s Consumer Protection Board into the attorney general’s offi ce, which would save an estimated $800,000 but which he said could undermine the board’s performance.

Peralta said his approach differs from that of his predecessor, Monserrate, because Peralta tends to look at the big picture rather than reacting to every perceived slight. Peralta, for instance, remained diplomatic about a recent AFL-CIO fl yering campaign in his district calling him out for a number of votes, even though he has only been in the Senate for a few months.

“You have to look at the big picture,” Peralta reiterated. “I come from labor, and have always been a friend to labor. We’re going to agree on the issues nine out of 10 times.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I came of age at the New York City Central Labor Council. I was an overall utility player for them.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “Lobbyist.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Mr. Borough President [of Queens]”

What actor would play you in the movie? “Morris Chestnut”


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Marcos CrespoAGE: 29Assembly Member

Marcos Crespo won a special election for assembly last year, but he started out in Albany at the bottom-most rung. He fi rst came to the state Capitol as an intern for then-Assembly Member Ruben Diaz, Jr. in 2003, while he was a student at John Jay College. Crespo liked it so much that he stuck around for the summer working in the district offi ce, and after graduation was hired by Diaz’s father, State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr.

For the elder Diaz, he served as an executive assistant, traveling with the Senator to Albany on session days and working out of the district offi ce otherwise.

Crespo worked for the elder Diaz as controversy swirled around him over the last couple of years—for his joining of “The Four Amigos” prior to the Democrats taking control of the Senate, the subsequent coup, and his outspoken objection to gay marriage.

“The coup was like every day in Senator Diaz’s life,” Crespo said. “He’s controversial. There’s always a buzz around him.”

But he credits his time with Diaz, shuttling between Albany and the Bronx, with helping him get elected last year.

“That experience gave me the ideal background that helped give me the support I needed to run for the special election,” he said. “A lot of folks said, ‘Hey, you are the perfect candidate. You know Albany. You know the district.’”

Having worked for both the elder and the younger Diazes, Crespo sees himself as someone capable of melding the styles of the two men.

“I am more like Ruben in my demeanor, but more like the Senator in my ideals,” he says. “I consider myself a conservative on some issues. I am against same-sex marriage, I am pro-life. Junior is a bit more on the liberal side than his father, but in terms of his demeanor and the way I deliver my message, I am more diplomatic like Junior.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “The internship. That opened my eyes. When you are in Albany, you come in contact with a number of different organizations, and you realize the need in so

many walks of life. You understand just how relevant public service is.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d be a painter. I’d be a member of DC9. Wherever they would send me, I would go paint.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Member of the New York State Assembly, 85th district, god willing.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Myself. We are not getting paid until the budget is passed, so I’ll take the side job.”

Anton KonevAGE: 26Senior Legislative Assistant, Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Peter Rivera /Member, Albany Common Council

Thirteen years ago, Anton Konev arrived in the United States from St. Petersburg, Russia, knowing very little English. Today, Konev is a top aide to Assembly Speaker

Pro Tem Peter Rivera, as well as an elected offi cial in his own right.

What happened in between, Konev says, is classic America Dream stuff.

Konev says he was encouraged to get involved in local and state politics in part because how little community engagement he saw back in his home country. He helped organize an Albany crime-watch program, after being attacked by a gang outside of the university and fi nding little help from the police and university security.

“What better way to improve a community than to get involved yourself,” he said.

Konev works for Rivera, helping prioritize legislation for a whole host of issues, from education to workforce development to bills that would help disabled individuals. He is also an elected offi cial himself, a member of the Albany Common Council, in a seat he won with 53 percent of the vote last year in a three-way race. Konev said he got his fi rst taste of dirty politics when his opponents started slinging mud. Instead of fi ring back, though, Konev said he tried to keep himself focused on the issues.

Konev’s multilateral lifestyle leaves little time for a normal 26-year-old social life, but he has few regrets.

“Pretty much every night, if I’m not working late in the legislative offi ce, I have some kind of meeting I have to go to,” he said.

When he is with his family, Konev says he often fi nds himself defending American democracy, especially with some of his more apathetic relatives.

“Some of my family doesn’t vote,” he said. “That’s always a big argument, because I certainly believe it’s one of the more fundamental rights.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Working for the state was always my goal. Everything led to where I am right now. I didn’t really have too many jobs before. I was an intern, so that was a natural entryway into state politics.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “Probably a lawyer or doctor.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Three years from now, it will say Common Councilman for the City of Albany, because I plan on getting re-elected. I’m not sure what kind of opportunities will be available in fi ve years, so I’ll leave it open-ended.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Arnold Schwarzenegger”

Rafe Lieber is no political novice. His position as chief of staff for State Sen. Craig Johnson is just one of many: he started his career as a staffer for Rep. Gary Ackerman right after college, and was working

for the town of North Hempstead prior to joining Johnson’s team.Yet he still sounds out of breath when he talks about the special

election that put Johnson in Albany. “It felt like a three-month campaign packed into 28 days,” Lieber said.Lieber has been with Johnson ever since, involved in Johnson’s regular

fi ghts against some of the state’s biggest interests. Most recently, Lieber’s boss butted heads with UFT over charter schools—and came out not just alive, but with their approach carrying the day. For Lieber, political independence—a crucial for the senator—comes from picking your priorities.

“The district, Nassau, Long Island, New York—that’s the way we operate and that fl ies in the face of some people,” he said.

Lieber has been mentioned in the past as a possible candidate for offi ce in Nassau County. He admits this is something he hasn’t ruled out in the future, but for now he is enjoying his time in Albany.

“As a political junkie, what better place can there possibly be than the New York State Senate?” he said.

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I’ve been involved for so long, I’ve made a lot of contacts, I’ve met a lot of people. The town of Hempstead is eighty percent of the district, so Craig felt I’d have a good understanding of the issues and the district.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d probably want to teach history or social studies in high school.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Secretary to Gov. Johnson”

Who would play you in the movie? “Michael J. Fox”

Rafe LieberAGE: 34Chief of Staff,State Sen. Craig Johnson


Travis ProulxAGE: 28Deputy Press Secretary for Senate Majority

Travis Proulx comes to Albany from upstate.Not upstate in the way most people think of

upstate, as in “north of the New York City suburbs,” but upstate as in Lewis County, as far north as you can go in New York before hitting Canada.

He grew up 20 miles outside of a town with only 500 people in it, but his knowledge of the far corners of the state came in handy in his fi rst job in Albany, where he worked for the Democratic conference trying to get papers in members’ hometowns to pay attention to what they were doing in Albany.

“A lot of times, senators would accomplish something in Albany, and you would just have to hope that it trickled down into the news of where they lived,” he says. “I would try to help members get credit in areas where Democrats aren’t necessarily viable candidates.”

Proulx came to Albany after a stint in State Sen. Liz Krueger’s offi ce, and, before that, getting a degree at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, where he interned for John Stossel at ABC News. That experience helped him learn how newsrooms decide what is newsworthy.

And, he says, there is nothing better than working in state government.

“People often assume federal politics is sexier,” he says. “But the reality is that what happens on the state level affects people’s lives far more than any other level of government.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “One of my fi rst jobs was working for a higher education opportunity program that helps low-income and disadvantaged students succeed in college. I was in that program when I was in college, and I would not have gone

to school otherwise. It instilled in me a passion for keeping programs like that alive and thriving.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “Buying up dilapidated old houses and redoing them.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card: “Deputy Press Secretary for the Senate Super-majority.”

Who would play you in the movie? “The guy who plays Dwight Schrute in The Offi ce.”

Jennifer CarlsonAGE: 39Principal, Abraham Crown & Associates

For most of her life, Jennifer Carlson has been surrounded by politics. As a child she recalled summers spent politicking for her grandmother, a

town clerk in Niagara County, and other local candidates in western New York.

“While other kids were going off to summer camp, I was dropping literature,” she recalled.

In her late 20s, however, she found herself on the sidelines. A few years of getting away from it all in California had recently ended. Carlson was back in Buffalo, working with the YWCA to educate women on the importance of getting involved in government.

“I was sitting there one day and I thought, ‘What are you doing?’” she said.

Carlson has spent the past decade rectifying the situation. She started by getting back to her roots, working in local politics in Western New York. Her political consulting work took her as far away as Louisiana before she founded her own consulting fi rm, Abraham Crown & Associates, just a few years ago.

Who, exactly, is Abraham Crown? The fi rm is actually named after her dog.

“It had to be something personal, for ownership,” she said.

Carlson’s lobbying work has been credited with expanding the availability of alternative energies like solar power in New York State. Likewise, if the battle over selling wine in grocery stores is won by those in favor of it, they’ll have Carlson to thank.

Carlson sites her grandmother as the key to her success. “I think my grandmother’s infl uence set me on the

path, even if I didn’t recognize it at the time,” she said. “She would say, ‘Don’t just think outside the box; live outside of the box.’”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I really think it’s a refl ection of how I grew up. It’s how I got to this place.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d be Lara Croft from Tomb Raider.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “It’s a surprise.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Ingrid Bergman”


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Harry WilsonAGE: 38Republican State Comptroller Nominee

Over the past two years, Harry Wilson’s life has taken a rapid turn: from hedge fund manager at Silver Point Capital, to working on the Obama administration’s auto restructuring

team, to winning the unanimous Republican nomination for comptroller.

Wilson said it all happened somewhat by chance. He became the only Republican in the leadership of the auto restructuring because he e-mailed Steve Rattner, who was leading the team and whom he had never met, his résumé. And after helping turn around General Motors, Wilson became a candidate himself only after he began searching for candidates to support in New York in 2010.

“Almost all those conversations ended with, ‘You should run. You should be one of those high-quality candidates,’” Wilson said.

Wilson grew up in the 7,000-person town of Johnstown in Fulton County, where he said he saw fi rst-hand how upstate New York’s economic decline had affected families. His father’s generation, and grandfather’s, had spent their lives there, he said, but his own generation left for greener pastures.

“My generation—half the cousins live outside the state because they left to fi nd jobs, including my sister,” Wilson said. “The half that are in New York, they spread all over the place. None of them are in Johnstown. It’s all over the map because the opportunity wasn’t there.”

Still, Wilson emerged to pay his way through Harvard and Harvard Business School, working odd jobs to pay the bills.

Though Andrew Cuomo is the odds-on favorite to be the next governor, Wilson said he was confi dent they could work together if both are elected. Notably, the Independence Party recently gave Wilson their line—he is the only Republican so far to get their nod—even as Cuomo is at the top of the party’s ticket.

“Whoever the next governor of the State of New York is has to deal with these spending problems or the state’s going to be insolvent, and that person will be a one-term governor,” Wilson said. “But if that person can successfully

deal with these spending problems, he or she will be a successful governor, and the world will be his or her oyster.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Every job has value and every job prepares one for the next challenge. Whether it was washing dishes or restructuring General Motors, the lessons I have learned in each of my jobs have been the same: Work hard and address the toughest chores fi rst.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “Working with disadvantaged youth, especially in education reform. Education is the ladder to the American Dream, and certainly changed my life. It is just wrong that so many of the next generation aren’t getting a fair shot at it.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Harry Wilson, Proud Father and Husband.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Russell Crowe, in Gladiator”

Albany is a long way from Texas. When Evans tells people in New York where he is from originally, he gets strange looks. When he is home, visiting relatives in Texas, he keeps his New York affi liations to himself.

Being from the Lone Star state, though, has not cramped Evans’ ascent in the world of New York politics. After obtaining a graduate degree in international relations, he volunteered for Sean Patrick Maloney’s attorney general campaign. Following that, he quickly transitioned to the government side, working for former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s transportation advisor, Tim Gilchrist.

His second day on the job, Gilchrist handed Evans a fi le on congestion pricing and told him to “take care of this.” The task proved to be a defi ning one. He staffed the commission on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to charge vehicles to enter New York City, which ultimately failed to even come up for a vote in the Legislature.

The next year, Evans was working for Richard Ravitch’s commission to rescue the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. That bill made it through the Legislature, although somewhat altered from Ravitch’s original proposal.

“So I got to experience both sides,” he said. “Success and failure.”Working for Ravitch—”the Buddha of New York State government”—was for

Evans an enlightening experience. “You just sit at his feet and absorb wisdom,” he said. But even Ravitch is not above cutting the occasional deal, he added, a fact

that has come into sharper view since his ascension to the role of lieutenant governor.

Still, Evans says he feels inspired by Ravitch, especially as he attempts the 125-mile bike route between the city and Bear Mountain every week.

“You never quite back down,” Evans said. “You just get up the next day and fi nd a new angle and keep going.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I got the door opened with the chance to work for Sean and then for Tim. I got to learn actually how government works, rather than read it in a book. … That’s what you really need.”

Michael EvansAGE: 30Chief of Staff, Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I think I’d be a novelist or travel writer.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I guess I’ll be having a new business card by the beginning of next year. Maybe a dream job would be something like directing the bid for a New York Olympic 2020.”

Who would play you in the movie? “SNL’s Seth Myers”

Virginia LamAGE: 32Communications Director, Dan Donovan for Attorney General

Virginia Lam started her career in New York City politics nine years ago as an Urban Fellow, one of the people

in the city’s program designed to introduce recent college graduates to public service by placing them in various agencies and departments.

Due to her extensive writing background—she was a journalism major at Northwestern—Lam was placed in the FDNY’s press offi ce. There, she handled counter-terrorism education programs, issues on diversity within the department, and the health effects of Sept.11, as one of the department’s spokespersons.

Two years later, Lam got a call to join Mayor Bloomberg’s press offi ce after his 2005 re-election, where she worked with what she described as some of the “brilliant minds in government.” Next up was a stint in the private sector, holding jobs at Ruder Finn and Howard Rubenstein’s powerhouse PR fi rm.

She joined Dan Donovan’s campaign for attorney general in May, working as his communications director. Lam is now in the midst of Donovan’s blitz tour of all 62 counties in the state, making up for lost time following Donavan’s wavering over whether to get into the race.

“The work that we do is important,” she said, “and it’s incredibly interesting to feel that you’re doing something that has a real positive impact on the lives of New Yorkers.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I feel that I’ve been pretty fortunate in that each job has led me to the next one, and has been interconnected and built off of each other.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d be a journalist. I’d love to go back into reporting, and it could happen someday.” Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “In fi ve years, I hope my business card says ‘Communi-cations Director, Campaign to Re-Elect Dan Donovan Attorney General’!”

Who would play you in the movie? “Reese Witherspoon”

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Melissa DeRosa AGE: 27New York State Director, Organizing for America

On one of her fi rst days working in Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s Washington, D.C., offi ce, Melissa DeRosa ran into their across-the-hall neighbor, Rep. Louise

Slaughter. It turned out to be a reunion.“She said, ‘I remember when you were a kid,’” DeRosa

recalled. DeRosa had walked the district and in parades with

her father, Giorgio DeRosa, and Slaughter during her 1996 campaign. DeRosa was then about four years old.

Now, two decades later, DeRosa is the head of the Obama-campaign-turned-DNC-fi eld-operation Organizing for America in New York. The Albany native oversees three offi ces and a staff of 10 across the state. After the successful passage of health care reform, DeRosa and Organizing for America are fi ghting to keep a number of vulnerable New York congressional Democrats in offi ce in the 2010 mid-term election.

DeRosa has a résumé of constant political work, dating back to a very early age. In high school, she substituted a class for an internship with Suzy Ballantyne, director of government affairs for the New York State AFL-CIO. Later, she attended the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and interned for Hillary Clinton’s HILLPAC in Washington, D.C.

Her only break from politics was a year working as a fashion publicist after college, but she quickly returned, signing on to a series of congressional races that culminated in the Velázquez campaign. She went back to Cornell to get her master’s in public administration. But school could not provide the adrenaline fi x.

“Working 20 hours a day can be very addictive,” she said.

After running Tracey Brooks’ 2008 campaign for

Congress, she entered the world of political consulting with Cordo & Co., before getting the call last year from the Democratic National Committee. She was thrilled to get involved with one of the few political movements not already on her résumé.

“I feel very fortunate,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of experiences at a very young age that a lot of other people didn’t get to have.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “It was a slew of experiences that led into one another in a seamless way that prepared me for where I am today.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I would be traveling and getting eight hours of sleep a night.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Hopefully, it still says, ‘Organizing For America, NY State Director.’”

Who would play you in the movie? “Mary-Louise Parker”

Andrew HevesiAGE: 36Assembly Member

Few in Albany know the corridors of the Capitol quite like Andrew Hevesi.

The Queens Assembly member’s father served in the Legislature for two decades before heading up both the city and state’s comptroller’s offi ces.

“He would gently encourage me to get into public service, but he would never say, ‘You’ve got to do this,’” Hevesi recalled. “I would drive with him around the state when he was running for comptroller, and that’s when I really started to fall in love with this business.”

Of course, carrying around the name Hevesi is lot harder these days than it used to be. Alan Hevesi was forced to resign in 2006 after he admitted that he used a state driver to chauffeur around his ailing wife, and was back in the news last year in connection with the Raymond Harding scandal. Some expect new charges to surface any day.

Andrew Hevesi says he remains unfazed by it all.“He is the kind of man I aspire to be,” he said. “This

is a tough business. You take the good with the bad, and I am proud of him. He made his mistakes but he owned up to them. I would be really proud if, by the time I am done, my record of achievement comes close to his.”

Now that he is making it in politics on his own, Hevesi’s focus is singular: renewable energy. He is the chairman of the subcommittee on renewable energy, and helped to craft the Renewable Energy Development and Jobs Act of 2010, which he cites as his signature legislative achievement thus far.

“This is a place that New York has the obligation to lead,” he said. “The goal is to incrementally expand renewables until they take over from less environmentally friendly sources of energy.”

That kind of work, Hevesi says, is enough for him to put up with the political slings and arrows.

“I really like the ability to effect change,” he says. “We have the opportunity to impact people’s lives in a public way.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I grew up running around these halls. I’ve been around to watch some great legislators operate and I just aspired to be one of them.”

If you were not in politics, what would you be doing? “I’ve been on this track for close to a decade, so I am not sure.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Assemblyman Hevesi.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Harrison Ford”


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Julie RuttanAGE: 38Lobbyist, Patricia Lynch Associates

For Julie Ruttan, the issues she lobbies lawmakers on are as much personal causes as professional ones, with her

client roster including a heavy dose of non-profi ts, from New York City Legal Services, to the New York City Association for Affordable housing, to after-school programs.

“I defi nitely am attracted to more liberal-based clients,” Ruttan said.

Before joining Pat Lynch in 2008, Ruttan worked for six years as legislative director at Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein, where she won an award for her work on the Justice for Farmworkers Campaign from the New York State Injured Workers’ Bar Association.

In her free time, Ruttan doubles as a jewelry designer, even often donating pieces to her favorite charities and non-profi ts to be auctioned off.

Ruttan got her start out of college working in a secretarial position for the Assembly Democrats, eventually moving into a policy position over her eight years there.

“I was a kid and I thought, ‘Albany was fun, let me try Albany,’” she said. “I just kind of fell into it.”

In lobbying lawmakers, meanwhile, Ruttan said she likes to bring the actual people affected by legislation to the Capitol to share their stories. She will bring exploited farm workers, for instance, to speak with legislators.

“When you can bring people in to tell their personal stories, you can educate lawmakers on what life is really like for these people,” Ruttan said.

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “During my years in the Assembly, I slowly developed a passion for policy.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I would own my own specialty boutique jewelry and gifts business.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I would like it to say ‘Lobbyist,’ but hopefully build my client base to deal more with aging issues and issues facing baby boomers.”

What actor would play you in the movie? “Glenn Close. One of my favorite lines from Fatal Attraction is, ‘She won’t be ignored.’”

Thomas BasileAGE: 34Executive Director, State Republican Party / Managing Direc-tor, Middleberg Communications

The deputy mayor of Baghdad fi nished giving his remarks. One of Iraq’s neophyte journalists stood to ask a question. The reporter began talking; no question came. He kept talking. The interpreter could hardly keep up.

Tom Basile turned to the deputy mayor, confused. What was this man doing?

The deputy mayor replied: He is giving a speech.That is when Basile, who had arrived in 2003 to work as a senior press

advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority, realized Iraqi reporters did not know how to ask questions at press conferences. The experience had a profound impact on him.

“I love talking to journalists here about the birth of free press in a place that, if you had had the temerity to question the government, you’d be killed,” he said.

Basile’s work has taken him from Albany to Washington, D.C., to Baghdad and back again. He is a political science professor at Fordham University, a managing director at the consulting fi rm Middleberg Communications, and the executive director of the New York State Republican Party.

Not bad for a kid from Rockland County who lost his fi rst political race at 21.

“People would come up to me outside the supermarket and ask me, ‘Are you even old enough to vote?’” Basile said.

He would go on to work for the Pataki administration—fi rst job was as a “parky” with the offi ce of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation—and as a member of the Bush/Cheney 2000 team, which parlayed into a communications position in the White House. He requested the transfer to Baghdad.

“Ten days later I was sitting on my luggage in 130-degree heat in Kuwait, waiting for a military transport,” he said.

Even though he did decide to take a pass on the seat of retiring State Sen. Tom Morahan this year, since his days in the White House, Basile has

committed himself to building the Republican Party in New York.

He credits Ronald Reagan for starting him down that path.

“Even as a kid, you got the sense that through government you could have a positive impact on people’s lives,” he said.

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Whether it was my time in Baghdad, in Washington or on the road during the 2000 presidential campaign, I learned over that time that politics by its nature is a very fl uid and dynamic environment. To serve well you have to be principled, but you also have to be willing to adapt to constant changing situations.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I probably would do something in journalism or broadcast news.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I hope that, whatever it says, it’s something that’s going to enable me to be fulfi lled by whatever I’m doing and helping people along the way.”

Who would play you in the movie? “It’s a tossup: Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan.”

John Belmont’s life in Albany politics has in a sense come full circle.As an undergraduate studying political science and history at the

College of St. Rose, Belmont approached an advisor for internship suggestions.

“He said, ‘I think you’d be a great fi t for CSEA,’” Belmont recalled. Now, as the legislative director for the Civil Service Employees Association, Belmont is responsible for, among other things, overseeing the current crop of college interns.

As a lobbyist for CSEA, Belmont works on behalf of one of the state’s largest unions, fi ghting to keep state employees’ pensions and jobs off the legislative chopping block. Prior to re-joining CSEA, Belmont did research for the New York State Assembly’s communications and information services department for a year after graduating.

A Utica native, Belmont’s interest in politics started at home. His father, Allen Belmont, worked for the Oneida County Probation Department for nearly four decades, retiring in 2006 as its director. His father’s civil service record provided Belmont with the inspiration that brought him to Albany. “I just admired him as a person for his public service. I wanted to make my own mark in people’s lives as well,” he said.

Belmont recognizes that, given the current climate in Albany, “it’s going to be a continued fi ght” to protect union jobs. But with CSEA’s recent victory over the governor’s furlough attempt, Belmont hopes to continue to make his mark.

“We’re very infl uential in this department,” he said. “A lot of things happen here that matter to a lot of people.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “My previous positions provided me with the knowledge, experience and work ethic that are expected in my job.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “It was always my dream to play centerfi eld for the Yankees. This is a good second

John BelmontAGE: 26Legislative Director, Civil Servants Employee Association

choice—or even a better choice—in a lot of ways.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Continuing to work for this organization well into the future.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Leonardo DiCaprio—he’ll have to shave his head for the part.”


Scott ReifAGE: 34Press Secretary, Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos and the Senate Republican Conference

If not for James Walsh’s 1996 Congressional campaign, Scott Reif would likely be somewhere doing local

sportscasts on the nightly news. Reif attended SUNY Oswego for communications, where he worked at the campus television station. Working on Walsh’s campaign, though, put him down the path of politics.

“I caught the bug,” Reif said.That bug led to a position with the

Assembly Republicans, under the direction of John Faso, after graduation. This training ground gave Reif the contacts and skills that led to a communications position in the budget division for the Pataki administration. At the end of his four-year tour, he had become director of communications.

Since 2007, Reif has been with Sen. Dean Skelos’ offi ce, managing the minority leader’s interviews, as well as his speech writing. Reif also pulls double-duty with his communications responsibility for the Senate Republican conference.

But what was probably Reif’s most trying experience is pretty easy to pinpoint.

“Our big worry leading up to launching the coup was that it would get out,” he said, recalling all the time he spent outside the locked Senate chamber, waiting for press conferences to begin. “Talk about a diffi cult aspect of the job: telling reporters, ‘Just another minute, just another minute.’”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “With the Assembly, I got to do a lot of writing and rolling up my sleeves, and got to work hands-on with what I wanted to do as a career.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d probably be a sports anchor somewhere in the country. Probably in a small media market like North Dakota.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I think similar to what I do now, as a press secretary or speech writer, to a Republican offi cial.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Jimmy Stewart”

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Shontell SmithAGE: 28Floor Counsel, Senate Democrats

Shontell Smith’s job is to make sure that the events of June 8, 2009 never happen again.

Following last year’s Senate coup, Smith, who at the time was still in a year-long training program learning arcane rules of the Senate, was suddenly thrust into the role of advising State Sen. Jeff Klein on the upper chamber’s procedures. (The former fl oor counsel got fi red for not blocking Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate from switching parties.)

Since those events a year ago, the job of leading the Democrats in fl oor battles has taken on increased prominence, Smith said.

“That makes you learn the rules really quickly,” Smith said. “Everybody tells me I have a really hard position.”

Smith has helped oversee Monserrate’s expulsion from the Senate—a diffi cult task, since the chamber had not expelled one of its own members since 1861. Besides her duties on the fl oor, she also helps vet the governor’s appointments.

Smith acknowledges she got into politics on a whim: she was unemployed and at the gym one day, not long after Democrats took over the Senate majority, when she saw Malcolm Smith on television and got in touch. Though Smith initially was hired for a different position, Shelly Mayer, her boss at the time, soon decided she would be perfect working on the Senate fl oor with the members, given her outgoing personality.

“One thing I’ve learned in the Senate is that if you don’t have people skills, it limits you,” Smith said. “That’s probably my best quality.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Life experiences prepared me—plus my jobs and internships in college and law school.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I don’t know, but I think I’ll always be attracted to working with people.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? Mastering my lane.Who would play you in the movie? “Jennifer Hudson. At fi rst, no one thought she’d be a good actress, then Dream-girls came out and everyone said, ‘Oh wow, she’s a pleasant surprise.’ I think I’m a pleasant surprise, too.”

Brendan ScottAGE: 31Reporter, New York Post

Brendan Scott”s biggest scoop came soon after he started at the New York Post’s Albany bureau.

Six months into his new gig, Scott broke the news that Gov. David Paterson’s consigliore Charles O’Byrne had failed to pay income taxes for the past fi ve years, leading to O’Byrne’s resignation.

That story, though, was just one in what has been a whirlwind tour in Albany for Scott, who started in the statehouse, “on the day everything changed,” meaning, he says, the day Eliot Spitzer was sworn in as governor.

“Everything did change for me and for the Capitol,” he says. “And it’s been non-stop ever since.”

Then, he covered Albany for the Middletown Times Herald Record, a Hudson Valley paper that he started working for while still a student at SUNY-New Paltz. Legendary Albany Post bureau chief Fred Dicker recruited him over, and he spent time in New York City working for the Post’s Sunday edition before coming back up to Albany.

“What intrigues me most about my job is that it’s a front-row seat to history,” he says. “And being able to witness events that would have an impact for a long time to come. You can refl ect back years later and say, ‘I was there.’”

But the question that Scott is most often asked about his time in Albany has nothing to do with Eliot Spitzer, or the arcane details of budget negotiations, or about being president of the Legislative Correspondents Association. Instead, Scott most often fi elds questions from the curious about his boss, Fred Dicker.

“Fred is a legend up here,” he says. “Contrary to popular opinion, he’s the nicest guy you’d never want to cross. It’s great working with him. He has a wealth of knowledge and he shares it freely. You can’t help but learn in his presence.”

How did your past jobs lead you to where you are? “It’s been pretty linear. I started out as a

GA and started to specialize in politics and government, and that led me here.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “Touring Scandinavia in an ethereal space-rock band.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Equal Opportunity Prick?”

Who would play you in the movie? “Crispin Glover”

Julie SuarezAGE: 37Director of Public Policy, New York Farm Bureau

“Idon’t think anybody ever grows up and says, ‘Gee, I think I want to be a lobbyist when I grow up,’” Julie Suarez said, laughing. But make no mistake: the director of public policy for the New York Farm Bureau is

proud to represent the interests of the organization’s nearly 30,000 members across New York State.

But how does an Army brat who was born in Queens get into farming?When her family was stateside, she would visit with her grandfather,

a farm professor in the SUNY system, who would take her to visit farmers upstate.

“As a child, that was something that was always special, to spend time with him on the local farms,” Suarez recalled.

Suarez has always had an interest in government—she holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in political science—but policy, not politics, is what drives her. After graduate school, a New York State fellowship allowed her to work on agriculture policy with the Legislature.

Not long after, Suarez made her transition to the Farm Bureau. She has remained there, pushing for the varied agricultural interests across New York.

This year and last, Suarez has been successfully playing defense on laws and policies the Bureau believes would hurt farmers in a global marketplace, such as the Farm Workers Fair Labor Practices Act. She also sits on the New York State Council on Food Policy, which promotes access to local, sustainable and healthy foods.

As a mother of two, Suarez sees a direct connection between the policy priorities of the Farm Bureau and the nutritional needs of New Yorkers, especially youth.

“We look at the obesity crisis facing our kids and argue about whether it’s soda or exercise,” she said. “I look at school lunches… If all a child knows is overcooked peas and sweet apple sauce, that’s not developing good eating habits.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “That’s easy, I only had one job prior to this. I was the Senate agriculture director for about

two years, which led me to be qualifi ed for farm bureau.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “Ideally, I would win the lottery, then open up a vineyard and a bistro in the Finger Lakes.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “My business card, fi ve years from now, I would like it to still say ‘I’m a good mom.’”

Who would play you in the movie? “Sandra Bullock—she’s a brunette.”

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Lynn KroghAGE: 29Co-Founder and President, Gotham Management Group / Political director, Rick Lazio for Governor

Lynn Krogh started in politics helping her father, Rob Krogh, run for City Council in her hometown of Troy, N.Y.

Walking through the city and selling her neighbors on the idea of voting for her father, she saw what it took to win over voters. Her father and she listened to their neighbors’ concerns and explained to them how they intended to help, mobilizing those around them in helping to get the word out.

“All politics is small-town politics,” she said.

Krogh brought this insight to Republican campaigns and administrations across New York. She worked for George Pataki’s 2002 re-election campaign and stayed on as a press aide, traveling across New York with the former governor.

She has also been involved with the New York State Young Republicans, where she was elected chairperson last year. In the decade since she got involved, membership has grown dramatically—from 12 offi cial members in 2001 to close to 1,000 current members. Krogh credits this to outreach and organization, and to providing a place for all different Republicans to meet.

In 2009, Krogh and two partners started Gotham Management Group, a consulting fi rm, which is now working on Rick Lazio’s campaign for governor—a race Krogh insists is winnable, in spite of early poll numbers.

“If we can do it in Massachusetts and New Jersey, then we can do it here,” she said, her voice strained from the recent Republican Convention. “It’s about getting out the vote, reaching into places that haven’t been touched yet and running an aggressive campaign.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “All of the work that I’ve been incredibly lucky to do, even campaigning as a kid, has trained me to understand everything through a grassroots lens.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d be a high school English teacher, because I love the language.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I hope I keep doing what I’m doing, and I’m doing what I love. Hopefully, in fi ve years Lazio will be running for re-election, and I’ll be helping him to do that.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Reese Witherspoon”

Evan SchneiderAGE: 36Senate Insurance Committee Director

“I wanted to be a doctor,” Evan Schneider said of his time at Skidmore, “but I just didn’t get the grades I needed in those courses.”

So Schneider abandoned his medical aspirations and shifted his attention to politics. Soon after graduating, he took an internship for Assembly Member Richard Brodsky, starting him on a path that got him hired as a legislative director for then-Assembly Member Ivan Lafayette.

With Lafayette, who was the Insurance Committee chair, Schneider started his involvement with insurance legislation, which he then translated into his current position as the director of the Senate Insurance Committee.

But though he never did become a doctor, Schneider has had an impact on medical issues: he recently helped push through a bill that would permit dialysis patients to receive treatments outside of their insurance provider’s network without facing extra costs. Schneider had to get health insurers, health care providers and the National Kidney Service on board before the bill went to the fl oor. Once it did, the bill passed the Assembly but got stuck in the Senate—until this month.

All told, the process took six years.“I had a brother who had kidney transplants. This was an opportunity

for me to address a personal situation and move it into a larger policy arena. It took a long time,” Schneider said, “but that’s what happens around here. You need to be willing to keep at it.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I did a lot of

insurance legislation for Assemblyman Lafayette, because he was the senior member on the Assembly Insurance Committee. He always had a passion for it, and working for him provided me with the policy experience needed for my current position.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “Something I’ve always wanted to do was carpentry. I’ve always been fascinated

by it, and I’m just starting to get into it around the house.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I hope to continue to work on insurance policy. I’m really happy here, and I’ll stay as long as Senator Breslin will have me.”

Who would play you in a movie of your life? “If I said Brad Pitt, my colleagues would never let me live it down. So Cary Elwes from The Princess Bride.”

As legislative director for Tom Libous, the second-ranking Republican in the State Senate, Aaron Martin has been working hard to adjust to life in the minority.

With far fewer member items allocated to Libous—in 2008, he took in $3.5 million, while in 2009 he got just $500,000—fewer non-profi ts in the district are getting funding. The offi ce staff has also shrunk in half, so there are fewer people to answer the phones.

Martin, though, intent on maintaining the same level of services for constituents, helped create a voicemail system that breaks down possible questions into categories, which are then transcribed and e-mailed to the senator’s staff, so they can address comments and concerns more effi ciently.

“A lot has changed in the past year and a half,” said Martin. “It’s a lot less now about negotiating a bill with the governor and Assembly, and more about fi guring out ways to have the senator and his constituents’ voices be heard.”

Martin began working for Libous as a Senate intern while in college, and he has risen through the ranks in the upstate senator’s offi ce in the 13 years since he started. His time as a session assistant gave him insight into the legislative process. His job as a public affairs coordinator introduced him to the residents he was working for.

Now, as legislative director, he works closely with Libous on policy issues and budget negotiations—which is as close to the political process as he wants to get.

“Working with the people who are making the decisions is something that I’ve always wanted to do,” he said, adding that he has no interest in running for offi ce. “I feel I can get more done working on staff.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I worked in retail, and I worked on campaigns. And everything that can be accomplished can be accomplished through hard work. I learned that if you have an open mind about something, and you work hard, and you know how to pick up skills, you would be all right.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’ve always been interested in parks and travel. I always thought it could be neat to be a travel agency or something with the development for parks and recreational spaces.”

Five years from now, what will it to say on your business card? “It would need to be something where I felt as if I’m making a difference. Helping to make New York State a better place.”

Who would play you in the movie? “I think the best actor to play me would be Patrick Stewart. He’s got a leadership presence, instills confi dence in his colleagues and doesn’t let the emotion around him get in the way of making important or tough decisions. I strive for that too.”

Aaron MartinAGE: 34Legislative Director, State Sen. Tom Libous

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Michael Cohen is all about bringing people together.In 1998, when he was just 20, he organized the fi rst

National Black/Jewish Relations Conference on Capitol Hill. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Jewish Congress members and Presidents of Black and Jewish NGOs got together.

The conference was held three years in a row, and it expanded each year.

“Members of those communities are still collaborating today,” said Cohen. “The relationships that came out of that conference proved to be lasting. It highlighted issues important to both communities and built relationships based on commonalities.”

After graduating from Brooklyn College with a bachelor’s and master’s in political science, Cohen worked for Rep. Ed Towns and went on to join the staffs of Mark Green, when he was public advocate, and of Scott Stringer, when he was in the Assembly. Cohen has also worked on dozens of different campaigns in strategic, fundraising and political roles.

As chief of staff for Senator Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, Cohen strives to do similar work.

“Sampson is all about working across community lines,” he said. “That’s something he’s been a staunch advocate of, and it’s one of the reasons I went to work for him.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Very simply—in New York politics, everybody knows everybody. It’s not a tremendous business. A lot of people stick around and you fi nd them in different positions. I built reputations and relationships with those people and that determined how I progressed.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “Realistically, I’d be writing and teaching. But my dream job is shortstop for the Yankees.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I think

Michael CohenAGE: 32Chief of Staff, Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson

that Senator Sampson and I will still be doing the work that we’re doing together in some capacity, professional or otherwise.”

Who would play you in the movie? “A young Al Pacino, circa The Godfather Parts I and II.”

Katharine GraingerAGE: 36Deputy Director, Offi ce of SenateDemocratic Majority Counsel

Katharine Grainger has traveled the world in the name of women’s reproductive rights. She has been to

the Middle East and Africa, and seen places torn apart by poverty and war. But nothing stresses her out more than her job in the New York State Senate.

“It’s the most stressful job I’ve had in my life, and the job I love the most,” she said. “Including working in Yemen doing women’s political organizing.”

Grainger is the architect of much of the major pieces of legislation coming out of the Senate these days, from the Race to the Top bills, to domestic rights for workers, to matrimonial reform legislation. Working alongside Shelley Mayer and Michael Kink, Grainger also helped develop the Democrats’ legal strategy during the Senate coup last summer. But more than just a policy expert, Grainger is recognized by her colleagues as a stalwart advocate for progressive causes.

She earned her law degree from Northeastern University, after which she worked for several years as a public defender. Later, she took a job with NARAL Pro-Choice America, where as vice president for politics she was intimately involved in supporting and funding many of the Democratic candidates running against Senate incumbents. She joined the Senate majority counsel two months before the coup threw everything into chaos.

On any given day, as Grainger keeps tabs on many of the bills winding their way through the legislative process, she stays aware that a Democratic majority is meaningless without rank-and-fi le members to introduce those bills and shepherd them along.

“What I know very well, unless you have leadership and the members willing to bring bills to the fl oor and willing to push an agenda, things don’t happen.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “I’ve always worked on legislative policy, and had wanted to try that working on the inside.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “On a good day, I would be running a non-profi t, either in Washington or here. On a bad day, I’m selling shoes at Bergdorf. I also have a dream to be a wine distributor in wine country.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I would hope it would say ‘Women in charge.’”

Who would play you in a movie? “NY1’s Erin Billups”

Michael Elmendorf AGE: 36State Director,National Federation of Independent Business

When Michael Elmendorf began working on George Pataki’s 1994 gubernatorial campaign, he was a just political science major at Union College, and never imagined that he was

embarking on a lasting relationship.“My offi ce was in the room next to his,” Elmendorf said.

“Whatever he was doing, I was doing.” Elmendorf eventually became Pataki’s director of

intergovernmental affairs, a job that involved dealing with Congressional agencies and the White House, and he handled matters that pertained to international relations, remaining on Pataki’s senior staff until he left offi ce in December 2006.

“I walked out of the Capitol with him on our last day. I was the one who shut the lights off,” he said.

One of Pataki’s last acts as governor was to appoint Elmendorf to the New York Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Then, in February 2007, Elmendorf became New York State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business.

“I’d gotten a few other job offers, but that was the one I really wanted,” he said.

The reason Elmendorf was so interested in the position is that he comes from a family of small-business owners. His mother and stepfather run the family business, a Colonie jewelry store that has been in the family for three generations. His father, meanwhile, owned a bar in the Albany area for many years.

“Every night, while I was growing up, I would sit at the dinner table and hear about the challenges and rewards of running a small business,” Elmendorf said. “Small-business owners are tremendous, hard-working people with interesting stories, and I’m fortunate to be fi ghting for them in both Albany and Washington, D.C.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Working directly at the governor’s side gives you an enormous amount of insight to a huge range of issues. I also got the opportunity to get insight into

how state government works—or doesn’t work. So that was certainly an education.”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “My dream job is to have David Letterman’s or Conan O’Brien’s job.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I don’t know. Hopefully I’ll have one.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Charlie Sheen—but with less drinking and no hookers.”


Josh BrumbergerAGE: 31Chief of Staff, Eric Dinallofor Attorney General

Josh Brumberger was on his way to accepting a soulless job working for Lehman Brothers in Boston when his public policy professor

and thesis advisor at Northeastern University convinced him to give politics a try instead.

“That’s too bad, I thought I had one,” Brumberger recalled that professor, former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, saying to him, “someone who would go into public service.”

After a heart-to-heart with the former Democratic presidential nominee, Brumberger decided to take a job working government relations at Amtrak. A short time on the Hill was all it took for him to “catch the buzz,” he said. Amtrak led to a staff position in Rep. Nita Lowey’s offi ce.

And then there was John Edwards’ presidential campaign.

Brumberger’s volatile stint working for the disgraced pol—a period he calls “the ugly stuff”—has been well documented in Game Change, the best-selling chronicle of the 2008 election. Working for Edwards, and the subsequent publicizing of their heated conversations about whether Edwards should drop out of the race, took a lot out of Brumberger. He took some time off. Got married. Went on a honeymoon.

A friend of a friend introduced him to Eric Dinallo. Impressed by the Insurance Superintendent’s political acumen, Brumberger got on board. Several years later, he is deeply immersed in Dinallo’s run for attorney general.

“It took a leap of faith on his part,” he said.

“I didn’t have that statewide experience that others might have looked for.”

Now, with a baby on the way and a spirited, fi ve-way Democratic primary well underway, Brumberger said he is excited about this year, but always tries to keep things in perspective.

“My career has been a lot of accidents that have worked out,” he said.

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Part hard work and a lot of luck. I just throw myself into everything I do.”

If you were not in politics, what would you be doing? “My sister has this company she just started called Lil’ Rudders. I would love to help my sister help grow her company.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “I’m positive it’s going to say ‘Josh Brumberger.’ If I were ever to have answered that question, I would not have been right, so I’m not going to start now.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Zach Galifi anakis”

Originally from Merrick, Long Island, Matthew Peter attended SUNY Albany, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s

degrees in political science. As an international fellow for the SUNY Center for International Development, Peter traveled to Jordan in the summer of 2008. When he returned, he landed an internship at Gov. Spitzer’s offi ce. From there, he went to work at the Offi ce of Tax Policy Analysis, before moving to the Senate Finance Committee when the Democrats took the majority. There, he serves as a fi scal budget analyst, specializing in education and tax.

“The most challenging part of my job is that I came in during the worst era of fi nancial problems since the Great Depression,” Peter said. “Sometimes, the lofty ideas that Democrats stand for get pushed aside.”

Peter is encouraged by the level of involvement he sees among the Young Democrats, who took to phone banks to make calls to districts in 2008 and infl uenced a number of Senate races. On a more local level, Peter cited town board and supervisor races in Colonie and Guilderland, former Republican strongholds that Democrats now control.

Though Peter believes that young people are an instrumental part of the political process, he thinks they need to make lengthier commitments.

“Usually, there’s a quick surge and then we fi zzle out. We need to become a sustainable and lasting part of the process. We can’t just

Matthew Peter AGE: 24Fiscal Budget Analyst, Senate Majority Finance Committee/President, Albany Young Democrats

be viewed as people who get excited about a particular candidate. Our involvement needs to be issue-centered, and we need to be in it for the long haul.”

How did your past jobs get you to where you are now? “Everything was a building experience. I started out as an intern and gradually moved my way up into policy”

If you were not working in politics, what would you be doing? “I’d either be back overseas somewhere or I’d be a history teacher.”

Five years from now, what will it say on your business card? “Hopefully some type of policy maker. It’s never been my goal to work at the Senate or the governor’s offi ce—the opportunities came.”

Who would play you in the movie? “Jim Carrey”

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the june 14,2010 issue of the capitol

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