|
How do your parents’ politics compare to your own?
My parents were earth-shoe wearing California hippies who became Republicans for tax purposes, though they are slowly drifting back leftwards. One of my first political memories was the shock and horror when I realized my parents were both voting for Reagan over Mondale.
Did you run for class office in high school or college? Did you win?
I did, embarrassingly, run for President of my high school. I didn’t win, nor did I deserve to; I had not served in any capacity prior to my run, and I became a candidate mainly in a fit of pique over the fact that the school administration so desperately and transparently wanted the “establishment” candidate to win. I didn’t expect to win, but in retrospect I like to blame my loss on the fact that an equally snarky friend of mine also ran, splitting the vote, and not on the fact that I was so obviously unqualified.
When you first moved to the District, what food did you miss most from home?
I’m from Richmond, Virginia. So the correct answer is “none.”
Once you were here, did you work any non-political jobs did you work to get by?
Nope.
What’s your favorite bar in DC? Favorite outside the Beltway?
I have very fond memories of Millie & Al’s; I was once asked to back up the bouncer in a barfight that thankfully never materialized. But that’s another story . . . .
Whether in a campaign or in government, you’ve surely had to work with someone who drove you crazy. What were they like?
My first job out of college was as campaign manager (and sole staffer) of a state delegate campaign in Lynchburg, Virginia. The candidate and I drove each other crazy. We were both rookies, and all we knew how to do was pour energy in the campaign. How did we do, you ask? Well, we beat Democratic performance, but considering the DPI was 39%, that isn’t saying much.
If you had your own blog, what would you call it and what would you write about?
Believe it or not, I’d probably blog on campaign and nonprofit tax law. The blogosphere can be thankful that I have a day job instead. I really need a hobby!
So, who do you know? That is — who is most responsible for you being where you are in politics now?
My first political mentor was Kevin Mack, then-Executive Director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (and now a principle at Mack/Crounse Group). He convinced me to go run a campaign, and then to come work for him. He was an incredible boss.
If you could be or any politician, past or present, for one day and one event, who and what event?
If it were only for a day? I wouldn’t put myself in the shoes of one of the greats at a moment of crisis, because I’m not convinced I could have done any better; I don’t have any desire, for instance, to second-guess Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nor can I think offhand of one day in which a wrong turn could have been corrected. So how about I just note that Andrew Jackson’s inauguration day sounded like a hell of a good time.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Unless they kick me out, I hope to still be doing exactly what I’m doing now: representing Democratic candidates and political parties, and progressive nonprofits. Though “partner” does have a nice ring to it…
1 Response to “The Benchmark Poll: Ezra Reese”