So You Want to Run For Office?
Hill staffers are an ambitious bunch. That same call to public service sometimes includes the drive to run for elected office.
In today’s Roll Call, I interviewed several former Capitol Hill staffers who are running for local office. While these races won’t be decided until 2014, each of the people I spoke with believed their Hill experience was a positive attribute, and they found ways to bring their work ethic, understanding of policy, and love for politics to their own campaigns.
From the article:
Marc Korman has gained a new appreciation for his old bosses.
A former staffer to ex-Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., and Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., Korman said he understands members of Congress much better now that he is running for office himself.
“Many Hill staffers joke about their bosses’ stock answers to questions or stump speeches, but as a candidate, you start to see that you are meeting with so many different people so often, that you cannot be original every time,” said Korman, who is running for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 16, which includes portions of Friendship Heights, Bethesda, North Bethesda, Rockville and Potomac.
Korman is just one of a long list of former staffers who attempt to make the transition to elected office. According to CQ Roll Call Member Information and Research, 76 of the current House and Senate members previously served as congressional staff, though those numbers do not include state and local offices, such as the one Korman is running for.
