Why I left my political career

Earlier in the week, I talked about the surge in twenty-somethings’ political interest and discussed the things I gained from my career in politics. To recap, I spent two years doing grassroots organizing and fundraising and compliance consulting all over North Carolina through local organizations, 10 political committees, and 85 candidates.

It was a truly rewarding experience, but late last year, I decided to make a career shift and return to non-profit fundraising. Here are the challenges I faced that ultimately led to me leaving my political career:

Ageism. During my first week on the job, a workplace bully began attacking me and a few older activists yelled at my bosses for “hiring a kid.” I smoothed these issues over by standing up to the bully and by winning over the vocal critics through relationship building, but I still had to regularly confront subtle criticism about my age from older activists.

My bosses would sometimes throw me menial tasks — making copies, assembling notebooks, proofreading memos, entering data, moving furniture, and taking out the trash (yes, the trash) — because I was young. Luckily, it was only a small percentage of my work — most my cohorts were in completely clerical jobs — but it was still tough.

But the most annoying aspect of political ageism is when clients and candidates didn’t listen to me. I tried to consult a political organization through a much-needed reorganization of their governance and financial structures, but the organization’s leader dismissed my carefully researched advice because “that kid can’t possibly know what he’s talking about.” Two years after my recommendations were ignored, the organization is now facing a leadership crisis in which two people claim to be president, membership has plummeted, and their finances have been depleted due to frivolous spending. If only they had listened!

Rankism. I had to endure rude treatment from people who looked down on me because I wasn’t a senior staffer. Some political candidates who paid for and benefited from my consulting would not return my phone calls and would only speak to senior staffers, and a state-wide civil rights leader abruptly ended a phone conversation with me because he “doesn’t have time for peons.”

Lack of work/life balance. When I moved to fundraising and compliance consulting, my boss put 18-20 things on my project list to juggle at any given time, and I regularly pulled 12-15 hour days. My commute was 35 minutes each way, and I had to travel across the state many evenings to meet with clients. Add weekend events at least twice each month, and you have the perfect recipe for burnout. This is probably one of the most common complaints about political work.

Low pay. Most young political staffers don’t get paid much at all. I knew several twenty-somethings who worked full-time for less than $30,000 without any benefits. I fared significantly better in pay and benefits, but I still had trouble paying all of my bills while creating emergency savings. And it was laughable to even think of saving for retirement or investing.

“Loss of voice.” Taking a political job usually means the end of expressing one’s own opinion publicly. Blogs must be taken down, social networking pages have to be cleaned up significantly, and no staff can talk with the press unless authorized to give a statement. And anything you say publicly must go along with your bosses and clients’ stances.

I had to bite my tongue regularly and not say a word when things happened that I didn’t agree with from policy decisions to statements, from workplace issues to my bosses’ actions. Heck, I even had to work for candidates whose ideals and voting records made me cringe, but I couldn’t say a word about it.

And finally, I left politics because race matters. Black and latino political staffers are often confined to grassroots organizing and GOTV jobs throughout their careers, and the senior level jobs are almost always out of reach. There are only a handful of minority political executives, lobbyists, and fundraisers across the nation and only one national black pollster. There are even fewer black candidates who run competitive, party-supported campaigns in districts that aren’t majority minority as dictated by the Voting Rights Act.

The few minority political staffers have to walk a thin tight-rope similar to Barack Obama’s struggle with race. I felt racial discrimination from a handful of the more closed-minded people I encountered, and my bosses expected me to connect heavily with the black community and “be black” at work. At the same time, some black activists vocally questioned if I was authentically black because I didn’t graduate from a historically black college, I date a white woman, and I practice progressive politics.

Although I have been fighting it all of my life, I detest “black enough” racial politics and refuse to play those petulant games. I had to find a job in which my race is deemed completely unimportant to the quality of my work.

So yes, political work is challenging. I still stand behind the things I gained from this work. It has helped me tremendously and has given me the best gift I could have received — thick skin.

But when people ask me about my career in politics, there’s only one quote that can accurately describe how I feel: “I’m glad I did it, partly because I enjoyed it, but mostly because I’ll never have to do it again” (Mark Twain).

May 9, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Career

 

Comments

4 Responses to “Why I left my political career”

  1. Allison @ Entry Level Living on May 9th, 2008 10:39 am

    Interestingly, much of what you mention I see within my work in a small non-profit. The lack of respect for my opinions because of my age, the importance of race, narrow mindedness, lack of tolerance for dissent are issues that I have had to deal with regularly. It seems like whenever you are involved in work that is competitive (whether it be for grants, for votes, or for clients) there seems to be a greater emphasis on homogeneity.

    And of course, people cling harder to out-dated notions of respect and tolerance when change becomes more and more apparent.

    I’m glad you got out of there!

  2. Jaclyn on May 9th, 2008 11:31 am

    Hey Derwin,
    I loved this post and have also taken a look through your other posts (this is my first visit here) and I really enjoy your blog.

    It sounds like I have way less direct political experience than you do. But through living and working in Washington D.C. I come in contact with it a lot and I think you’re totally on point. Obviously a lot of these outdated models are driving talented, innovative people away from politics - you’re a case in point!

    I am especially concerned about the “loss of voice” effect. I see a lot of this and although I appreciate the need to “speak on message” and all of that, politicos need to get more comfortable with decentralized communication and figure out better ways to navigate this new landscape.

  3. Margaret on May 19th, 2008 7:54 am

    I find it interesting that you label your two years in poltics as a “career”. Two years in a starter job is not a career.

    You gain a voice and respect by developing your skills and relationships over time. It isn’t so much about ageism as it is thinking you are entitled without accomplishing anything.

    A starter job at $30,000 doing menial tasks and putting in long hours sounds normal to me. It is my experience that younger people tend think they are entitled to the salaries that their parents are making right after graduation. While this may be true in certain high tech fields, it isn’t the norm.

    I mentor college students and find that about 1 in 10 has ideas to share like you. Usually, your ideas will be respected if you gain your colleagues trust. Hopping from job to job every few years doesn’t usually accomplish this in the eyes of us “older” folks (I’m 43). Once you stay in one field long enough to accomplish something, then I think you may see a difference in how others treat you.

    Unfortunately the work life balance is a myth. I often work 50 hours a week as does my husband and we have two pre-teen children. All sectors are having to do more with less lately. Right now, you are lucky to be employed.

    So, stop complaining and put your energy into helping your community, networking and advancing your skills. Then you will see start seeing the outcomes you are hoping for.

  4. Derwizzle on May 30th, 2008 7:34 pm

    Margaret,

    Thanks for your post. I especially think your suggestion that we focus on community, networking, and skills advancement.

    I also agree with you that my stint in politics was short. I realized quickly that it wasn’t for me, so I changed careers before I got stuck in something I truly didn’t enjoy. However, I did make key accomplishments while there.

    You do make two incorrect assumptions that I want to shed some light on for you.

    First, my political stint wasn’t my first job right out of college. I actually started working in higher education fundraising in 2004, where I made several accomplishments including a capital campaign, and then decided to take a jump into politics during the ‘06 elections.

    You also assume that young people can’t find jobs that have what we’re looking for. By returning to non-profit fundraising, I now have a salary that sustains my home and basic needs, I have work-life balance and amazing flexibility, people respect me, and I can share my opinions freely.

    I appreciate your views, but don’t assume that young people automatically have no experience or can’t achieve great, fulfilling jobs. My path is an example that it can happen.

    Yours,
    Derwin

Leave a Reply