Council of
President's Chair,
Meghan Czaikoski
recently had the
opportunity to
interview
Young Democrat,
Adam Zuckerman.
Zuckerman
currentlyserves as
the Political
Director for Attorney General Mark Herring.
1. Why do you identify yourself with the Democratic party?
Because like me, our party believes that everyone, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social-economic status, etc. deserves a fair shot at the American dream, and that government can and should play a limited but positive and pro-active role in helping to promote that sense of fairness.
2. How did you know this [campaigns/politics] is what you wanted to do as a profession (for now)?
I’ve always felt a real sense of joy and accomplishment in the hard work it takes to help good people that I truly believe get elected to office to serve our Commonwealth and country. It’s especially gratifying when you see the tangible positive impact that those elected leaders and their actions can have on individual lives.
3. Most inspiring moment in the field?
During the provisional ballot chase program in Fairfax County, when the outcome of the Attorney General’s race was still very much in doubt, it was so inspiring to see so many people from across Northern Virginia step up to the plate to help protect our victory. We had hundreds of volunteers show up to the FCDC office where we were running the program over the course of three very long days to make phone calls and canvass provisional voters. At some points, we had more volunteers than we had actual voters to contact.
4. Advice for college and young professionals who want to get involved?
Gravitate towards people who do what you want to do professionally and find out how they got to where they are. Politics and campaigns are all about relationships –network constantly.
5. Most challenging moment in the field, and how did you over come it?
The field effort required for the Attorney General recount was by far the most challenging. This entailed recruiting and training volunteers to observe the recount in each and every Virginia locality. I relied heavily on many incredibly dedicated volunteers and other talented campaign staff to put the infrastructure in place and get the job done.
6. How has the impact of young people grown since attending JMU?
Since I graduated in 2009, I think young people generally have a greater self-awareness of our importance politically and as Virginia Young Democrats, we understand that our party’s electoral success in our state is dependent upon the involvement and participation of young people in the electoral process. This raises the pressure on us to help deliver the youth turnout necessary to win elections year in and year out.
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YOUNG DEMOCRATS
Making an impact