A Washington Post article on former campaign staffers deciding to run for office mentions some folks I know:
But there’s also Mike Signer, 36, who was an adviser to former senator John Edwards and then Obama during the campaign and is aiming to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor. [...]
Legum founded the ThinkProgress blog at the Center for American Progress before joining Clinton’s campaign. After Clinton lost the nomination, he said, he took a break from the hyperactive pace of Washington politics. But the wonk in him quickly took over, and he immersed himself in local issues. He started a Maryland politics blog, Legum’s New Line, and announced his candidacy more than a year out.
The long hours and intense pressure of campaigning nationally “made me want to at least try another kind of politics,” Legum said. “There is something valuable about being in the political process at this level. It’s not sexy, but it’s important. That’s part of what persuaded me to get involved.”
Both good guys, though of course there’ll be no electioneering or endorsements on this blog. I will, however, endorse the point Legum is making. The American political system assigns an enormous amount of power to state and local political officeholders. But politics at the state and local level doesn’t get much attention. Even pretty politically active people commonly can’t name their state senator or say anything about him or her.
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