PTP Profile: Steven

Meet Steven, our Virginia State Co-Director, who is leading our team of Field Representatives to turnout the vote in November!

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Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself and where you’re from.

I’ve been working in politics for a few years, mostly on congressional races. I grew up in Virginia, in a pretty politically active family. I made the transition into working in politics full-time over the course of the last few years. Fun fact: I am a dual German-US citizen, so I actually get to vote in both countries’ elections.

Q: What specifically about PTP appealed to you?

I was raised on the idea that everyone should be able to vote. Republicans tend to always vote, no matter the circumstance, while Democrats can get complacent, finicky, and don’t always show up to the polls.
My first job in politics, when I was still getting my feet wet, was as a Field Organizer for an organization that does very similar work to Progressive Turnout Project.  So when I came across Progressive Turnout Project it was a natural fit and I’ve found a nice little role here.

Q: What’s your most memorable experience working in politics?

My most memorable experience is when I was working with 270 Strategies on an issue-based campaign to get people to sign up for their public charter program. I was working in the Anacostia Ward of D.C., which is a socially and economically deprived block of Washington D.C. We can go back and forth on whether public charter programs are good for students but in this specific part of D.C., I think it was a necessity.  Getting kids from this area into good schools would be a drastic change that could impact not just their own life but generations of people.
The public schools are deprived and need significant reform. Until we change issues with property taxes/funding for these schools, things will never change in those neighborhoods.
Working on this campaign was actually my proudest moment because we saw a positive change in those neighborhoods. When I get tired or frustrated with politics, I think about this story and why I got into it in the first place.

Q: What is the biggest challenge to working in Virginia

Virginia has an election every single year, so constantly reminding people that there is an election and the potential for voter burnout is the biggest challenge to working here. Occasionally, we hear voters say “Every November people knock on my door and I hear the same thing…. Every summer I’m flooded with campaign ads….” I think just having voters who are turned off by politics can be difficult.

Q: Who inspires you in politics and why?

My local Congressman, Bobby Scott, who has been my representative for most of my life. I first met him when I was five years old and took a picture with him. And then last year, I was fortunate enough to work for him on the coordinated campaign when I was working on LCV. So I  have a picture with him when I was five and when I was thirty, which shows he’s literally been my Congressman my entire life.

Q: If you could have dinner with one former President, who would it be and why?

John F. Kennedy,  because ever since I was born my mom has spoken so highly of him. My mom is from Germany and when she lived in Freiburg, President Kennedy came to visit.
I would love to sit down with President Kennedy – hear his voice and learn for myself why my mom is so infatuated with him…why there were Kennedy books and a poster of Jackie Kennedy in my house growing up.  I just want to understand that connection my mom had to the Kennedy family, as they were gone before my time. Also, I would love to hear the not so political stories of JFK and his family.

Q: Other than voting, what is one of the the issues that you’re interested in?

Restoring voting rights for convicted felons is something that originally spurred me into politics.  If you commit a crime, you do your time and pay whatever reparations you need to pay – you should get back your right to vote. I don’t think it should be legal to strip a person of their voting rights.  I grew up in a pretty poor area and lots of  people I grew up with can’t vote because they have felonies on their record and are now voiceless. They could volunteer on a political campaign, work in politics, but they can’t vote. The very basic premise of our democracy is being able to vote and having a voice, and that gets taken away from so many people for having made mistakes in their past. We’re punishing people’s poor choices and basically making them second class citizens by stripping away their right to vote.

Q: If you could ask President Trump one thing, what would it be?

I would ask him “Why don’t you care about poor people? Are poor people’s lives less important to you because they are not wealthy? Is that why you can strip away healthcare, housing, food stamps, and subsidies away from these people? Is a poor person less of a person in your eyes?”

Q: What’s something on your bucket list?

I would like to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro before the ice caps melt. I have always idolized mountain climbers and the solitude, mental and physical strength it takes to do what they do.