WIP

TEN QUESTIONS:

Interviewee: Mr. Jim Hubbard: (Communications Director)

Interviewer: Mr. Shane Doherty

Q1. What were you doing when you were my age?

When I was 23 I had just returned to St. Louis, Missouri from working for Governor John Lynch’s re-election campaign in New Hampshire as a field organizer.  In St. Louis, I flirted with the idea of entering the advertising industry as a copywriter, but ended up working for Congressman Russ Carnahan’s political campaign before returning to New Hampshire.

Once I returned to New Hampshire I worked for Governor Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign as Regional Field Director.  New Hampshire is home to the first presidential primary in the United States.

Q2. How did you get to where you are today?

At an early age I became politically involved.  My first political involvement was going door-to-door asking people to support a school funding initiative.  You would think strangers had a hard time telling a young kid no to additional school funding, but one of the propositions actually failed.  The first day of school I skipped was to volunteer on Vice President Al Gore’s presidential campaign on Election Day in 2000.  I continued to be involved in politics throughout college and ended up traveling to Iowa for the presidential caucuses to volunteer for Congressman Dick Gephardt’s presidential campaign.  Gephardt was my hometown Congressman at the time and former Democratic Leader of the U.S. House.

After returning from Iowa, I began interning for then-State Representative Russ Carnahan after he had just announced he was running for Congress to fill Dick Gephardt’s seat, who was retiring to run for President.  I graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with degrees in journalism and political science and continued to stay involved in Carnahan’s political endeavours.  The rest is history.

Q3. Who was the most influential person in your life and why?

My older brother, Tim, who died at a young age has had the most influence on my life.  He was full of life and one of the kindest people I have known.  When growing up I would look up to him and I still do so from time-to-time when I’m feeling uncertain.  He was a great people person and made people feel comfortable, something I sometimes lack.

Q4. What do you value most in life?

I value my friends and family most in life.  At the end of the day, when all is said and done they are there for you offering advice, listening and sharing their stories.

Q5. What advice would you give a young university graduate from Ireland?

I encourage a young university graduate from anywhere to set the bar high, but do not forget to enjoy your self.  It comes back to what is important: your friends, family and experiencing new things.  A regret that I have is not staying in better contact with friends I have met along the way including friends from high school, college and other experiences.  Do not forget to stay in touch to those important to you.  

Q6. What are the highs and lows of working for a Congressman?

I enjoy working for my hometown Congressman because I know the people and their concerns that we address each and everyday.  The low point is the fact that the “bubble” people describe existing around Washington, DC is real.  It is difficult to understand the needs and priorities of constituents in Missouri living inside the “bubble” where policymakers have their own idea of what is best.  Average Americans may not value those ideas as much as Washington insiders.

Plus, here in DC people want to talk about politics and that is it.  I have always enjoyed politics so you know it is bad when even I am turned off by it.

Q7. Given the bi-partisan nature of American politics, does this make your job as a public relations officer for a Congressman more difficult?

While I agree American politics in a large degree is bipartisan when compared to other countries, the vast majority of Americans would disagree with that statement because things have become more polarized in recent years.  The truth is that Democrats and Republicans agree on most of the substantive issues.  At the end of the day, the differences that both sides focus on have less of an impact than what Democrats and Republicans try to convince their supporters.  Both sides are guilty of using scare tactics to a certain degree.

Bipartisanship is good for democracy, but I soon learned the media is not interested in covering it.  It is so much easier to write and report conflict, which becomes the headlines people read.  It is difficult to convince a reporter to cover an issue with bipartisan support; they rather focus on the conflict.

Q8. Has your time on Capitol Hill made you want to run for Congress yourself and if so what has driven you to want to stand as a public official?

No, there are plenty of ways to give back to your community without running for Congress.  I do think it would be fulfilling to serve on a local school board, however.  In most cases throughout America, each community has a school district where local residents are elected to voluntarily serve on a board giving direction to the local schools and its administrators.

Right now I am focusing on applying to Graduate School to study urban planning and give back in that way.