On The Rise: Lessons from the Youngest Class of CDA Alumni Turned Elected Officials

In a tough election cycle for Democrats, there was good news from the youngest class of CDA alumni. State Representatives Henry Beck (Colby) ‘08 (ME), Alex Cornell du Houx (Bowdoin) ‘06 (ME) and Matthew Lesser (Wesleyan) ‘07 (CT) were re-elected to their second terms, Bryce Bennett (Montana) ‘07 was elected to represent Missoula in the Montana state house and Mike Simmons (Amherst) ‘06 became the youngest member of the Brennemann Council School Board in Chicago, IL. While in college, all of them served as either state chapter presidents or officers for the College Democrats. We recently caught up with them and asked about how their experiences in CDA affected them in office and on the campaign trail.

Q: What made you decide to run at such an early age?

Lesser: There are a few times in your life when you have the freedom to try something really daring. In my case, at the age of 25 I had no mortgage, no kids to feed, and a really burning desire to make a difference. I had been disappointed with my State Representative and I had the freedom to put my life on hold for six months and challenge him myself.

Cornell du Houx: One of the major reasons I ran for office was because of my experience in Iraq with the Marine Corps. When we came home, I saw that our veterans were not being cared for when they returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. The GI Bill was so outdated it only covered for my books and meals. PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury) issues were not being taken seriously and the VA was underfunded. During the last legislative session, I was fortunate enough to pass legislation to help homeless veterans in Maine, increase access to VA benefits, including PTSD and TBI, improve services to women veterans, military children, and work to improve our armories.

Bennett: I never thought I would run for political office. I had helped many candidates and causes in the past and believed that being a campaign staff member was the direction I would continue in. However, after working at the legislature in 2009 I saw the process and how in our small state you could make a large difference for the people back home. So when a seat opened up I jumped at the chance to run and hopefully make a difference.

Simmons: I didn’t even think of it in terms of my age. I’m a tax-paying resident of Chicago. I went to Chicago public schools for half of K-12 and then parochial and private schools. I considered it my responsibility to be involved.

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Q: When you were running, was there something from your College Democrats days that was particularly helpful to you?

Beck: I ran in a district that includes my hometown and my Alma mater, Colby College. My primary election took place during my Junior spring, in the middle of my College Democrat days. Certainly the energy around the ongoing Presidential primaries on campus helped my campaign. I ran a very aggressive early vote program among college students with great success. Few things are as stressful as working to convince college students to vote by mail, to remember to sign an envelope seal, and heaven forbid, use the post office instead of email!

Lesser: From the very start, my first campaign was run by College Democrats. As a College Dem, I learned to be a scrappy organizer, flying beneath the radar, something I was able to replicate in one of the biggest upsets in Connecticut that year. This year, again we were the underdogs in a seat that leans historically Republican. But by organizing — and with the help of a lot of College Democrats — we were again able to defy the odds (and beat the College Republicans!). One of the things I have been successful at is expanding the electorate, registering hundreds of voters and persuading young people to vote who otherwise wouldn’t.

Bennett: So many new candidates struggle with talking with voters on the phone or at their doors. Without the years I worked with College Democrats I would have been there too. Through College Dems I learned to affectively reach out to voters and talk about the values we share. I also credit the years as Montana’s federation president with the experience in recruiting volunteers and managing a campaign budget. I got to start this campaign off with a great deal of experience because of my time in College Dems.

Cornell du Houx: My experience with the College Democrats has been one of the most important experiences that helped me win my election. The skills I learned from organizing fundraisers, events, campaigns and the people I worked with all helped me succeed in working for my constituents. I learned how to organize, implement a communications plan and grow our numbers while working with the Bowdoin College Democrats. I learned how to write a development plan and implement it when I was working with the Maine College Democrats. I learned how to run a statewide campaign and help each state succeed while I was CDA National Council Chair. Along the way, I worked with so many wonderful people who helped me and worked to get me elected to the Maine Legislature.

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Q: This year was a tough year for Democrats across the country. What did you focus your strategy on as you campaigned?

Lesser: Voters this year were frustrated, many feeling that elected officials were out of touch and not getting the real problems so many families are facing. Even though my district leans Republican, I was determined not to let that happen. While my opponent talked about big ideological issues like the size and role of government, I focused on how I am making a difference in ordinary people’s lives. Things like lowering electric rates, investing in neighborhood schools, protecting local businesses, dairy farms and an agricultural fair, even putting up street signs.

Beck: My message was aimed at voters who felt squeezed by what they saw as overspending or change that was too fast. I talked about issues and roll votes where we had common ground and highlighted them-welfare to work tax credits, reducing the size of the legislature, and other areas. Dually, I proudly talked about my work on consumer protections in healthcare and local projects around early childhood education. In the hometown of the Republican nominee for Governor, as a Democratic incumbent I was reelected with 66% of the vote.

Cornell du Houx: One of the reasons why it was such a tough year is because no one really knew what Democrats accomplished in Maine and nationally. As a State Representative I have the ability to go door to door and let voters know how we cut taxes, made Maine the 6th best state for health insurance, kept unemployment to 7.7 percent, and made Maine a national leader in clean energy and technology. We had a very aggressive communications campaign online, on TV and in direct mail that highlighted my record. I also went to Republican households, including veterans who account for 17% of Maine’s electorate.

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Q: On the issues, what are your top priorities?

Beck: My top priority has been issues that matter locally and constituent services. I think my days working with College Democrats, in the heat of campaigns, ironically helped me become more bipartisan while actually serving in office. I learned there was a time and place for helping fellow Democrats, for campaign tactics, and a time to put all that aside and govern.

Bennett: After a tough election night, we will be focusing on preserving so much of what makes Montana special. I’ll be fighting to ensure that Montana students have a world class education and that good paying jobs exist for recent graduates. I will continue to work to make sure that all Montanans are equal under the law and that our election process is fair and transparent. I look forward to working with College Democrats across Montana to help push these issues forward.

Simmons: I am pushing for smart and transparent education spending. On every single line item we consider as a body, I try to think of the direct benefit to each student learning and teacher educating. If something doesn’t figure into that picture, I question the use of that money. Of course I also think about this in a larger sense. For example, we need strong and meaningful after-school programming that allows students to learn about themselves and their peers. I also am working on a file looking into our students who get off track and get involved with the criminal justice system. I want to fully understand where our kids go wrong and how they end up either missing school, dropping out, or going to juvie. And then do what we can to keep our kids interested in school and on the way to high school and college. This requires a lot of community-level involvement on my part, but I think that’s how you gotta do this kind of work. You have to see the people to understand why things look they way they do. No amount of research can replace that.

Lesser: My major focus has been on energy policy — reducing the cost and expanding support for renewable energy. I have also championed a variety of consumer protections, taking on the consumer credit reporting industry among others, and protected funding for K-12 education.

Cornell du Houx: In this economy, it’s jobs, jobs, jobs. I’ve worked on legislation to bring the University of Maine’s and University of Southern Maine’s Community College’s advanced composite program to Brunswick Landing – which is a recently closed military base in my district that took thousands of jobs along with it when it shut down. My number one goal is to keep fighting for legislation to bring quality jobs and businesses to my district. I also focus strongly on building a clean energy economy and environmental stewardship. Eighty percent of our houses in Maine are heated by oil, and we can turn this weakness into an opportunity to create new jobs that will stay in Maine. We can transition responsibly to clean, Maine power – strengthen our security and create quality jobs in the process.

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Q: For any other recent College Democrats hoping to do what you did this year, what advice do you have?

Cornell du Houx: Become involved in the community. I coach soccer, sit on the board for Habitat for Humanity, chair the George Mitchell Scholarship Alumni Council and work with the Democratic Town committee and local businesses. If you don’t have a solid foundation and connection with the community, you will not get elected. Just as important is to become engaged and do the work with the College Democrats to become connected with the local, county and state Democratic party. The strong relationships you make along the way  in CDA will lead to future opportunities.

Simmons: Just be sure you know why you’re deciding to run. A lot of people run for office, I think, to check some box or to be somebody. I believe in carrying an agenda. That is, get elected and then have a plan that goes beyond showing up for votes. Something that will require building coalitions and bringing your colleagues up to the next level in terms of how they see their own role in the body in which they serve. It isn’t easy, but I’ve learned quickly that everyone respects hard work and preparation. I’d say work hard, respect your colleagues, and always do your homework. Try to include your colleagues in research and off the clock policy discussions. Make them feel like they are being consulted and included in how you approach your decision-making. Surround yourself with smart professional friends who can serve as a kitchen cabinet. Avoid grandstanding and work hard.

Lesser: Pick your battles. I was asked to run for Mayor of my city in 2007 at the age of 24. If I had done so, I would have lost in a landslide and my political career would have been over before it began. Instead, I ran for — and won — a local office. It’s tough enough to run and win as a young candidate — but it’s a little easier if you learn how to listen and not let your enthusiasm cloud your better judgment.

Beck: Three pieces of advice: 1) Be your own person but pay your dues. That is, make sure you have done something to earn viability to run like working in the local private sector or helping out other Democrats in a campaign. If you are going to run for that School Board seat or the State Senate, sit down and call other local elected officials, send cards, and ask for support. 2) Understand that running for office means sacrifices: financially, personally, and otherwise. 3) Know your roots and appreciate that voters will try to do the same. The place where you can sincerely serve in office might not be where your college friends end up, it might not be Silicon Valley or metro DC. Where you serve should be the place for which you can do the most good and build the best relationship with voters.

Bennett: I would tell College Democrats that are looking to run for office to invest in the work that your chapter or your federation is doing day-to-day. So much of running for office is talking directly with voters and you will learn that by being an active member of College Dems. Knock on doors, make phone calls, and write letters to the editor to support local candidates. Learning those skills and the determination to go out every day (even when you are tired and miserable) will prepare you to be a winning candidate at any age.

For more information, visit:

HenryBeck.com - BennettForHouse.com - AlexCornell.org - MatthewLesser.com