Careers in Politics

Keith Gaby is a political communications and public affairs specialist with over 30 years of experience. Previously, Keith has worked on two presidential campaigns, as well as being appointed to the position of Director of Intergovernmental affairs before working as a speechwriter for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Throughout his successful career he also directed two films, The Quality of Light and The Bigger Hammer, a film which analyzes the messaging of the Obama and McCain campaigns during the 2008 presidential election. Currently Keith serves as the Vice President of Public Affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund, an organization dedicated to climate justice across the globe. This week, we asked him 7 questions about his career path and experience. Check out the podcast interview here. 

Political campaign jobs can be elusive to find. As someone who has gone through the daunting task of political job hunting not too long ago, I know how tough it can be to land a political campaign job—especially your first. With so many newly minted undergraduate, graduate, and even law school grads hunting for jobs in the same market, it can sometimes be an overwhelming and discouraging undertaking.

Campaign unionization, is it right for your campaign? It seem obvious that Democrats should be supportive of campaign unionization… right? Not necessarily.

When I started on the campaign trail, I was lucky enough to go through the Campaign Management Institute, where I became focused on political campaigns and encountered great mentors like Peter Fenn, Richard Smolka, Bill Sweeney and Peter Lindstrom through college programs and internships. Meeting folks who had made careers out of politics encouraged me to set aside my mom’s vision of me becoming  a professional chef and instead, pursue a career in politics and find a political campaign job.

Staying consistent with your campaign message is not easy. When first entering into politics some people may tell you to “never take it personal,” referring to the awful things people may say about you or your issues. "Stay on Message" "You need to have campaign message discipline" - is something you hear over and over again but that is easier in theory than reality.