WARD FOR COUNCIL UNPAID INTERNSHIP
I am planning to run for Greenville City Council in 2017 and am looking for several interns to join my team. The internship can be tailored to meet the availability and the interests of the applicant, but the campaign will begin in March and run through November of 2017. The internship is not paid but – if it is available to you – I will help you get class credit.
ABOUT URIAH:
Uriah Ward is a Middle School Social Studies Teacher, the Executive Director of New Greenville, a professional comedian, a longtime organizer and activist and is writing this in the third person.
THE RACE:
I will likely be running in District 3. This is the most progressive district in the city. The current representative does not fit the district ideologically and has been largely absent from the district since he took office. A map of the district is below.
GOAL:
My goal is to run the best City Council campaign that this city has ever seen. Organizing is something I take seriously. I first campaigned in 2008 when I quit my high school track team to become an intern on the Obama campaign. In 2009 I worked for an At-Large campaign for Greenville City Council. In 2010, my first year at ECU, I worked as a GOTV Organizer for Democracy NC. In 2011 and 2013 I managed the winning City Council campaigns of Calvin Mercer. In 2012 I served as President of College Democrats and helped elect good candidates up and down the ballot. In 2014, my last year at ECU, I was the Democratic Nominee for NC House 9. This past year, I created New Greenville, an advocacy group that successfully pushed progressive policies, elected Wendy Hazelton and quickly grew to 500 members.
Organizing is all about building relationships, and I don’t want anyone in my district to be able to go outside or check their phone without us reaching out to them. I want to run a campaign that is bursting with energy and creativity. I want this campaign to rule the streets and social media. I want to build a strong and passionate team to help me reach out to the people of District 3.
WHY:
Greenville is my hometown. District 3 is where I live now and where my first home was 25 years ago. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to make this city a better place and have been frustrated by some of the decisions made by our local government. I want Greenville to be a city that promotes diversity. I want this to be a city that isn’t afraid to stand up to state policies that hurt us. I want our local government to fight for opportunity for everyone. I want Greenville to invest in itself. There is so much that our local government can do to make our lives better and I want to help make that happen.
YOU AND THE INTERNSHIP:
There are no paid internships on low-budget city council campaigns, but I will help you get class credit for the internship if that is an option for you. I will work with you to fit your internship to your availability and your interests. Everyone will be expected to participate in field work (phone banking, canvassing, data entry) but we also need help in graphic design, videography, outreach, event planning, fundraising, volunteer coordination, communications, and research.
Consider that there are some advantages to working on a more local campaign. It will be easier to see the difference you’re making. In local races, it is possible to speak to every voting more than once. A strong campaign can more easily sway an election at this level. You will also have more influence on campaign strategy than you would on a higher-level campaign. State and National campaigns rely on consultants and professional staff – we rely on our local team.
Working on a campaign is hard. But if you invest your time in me, I will do the same in return. I’ll do whatever I can to help you develop skills in your areas of interest, will connect you to any political opportunities I’m made aware of after the campaign and will be happy to serve as a reference for you in the future.
I expect to begin the campaign in earnest during March of 2017, but interns will be encouraged to come to the organizational planning meetings that will likely start toward end of January.
APPLICATION:
Previous campaign experience is a plus but is not necessary to apply.
If you are interested, please send your resume to uriahward@gmail.com along with a letter of interest and two references. I will get back in touch with you to schedule a sit-down interview ASAP. Please come with questions. You don’t want to commit to working for a candidate unless you’re sure you can fully support them.
Please contact me directly if you have any questions.