For Immediate Release: End of Act One
Essays and Lessons From 30 Years in Politics and Government
I want to take a moment and say thanks for reading, and in particular, to those who have subscribed: thank you. Your support means everything to me, and I am so grateful to you.
We are about to embark on Act Two of “For Immediate Release: Essays and Lessons From 30 Years in Politics and Government.” If you have been waiting for stories from St. Petersburg’s City Hall, you’re in luck: we will be covering my time there very soon. And if you’ve enjoyed reading my early political stories and influences, I hope you’ll stick around.
I thought I’d take this opportunity and lay out where we’ve come, chapter by chapter.
Preface: We start with a little review of how far the Sunshine City progressed under the leadership of Mayor Kriseman, and a little bit about my brief role in that work. Click here to read more.
Chapter One, Part 1: Let’s begin at the end of 2021: wrapping up eight years in St. Petersburg’s City Hall. It’s funny what will take you down memory lane, and for me, it’s boxes of stuff collected over almost thirty years in politics and government. Come for the story. Stay for the awkward pictures of me and Hillary Clinton. Click here to read more.
Chapter One, Part 2: Don’t worry, I don’t linger on the 1970s and the Vietnam War for too long. If you grew up in the late 70s and 80s, like I did, maybe there will be some things here to help you take a brief trip down memory lane. I’d also like to introduce you do my dad. Click here to read more.
Chapter One, Part 3: My college career was… lengthy, including a year at a small liberal arts college in Boston, and a couple of rough years in Jonesboro, Arkansas. I was closer than you think to becoming a radio disc jockey. This is also the time of Governor Clinton’s big announcement: he’s going to run for President of the United States. Click here to read more.
Chapter Two, Part 1: After a spectacular flame-out at college, I find myself working on the Clinton/Gore 1992 Campaign in downtown Little Rock, my hometown. Political campaigns at all levels are very different today, but there are still some important lessons to impart. Like, don’t take off your shirt and give it to a bus driver. Click here to read more.
Chapter Two, Part 2: More painful early political lessons, this time in the transition. The stories are pretty good, but I would totally understand if you just wanted to check out the picture of me that ran in Details Magazine in 1993. Come see what Vidal Sassoon had to say about my hair. Click here to read more.
Chapter Three, Part 1: I find myself in Washington, D.C., unsure of myself and a little bit scared. A once-in-a-lifetime blind date helps me change my mind about staying in D.C… with a little help from the great Lyle Lovett. Click here to read more.
Chapter Three, Part 2: I am living and working in D.C., in the unlikeliest of places: the Office of National Drug Control Policy, where I meet an early mentor. A lot of the stories I heard from George Kosnik — the retired NYPD detective who ran the State and Local Affairs office for ONDCP — couldn’t be shared in polite company. Actually, they can’t really be shared anywhere. Click here to read more.
Chapter Four, Part 1: Wrapping up my time in the Clinton Administration after eight incredible years. This one is a story that speaks as much to finding grace in the strangest of places. It is also a reminder that time goes by all too quickly. Click here to read more.
Chapter Four, Part 2: This is the story of where we were on 9/11 and what it was like to move to New York City — Manhattan — from Washington, D.C. after that cruel, awful, horrible day. Click here to read more.
Chapter Five: In 2002, after splitting up with my wife and not having a job, I found myself in the perfect place: Florida. St. Pete, to be exact. And I fell in love with it. Also, be careful what you wish for. Turns out managing a campaign is harder than you think. Click here to read more.
Chapter Six: Two failed campaigns in 2002 — that and splitting up with my first wife; it was a rough year. I moved from Florida, to Arkansas, and then headed back to, of all places, Washington, D.C. It’s a wild ride. Click here to read more.
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Plenty of stuff coming up about my time with the City of St. Petersburg — from stadiums to sewers, piers to pride marches, and a lot more. Thank you again for your valuable time, and thank you so much for reading. I sincerely hope you’re enjoying the story so far.
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This is “For Immediate Release,” 30 years of essays and stories from Little Rock, Arkansas to Washington, D.C. to St. Petersburg, Florida.
As always, thanks for reading.
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