The beliefs and convictions of a member of Congress are important determinant of his or her votes. But effectiveness? That depends on the staff he or she assembles. Here is the official team of newly-minted Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Lackawanna).
This is the first of three features on Pa.’s newest members of Congress. Stay tuned for freshmen Reps. Scott Perry (R-York) and Keith Rothfus (R-Allegheny).
Ridgway, via the LuLac Political Letter
Chief of Staff: Hunter Ridgway
Home: Jackson, Mississippi
College: University of Virginia
Ridgway, 51, is from the Deep South, born in Mississippi and lived in Tennessee and Alabama, but he considers himself “from” DC and has worked for Northeast Democrats his entire career. For most of it, he served as chief of staff for a Massachusetts congressman, John Olver, who also was the top Democrat on the transportation appropriations subcommittee.
Legislative Director: Jeremy Marcus
Home: Brookline, MA
College: Stanford University
Marcus moved to Washington, D.C. after serving as a Presidential Management Fellow. He has worked for Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) and John Kerry (D-MA), and two members of Congress, serving most recently as Legislative Director for Congressman Russ Carnahan (D-MO).
Communications Director: Shane Seaver
Home: Valley Forge, PA
College: James Madison University
Seaver managed Cartwright’s campaign from the start, including his improbable primary win. He’s worked on a plethora of Democratic campaigns previously.
Scheduler: Daniela Amodei
Home: San Francisco, CA
College: University of California, Santa Cruz
Amodei was a member of Cartwright’s campaign handling all field related activities and working out of the Scranton Campaign office and has an extensive background in policy and non-profit work.
District Director: Bob Morgan
Home: Mountain Top, PA
College: King’s College
Morgan has spent the last 25 years in financial services where he was responsible for providing investment and client relationship services to individuals and institutions. He has been active in Luzerne County politics and brings a wealth of organizational and personnel management skills to the team.
Senior Economic Development Specialist: Bill Hanley
Home: Pottsville, PA
College: University of Scranton
Hanley worked with Rep. Tim Holden (D-Schuylkill) for the last 20 years and will handle special projects including grant writing for the district.
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You forgot about my fellow PA Young Democrats board member Mike Szustak who is also joining Matt’s Capitol Hill staff! Huzzah Szustak! Very proud.
I’m not particularly a fan of hiring out-of-staters. I’d hire as many as I could from my district.
I met Hunter Ridgeway during the final days of the election. One of the nicest and most professional people I have ever met. Mr. Cartwright is very lucky to have him.
Westernpademo-
I never met him. He’s certainly experienced; etc., and I’m sure he’s certainly (obviously) more of a D.C. Pick, but he may have to brush up on the District a little. Im sure He’s Great. I’d pick all my people from my District (Personal preference).
Where are the women, except in the traditional scheduler’s job? What does this say about his views on women in general? Will he fight for equal opportunity? Will he defend reproductive rights? Will these issues even get any attention from this staff?
Lois, We have hired five women this week. Hiring staff for a Congressional Office is an ongoing process.
Mike Szustak worked hard on the Cartwright campaign! It is a shame he was missed on this article. Mike will be a good aide to Matt. This staff is really coming together.
He’s put together a nice staff. I think they’ll hit the ground running, combining DC effectiveness with hometown responsiveness. I met Hunter last week and was thoroughly impressed. Good luck to the staff, although I don’t think you’ll need any. You will do fine.
I know an unemployed woman from the district haha.
U.S. Pat Toomey (R-Pa) & senator David Vitter (R-La) have co-sponsored a bill to set congressional term limits. In 1947 the U.S. congress passed a bill to amend our constitution limiting the serving time of a president to 2 four year terms. That XXII amendment was ratified in 1951 and has been in effect ever since. It’s ashamed that congress didn’t have the foresight or gumption to set term limits for senators & members of the house. In my mind senators should be limited to 2 six year terms and house members to 3 two year terms. This is sufficient time to accomplish what needs to be done for their constituency—–which by the way is the reason they elected in the first place. It’s going to be a “ tough row to hoe ” because nobody likes to vote themselves out of a job. With a lot of freshmen in Washington there should be a good jump start on it. Convincing some of the old-timers ( many of whom won’t re-elected many more times anyway ) would be a step in the right direction. do something now for the good of America and all Americans. Get all elected officials together & get all Americans behind them to give them senator support. Let’s get the job done and put term limits into place