Last month, California’s political community was saddened by the news that leading Democratic political strategist Kam Kuwata had passed away. Kam was a talented strategist for Sen. Alan Cranston, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Mayor Jim Hahn and many other candidates and ballot measures in California. While Kam had a serious job, he didn’t take himself seriously and made many friends on both sides of the aisle.<\/p>\n
In every campaign, Kam valued the opportunity to work with young political operatives. Many of the political professionals he trained are now playing important roles in this state’s and nation’s Democratic political scene.<\/p>\n
In honor of Kam’s commitment to mentoring the next generation of campaign professionals, Kam’s friends have started a nonprofit to support student participation and internships in campaigns.<\/p>\n
We’ve often found that the young people and interns in political campaigns do not represent the diversity of our politics. This is not surprising as campaign internships do not pay well, if at all.<\/p>\n
For those who wish to make our politics more inclusive and help build a strong pipeline of operatives to win future campaigns, please consider supporting the Kam Kuwata Award at USC’s Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics.<\/p>\n