Reflecting on my Time Working as a Campaign Operative and Strategist
I spent over half a decade working on political campaigns. What did I learn?
Election Day is right around the corner. Campaigns will be airing their ads on TV, vying for your support. Canvassers will be knocking on doors and making phone calls, trying to influence voters. Candidates will host rallies to rile up their base. It is a busy time in the political world, especially in a presidential year. From the outside looking in, many would believe that working on a political campaign is fun. Political operatives work for someone in the public eye who is on the front lines of making their community a better place. Sounds cool, right? Well, let me tell you why you are better off saving your time and your sanity by doing something else.
From 2017-2023, I worked on political campaigns to help elect candidates I believed would best represent my community. I started as a volunteer, intern, and canvasser. Then, after leaving D.C. during my junior year of college, I went on to become a campaign staffer. Serving as a field organizer, volunteer coordinator, field director, director of communications, political director, strategist, and, most importantly, campaign manager. During this time, I garnered a reputation for winning tough races. This all did not come easily. The hours were long, grueling, and stressful. It was through hard work, grit, and determination that I propelled myself to get to that level. I have had wonderful opportunities working for some of the most powerful people in New Jersey politics. Unfortunately, not everyone I have run into has been so good-hearted to me.
I have run into many bad apples who have attempted to take advantage of me financially and mentally. I also ran into so-called operatives who barely do any work and take credit when they do not deserve it. The worst part is seeing so many good people who enter politics with good intentions end up becoming part of the problem. Our system is so rotten that even the most innocent of people become corrupted. Voters love authenticity in people who seek elected office because they stand out from everyone else and are relatable.
One of the jobs I had during this period was working for the New Jersey Republican State Committee’s (NJGOP) Victory program. It was the most stressful and hardest job I ever had in my time in politics. First, I was pulling 75-hour work weeks. To put it in perspective, these were my hours post-Labor Day: Monday-Friday from 9 am to 9 pm, Saturday from 8 am to 7 pm, and Sunday from 12 pm to 4 pm. With hours like these, you are dedicating your entire life to the job, making burnout extremely likely. When I first started pre-Labor Day, my hours were Monday-Friday from 9 am to 6 pm, Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm, and Sunday I had off. Despite the massive increase in hours worked, no one on my team was rewarded with a pay raise. While I did enjoy all of the people I worked with and working on the campaign did pay off, considering I flipped a congressional district from blue to red, there were many problems I encountered while on the job. This included faulty data and unrealistic goals. I shared the obstacles I ran into in hopes it could prevent problems in the future. Unfortunately, none of my feedback was ever taken seriously, as the organization continued to repeat the same problems that were exposed by me in 2023.
Another campaign job I had was with the Black, Latin, Asian, Knowledge Political Action Committee or BLAKPAC for short. I was offered a role with the company through the PAC’s President, Angie Wong, who I worked with on a prior campaign in early 2022. Wong sent me a text asking if I could help her out in NJ-CD3. I happily accepted her offer, thinking it would be a great opportunity. However, things quickly turned out to be a nightmare.
On my first day on the job, I headed down the New Jersey Turnpike to Mount Laurel, NJ, where Ian’s HQ was located. I picked up from Ian’s consultant campaign literature and lawn signs, and was directed to head up to Monmouth County to knock on doors. So, I had to go back up the turnpike another 45 minutes to knock on doors. After I wrapped up for the day, I went to a hotel that BLAKPAC paid for me, all the way down in Maple Shade, Burlington County, to stay in while I provided my services to them. The hotel they put me in was disgusting. The room was extremely unsanitary. I had a hard time falling asleep that night after reading online reviews saying they found bed bug bites upon waking up in the morning. In the morning, bed bug bite-free and not knowing how awful the hotel room was beforehand, I packed my things and went back up to Monmouth County and stayed at my cousin’s house nearby. If you think that was bad, this is only the beginning!
Wong’s behavior towards me became unhinged. She started to act very rude to me and even going as far to say that I lied to her. For one instance, on my way down to Monmouth County to knock on doors, I received a call from my bank asking me if I had made a $6,000 withdrawal from my checking account, to which I responded with a no. After I parked, I checked my phone and saw the Founder of BLAKPAC, George Farrell, withdrew $5,400 from my account without notifying me. I screenshotted the withdrawal (shown below) and asked Angie what this was all about. Angie then started saying to me that I “should not be accusing George of withdrawing the money,” to which I responded with “Well, it has his name on the withdrawal, so obviously he is the one who withdrew the money.” Later, the money was reinstated to my bank account.
Primary Day came, and Bob Healey handily defeated Ian Smith. After the campaign was over, I was still owed money by BLAKPAC. I reached out numerous times, asking when I would expect the remaining money from them, with very vague details. I then received a text message eight days later on June 16, 2022, from Farrell who accused me of “abandoning my duties” and that I was “nowhere to be found” and refused to pay me the money they properly owed me (which in my opinion was a punishment for not getting their client passed the primary). Both claims were utterly ludicrous, given that I drove a great distance just to be where I needed to be each day. In addition, Farrell claimed that Wong asked me to provide her with toll receipts to prove I was in the area, which I was never asked to do. I later sent them an email with the toll receipts proving where I was, which they never replied to. After giving Farrell and Wong ample chances to pay up, I had no choice but to take legal action against BLAKPAC. On August 23, 2022, I had my day in court and won by default because neither Farrell nor Wong made an appearance. Shortly after my day in court, BLAKPAC changed its name to “BLACKPAC” despite there already being another PAC with the same name that was founded in 2016.
On June 29th, 2023, Wong published on her Medium page that BLAKPAC turned out to be a scam. According to the report, Wong resigned as President of BLAKPAC in July 2022, about a month after I left. Citing George and his wife, Sandra Lopez, had failed to report campaign expenditures from late 2021 and instead filed them for May 2022- June 2022, the same duration from when I worked at BLAKPAC. In addition, the report also states that BLAKPAC had an established HQ in Plantation, FL, which was a CVS pharmacy, solidifying the fact that it was a fake HQ. In September 2023, George passed away at the age of 62. His obituary does not state the cause of death.
The last campaign I worked on was in 2023, for Senator Holly Schepisi and Dr. John Azzariti Jr. Azzariti at the time was a Councilman in Saddle River. He opted to not seek re-election to the council. Instead, he decided to run for Assembly to succeed the retiring Assemblywoman DeAnne DeFuccio. I previously worked on his Assembly campaign in 2021, my first job I held after graduating from college. Although Azzariti and I were close ever since I worked on his campaign, things changed for the worse after I worked for his campaign in 2023.
In February 2023, when John annouced his campaign for Assembly and would be running alongside Schepisi and Assemblyman Robert Auth, I made it known to John that my intentions of getting him into the State House would result in me becoming his Chief of Staff, which he agreed to. After nine months of hard work, from knocking on doors every day to driving the candidates around the district, Holly and Bob were re-elected, and John was elected to the Assembly. I was thrilled that night since I knew I would finally accomplish a dream I had worked for years to achieve, working in the state legislature.
The week after the election, I met with Schepisi’s Chief of Staff, Alyssa Dawson, since I wanted to learn more and what to expect when I start. Immediately when I sat down, Alyssa told me that John was going with someone with more experience. I was upset and surprised at the same time. Alyssa noticed I was upset and told me that everything is going to be okay. She then encouraged me to apply for Christine Glassner’s U.S. Senate campaign. I told Alyssa that 2023 was my final year working as a campaign staffer, as I desired to secure a full-time permanent role, rather than a full-time temporary one.
2024 came, and Azzariti picked Matthew Conlon to be his Chief of Staff, who had previously served as Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Kevin Rooney, who did not seek re-election in 2023. While I was still out looking for a job, John’s chance to redeem himself came in the following month.
In mid-February, Conlon, 32, was charged with criminal sexual contact for inappropriately groping a 20-year-old sleeping man at a private residence. At the time, Conlon was the Chairman of the Young Republican Federation of New Jersey (YRFNJ), the Passaic County GOP Secretary and State Committeeman, and served on the West Milford Township Council. According to a statement by John Azzariti, he stated that “Matt Conlon no longer works in my office.”
After seeing the news, I reached out to John inquiring about the newly opened Chief of Staff role, handing him the opportunity on a silver platter. Azzariti replied, saying he had “not started the hiring process yet.”
Time went by, and still nothing from John’s end. Earlier this year, I ran to succeed Conlon as YRFNJ Chairman, where I garnered support from numerous counties. At a YR meeting in Somerset County, I was told that John had hired Alyssa Dawson to be his Chief of Staff. I was in disbelief. Dawson, the same person whom I met with after the election to learn how to be an effective COS for Azzariti, was chosen to be Azzariti’s COS. To make matters worse, the very next morning, John announced on his campaign Instagram page that he was hiring Dylan Nazari to be his Deputy Chief of Staff. Nazari, who did nothing to help John get elected, got the job over me, who spent countless hours trying to get Azzariti elected. I was immediately angered, hurt, and it felt like the ultimate betrayal.
However, the political favoritism was right in front of my eyes. Nazari was a campaign staffer for Frank Pallotta for Congress in 2022, the same Pallotta who served as Azzariti’s campaign surrogate for the Assembly. It was not hard to see that connections, and not merit, played into that decision over hard work and dedication.
From that point forward, I vowed never to work on political campaigns again.
In conclusion, if you are a political operative, strategist, or aspiring to be one, please consider what I wrote. Politics is a miserable industry. The jobs do not pay well, there are slim to no benefits, and unless you are hired to work on the legislative side, there is no room for growth. Save your time and sanity for something else. I am not trying to discourage anyone from participating in campaigns, but to warn you of what could occur when you do participate. If you choose to go down this path, you are better off helping candidates at the local level. Ensure you volunteer your time and donate your money accordingly.
To learn more about my work, please visit my website.