Campaigning for the future — Samuel Lovett takes on Rhode Island

It’s election season and like many American’s I am tired of all the nasty campaign ads splattered across my TV.

Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of slinging mud and focusing on non-issues. It gets so bad sometimes that its hard to focus on the real issues.

But then you meet someone — someone like Sam Lovett — a 24-year-old recent college graduate who is running to be a State Representative in Rhode Island’s District 63.

He’s running on a slogan of “Empowering Rhode Island,” and is focused on getting millennials off their parents couches and into the workforce.

Lovett sat down with me to talk about why he thinks he’s the best Representative for East Providence. He started off telling me how he first got interested in the public sector.

“I’ve always had an interest in politics and government. I was a history major at Boston College and worked on a couple of campaigns after graduation,” said Lovett.

Millennial Impact: “The millennial generation is coming of age in a difficult time. Right now they are an underrepresented group in the Legislature. I want to help them find the resources they need, wether that’s to buy their first house or to find a job, I want to help them get established,” said Lovett.

For a full look at Lovett’s priorities check out his Platform Issues page on his website.

• Among the action items he would implement is a Pathways Program. Lovett says the program would, “incentivize our talented university graduates and aspiring technical students to start their careers with a short term of service to the state. This “Fellowship” type program would help Rhode Island keep its young professionals in-state, helping them receive quality training and public service oriented skills. It would also allow the state to test workers, and fully evaluate ability and potential before deciding whether it is a wise investment to offer someone a full position.”

“If Sam’s tenure with GovLoop as a fellow this past summer is any indication, I can say with absolute confidence that Sam’s steady, principled leadership will win not only this election, but many legislative victories for his fellow citizens in East Providence. I’m particularly energized by young candidates like Sam who are interested in leveraging their talents in public service careers,” said Andrew Krzmarzick, GovLoop’s Director of Community Engagement.

Full disclosure, I’ve worked with Sam all summer here at GovLoop. For a link to Lovett’s blogs here on GovLoop click here.