here - Morningside College

citizensBy
Jenny Welp
make a difference through politics
“That was my big issue in 2008, so it was super exciting going to the rallies and being
out there on Capitol Hill when it passed,” Lawton said. “I was really excited but then
also felt really bad. I was thinking it was just a waste of my time that I cared so much
about this one issue but didn’t do anything at all to work for it.”
When he got back to Sioux City, Lawton started volunteering for President Barack
Obama’s grassroots campaign, Organizing for America. He volunteered for almost a
year-and-a-half, sometimes putting in as many as 40 hours per week. Then he was
offered a paid position with the campaign as a field organizer for Woodbury County.
“Definitely volunteering and working hard for that long span really got my foot in the
door,” he said. “That was probably the biggest thing.”
Since then, Lawton has gotten two promotions. Now he is working in Waterloo, Iowa,
as a regional field director, overseeing 18 counties in Iowa. He manages staff and
develops political relationships with key players across the region.
Back in 2008, Cassie (Nguyen) Loomis 2007 traveled from Sioux City to Washington,
D.C., for a three-month internship. Little did she know that two years later, she would
be second-in-command on the staff of Steve King, U.S. representative for Iowa’s 5th
District.
Loomis was an intern for another lawmaker when King’s people called her for an
interview. They created a position just for her, and she quickly moved up the ranks to
become legislative director. In this position, she was a top advisor to King, responsible
for studying the issues and developing recommendations on how to vote. She said it
normally takes people at least five years working on Capitol Hill to reach that level.
“The congressman really took a risk for me,” she said. “I told Steve – I had to look
him straight in the eye – I’m like, ‘I know I’m unqualified for this position, but if you
take a risk, I promise that you won’t regret it.’ And I had to work 60, 70, 80 hours a
week to be on top of everything that I was given.”
Loomis was legislative director for over a year. Then she became engaged and let
King know of her plans to move home. King wanted to keep her on staff, so he created a
position for her in Sioux City as a policy advisor and district scheduler.
“It’s really been an incredible journey,” she said.
As for Lawton, he said he is happy he found a way to use his passion for politics to
make a difference. He said his previous job was fun, but it wasn’t very rewarding.
“This one I feel like I get up in the morning, and I feel good,” he said. “I feel like I’m
doing good work, and I’m helping people.”
Nicole Cleveland
2008 ran
against
incumbents and
still won a seat
on the Sergeant
Bluff City
Council. “I think
I knocked on
every single
door in Sergeant
Bluff,” she said.
Photo by Doug
Burg, Burg
Studios.
Blair Lawton
2008 is a
regional field
director for
President
Barack
Obama’s
grassroots
campaign,
Organizing for
America. He
oversees 18
counties in
Iowa.
Building on a tradition
So many alumni have been active in politics over the years.
There’s Stan Greigg 1954, who served in the U.S. House of
Representatives in the 1960s and was later a victim of the
Watergate break-in; Joanne (Franzen) Grueskin 1958, who
became the third woman ever to serve on the Sioux City
Council in 1986; Christopher Rants 1989, who served in the
Iowa House from 1992 to 2010 and was either the speaker of
the House, majority leader or minority leader for almost 10
years; and Ron Jorgensen 1979, who served on the Sioux City
School Board and currently serves in the Iowa House. We’re
just getting started. What names come to your mind? Tell us
online at www.morningside.edu/morningsider.
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