Basic Info

First Name

Jim

Last Name

Henry

Username

jimhenry

Progressive Profile

Bio

I started working for Democratic candidates and causes in 1994. Along the way, I volunteered for many candidates for Congress, state office, and president from my home base in Massachusetts. However, I decided to make this work my career focus in 2018, when I joined a team of field representatives in Miami, persuading inconsistent voters in FL26 to make a commitment to vote. After we helped flip that seat in Congress, I was hooked, and I decided to return to my roots in New England, hoping to work on a presidential campaign. I realized that goal when I was the first Community Organizer hired by the Tom Steyer 2020 campaign.

I remained with the Steyer campaign from the beginning until the end, earning a redeploy to South Carolina after the New Hampshire primary. In New Hampshire, I started working in Manchester, the largest city in the state, but as more organizers joined the team, and we divided up the state into regions, I was the lone rider in the western region, covering a territory focused on Keene and Cheshire County, but occasionally attending events as far north as Hanover and Dartmouth College. In South Carolina, I worked as part of the Rock Hill team. In both experiences, I recruited volunteers to fill GOTV shifts, among other campaign functions.

In the fall of 2020, I connected with The Outreach Team, working first as a canvasser in the Massachusetts primary, on behalf of Vote Tripling, persuading voters to send text messages to at least three friends or family to remind them to vote in the primary. Later, I worked for the company again in Portland and Lewiston, Maine, working first as a Team Leader, then as a Deputy Director, recruiting and training canvassers, while also knocking as many as 200 doors on the last day before the general election.

I was home for about 36 hours when the Outreach Team asked if I would like to go to Georgia (Yes please!), and immediately departed to head toward Athens. Initially I helped identify locations for canvassers to register people to vote. After the registration deadline, I worked on behalf of the Black Progressive Action Coalition as a Field Director, managing a team of 65 canvassers who collectively knocked 55,000 doors in three weeks’ time, while employing highly successful social distancing measures to protect our team and the voters.

Although my recent campaign experience has been in field work, which I love, I am also a career communications professional. I have a master’s degree in journalism, eight years daily newspaper experience, 15 years teaching journalism, mass communications, and English Composition courses. I also publish a magazine, Bull Moose Magazine: A Progressive Voice, to help publicize progressive candidates and causes.

 

Impact

We always love it when we win, don’t we? I have won races and lost races, and I always learn something from even the most devastating failure. However, being a part of the team that helped elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate was the thrill of my political career. As a Field Director, I had to lock horns with local law enforcement who were trying to intimidate my canvassers to leave their jurisdiction, but we stood firm, did our job (and no one got arrested!) To have the first African American Senator and first Jewish Senator in Georgia history elected because of all of our effort, and knowing that their elections meant that President Biden would have the opportunity to advance his agenda was the thrill of my political life.

Mission

I love field work, and have impressive credentials, but I have been working in the communications industry since the 1980s, and have invested countless hours to honing the craft. The bottom line is that I want to be involved in any capacity where I can have the greatest impact, but my goal is to do so in a campaign communications capacity.