Updated  Monday, December 6, 2004
Dahroug Down, But Not Out
HGSE Alum Makes Strong Bid for State Senate Seat
By Juno Nakamura
APPIAN STAFF WRITER

Jimmy Dahroug (Ed.M. 2004) knew his chances were slim, but even he was pleasantly surprised by the strong support his education reform platform received in the Long Island (Suffolk county) State Senate race this past November 2.

The Long Island native, whose run represented his first campaign for public office at the tender age of 25, made a stronger showing than most would have expected when his grassroots campaign began at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) last year. Receiving 40% of the votes in his district, Dahroug came closer to unseating his opponent, the 78-year old Republican incumbent Caesar Trunzo, than any other candidate during Trunzo’s 32-year tenure in the New York State Senate.

Dahroug's journey began innocently last year when a fellow HGSE alum Billy Moss decided not to run in the State Senate, Dahroug, then a masters student in the Administration, Planning and Social Policy (now EPM) program, saw his opportunity. Between his studies, Dahroug made frequent phone calls to the Democrat’s office, planning for his final papers will while he established a campaign team.

By May, Dahroug was officially nominated as a Democratic candidate for the Long Island State Senate race. “May was hectic,” Dahroug said. “I balanced school work, a research job at the Harvard Civil Rights Project, and going to Long Island on the weekends.”

Dahroug was, however, able to find political support at HGSE. Doctoral candidate J. D. LaRock, a fellow New Yorker and former journalist cum public relations specialist, offered Dahroug tips on campaigning and writing press releases. LaRock, a Teaching Fellow in Dahroug’s Introduction to Education Policy (A-100), became a friend and adviser to Dahroug by the spring semester.

Dahroug also had on-campus help with his fund raising campaign. A high school connection offered to create a free web site. "Normally, I would have been charged as much as $8,000 for this service," Dahroug noted. The web site (http://www.jimmyforsenate.com/) was set up to accept on-line donations, which raked in over $2,000 for his campaign. Dahroug also got his office for free from his campaign manager, a lawyer who offered to waive the $1,800 a month rent. “I just asked for it,” Dahroug said.

While his experienced opponent Trunzo raised a total of $300,000 for his political campaign, Dahroug managed to raise a total $20,000 with the help of friends and family. Despite his disappointment with the loss, Dahroug described to The Appian his amazement at all the volunteer as well as political support he received.

After Dahroug was chosen as one of the “Dean Dozen” - twelve grassroots Democratic candidates out of 900 candidates nation wide and publicly endorsed by Vermont Governor Howard Dean - Dahroug said that one man donated a lump sum of $500 to Dahroug’s campaign. Supporters of Dean’s “Democracy for America” also volunteered to help hold signs in shopping centers and shake the hands of commuters at New York train stations at 6am as election day approached.

Steve Levy, a popular Suffolk county executive, also volunteered to get his voice recorded on an automated telephone call which was made to 50,000 households in the area. All throughout the campaign, Dahroug noted, he only had to pay the salary for one person – his field coordinator.

Though in his first public election, Dahroug was no rookie to politics, or to campaigns. At Columbia University, he was the president of his class for two years, and interned for Senator Hillary Clinton. Later, he participated in the John Edwards for President campaign.

Despite this experience at a young age, Dahroug credits HGSE in part with the motivation he gained to make the run. “When I was at Columbia, I didn’t know why I would go to graduate school. I loved what I was studying and thought that maybe someday I would work for a think tank or something,” Dahroug said. At HGSE, however, his passion for education and politics became “synchronized,” as he described it.

In a televised debate, when his political opponent Trunzo inaccurately stated that the New York State Assembly proposal for education finance reform would bring a large financial toll upon Long Island, Dahroug was immediately able to counter him by citing evidence that the proposal would in fact bring $125 million for the education budget of Long Island in 2005 alone, the very topic he had studied in depth in Professor Robert Schwartz’s Introduction to Education Policy class at HGSE.

With an eye to the future, Dahroug says that his goal is to “become a good public servant and change the way we fund schools.” In the wake of his defeat, he offered consolation to his supporters and fellow HGSE alumnae: “The value of what we (as people involved with education) are doing is tremendous. Schools do determine what kind of society we will have.”

After knocking on 10,000 doors to get votes and charming Long Islanders on hot summer mornings, Dahroug said “the main lesson I have learned is this: the expectations you set for yourself really determine your outcomes.” Dahroug added: “Don’t be shy; don’t be limited in your thinking. A lot of people get intimidated and underestimate what they can do. Jump right in. Get involved. There is a bit of a learning curve. Talk to as many people as possible, because you really need new visions and new ideas. If you set a goal for yourself, you can do it.”

Dahroug told The Appian that he plans on running in the State Senate again in the near future.

Juno Nakamura is a staff writer for The Appian.