Justin Lawson wore a white collared button-up shirt, black slacks and a golden-yellow tie as he stood at the podium for the Associated Students Inc. Daily 49er executive candidate debates last spring. He motioned with his hands as he spoke from a podium in front of him, answering the question on the projector screen to his left.
Across the stage, at an opposing podium, stood Michael Quibuyen who ultimately won the race against Lawson for ASI treasurer. Lawson said the loss was what propelled him into work, far beyond the reaches of student government.
“My interest in politics peaked in 2004 when then-Senator Obama gave the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention,” Lawson said. “The story of his life and upbringing reminded me much of the struggles of everyday Americans, including myself, working hard and doing their best to achieve the American Dream.”
Lawson, a senior political science major with a concentration in global politics and Middle East studies minor, grew up in Placentia, Calif.
“I grew up in a conservative area of Orange County and, frankly, I might have been the only person driving around with an Obama sticker during the 2008 elections,” Lawson said.
Lawson said that, while he was growing up, his parents were conservative but they weren’t politically oriented and didn’t place a lot of focus on politics.
“It gave me the opportunity to adopt my own political ideology without a whole lot of outside influence,” Lawson said.
Only days after the ASI election ended, Lawson applied for the Obama for America internship. Soon after, he was accepted into the program and changed his voter registration status from Independent to Democrat.
“I figured if I was working for the DNC (Democratic National Committee), I should probably be a registered Democrat,” Lawson said.
Lawson started getting more involved in the Obama campaign last year, when he took an unpaid field organizer position. His main task was to recruit neighborhood team leaders who would work in an area with a group of volunteers. The campaign is the same program that was used in Obama’s campaign when he was elected president.
“A lot of these people are doing it because they feel empowered by the president and really just want to do anything they can do,” Lawson said.
Lawson frequently worked at the office in Culver City where he participated in national and state conference calls, a couple of which were with Obama and Joe Biden. He had meetings with the state and national campaign directors, went to a fundraiser in Beverly Hills where Michelle Obama spoke and registered voters in Nevada.
“It may have been unpaid, but there were a lot of benefits, a lot of things I learned and people I got to meet,” Lawson said.
His internship ended with about 60 people gathered at his house to watch a live telecast of Obama’s birthday.
“That was really cool, a great way to wrap up the program,” Lawson said.
He currently has no specific position in the campaign because the 20 hours per week time requirement is too large to handle with classes and his responsibilities in ASI as vice chair of lobby corps. Although Lawson eventually wants to have a career in politics, he’s not quite sure what he wants to do.
“I still have some schooling left,” Lawson said. “But honestly, I don’t have it all figured out. I’m just kind of taking each opportunity as they come.”
Lawson has worked in ASI as assistant secretary of system-wide affairs, secretary of academic affairs and as an academic senator.
In an email, former ASI President James Ahumada described Lawson as “a true leader.”
“When I think of him, I think of someone with great motivation, common sense and dedication to serve the public,” Ahumada said. “He’s done a lot for the university, and I know he will continue to do so.”
Despite his loss in the ASI elections last year, Lawson said he wasn’t discouraged about future work in politics.
“I think Abraham Lincoln lost every political contest he ran in before he became president and so, that’s life,” Lawson said.