Kyle Seeley, a 2011 Binghamton University alumnus, is working as field director for the Dan Lamb congressional campaign.
Seeley, co-founder of ChangeOver Binghamton, was a political science major at BU. After his graduation, he worked as the administrative assistant to the mayor of Binghamton.
“I also became more involved with the local Broome County Democratic Party, where I am a member of the Broome County Democratic Committee,” Seeley wrote in an email.
Seeley, who is 23 years old, said he decided to stay in Binghamton after graduation because he saw a lot of opportunity here.
“During my time at BU, I was involved with the community by interning and volunteering with various political organizations,” Seeley said. “Being involved helped forge relationships and connections with people throughout Broome County, which led to job opportunities. If you get involved in this community, you will find there’s a lot of opportunity out there.”
Seeley said he has always had an interest in government and politics.
“Like many people, I became engaged in politics because of Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign,” Seeley said. “I volunteered on his South Carolina primary campaign.”
During his junior year at BU, Seeley interned with the mayor of Binghamton.
“This opportunity allowed me to be involved with the local politics and actually yielded job prospects after graduation,” Seeley said.
Seeley started working for the Lamb campaign in July this year. He said his role as field director gives him the responsibility for managing a team of organizers and volunteers who help execute the campaign’s voter contact strategy.
“In addition, a Field Director is responsible for ensuring that data is utilized properly; including creating walking and callings lists, recording results, creating proper survey questions, and creating a targeting strategy for the campaign,” Seeley said.
Previously, Seeley has also worked on other campaigns, like the 2010 midterm election when he volunteered with Congressman Maurice Hinchey’s reelection campaign and in 2011 when he was the campaign manager for BU professor Sean Massey’s Binghamton City Council campaign.
Seeley said he believes that in this year’s congressional election, each student’s vote can have an impact on the future of this country.
“We have individuals in Congress that are not looking out for average middle-class people,” Seeley said. “For example, Dan’s opponent Richard Hanna and his Republican colleagues have voted three times to severely cut federal Pell Grants and raise interest rates on student loans.”
Seeley said he believes that rebuilding the middle class cannot be done with politicians attempting to restrict people’s access to affordable education.
“Your one vote could be the deciding vote that could change the make-up of the House of Representatives,” Seeley said.
Since BU students live in Broome County for more than eight months out of the year, he believes they deserve a say in what happens in the community. Seeley said that is why the Lamb campaign has 10 BU student interns working with them.
“Voting in one way students can make their voices heard,” Seeley said. “Throughout this campaign, I have stuck by the belief.”
Seeley said the campaign has encouraged students to vote through registration efforts.
“[W]e were part of an effort that helped register nearly 2,000 new voters on campus, and why we will be making a concerted effort to turn out students on November 6th,” Seeley said.