Five years after you graduate from Tufts, would you envision yourself attempting to convince an entire city that you are worthy of a vote? Mike Ross might not have known at 20 years old what the near future held for him, but a few short years after receiving his MBA from Boston University, he found himself making phone calls, knocking on doors, and raising money to prove that he could handle Boston's political arena.
Ross, now 29, is the youngest - and the first Jewish - member of the Boston City Council. Fresh out of business school, he was only 27 when he was elected. Ross represents District Eight, which includes the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, and Mission Hill neighborhoods.
Ross spoke at Hillel on Tuesday evening about his campaign and what it entailed.
"I worked hard to raise [sixty thousand dollars]," he said. "Raising money helps prove credibility."
Early on in his campaign, Ross said, he was wary of getting too caught up with stating his positions on issues.
"You have to know your issues [for debates], but you're selling yourself. You put forward ideas after you get into office."
In order to "sell" himself, Ross canvassed the diverse neighborhoods of District Eight. These areas include Irish, Latino, and Jewish communities and range economically from housing projects to brownstones.
He knocked on the doors of "good" voters - citizens with a consistent history of voting in local elections - and introduced himself. Ross estimates that he reached about 10,000 potential voters by "calling, mailing and knocking."
"You have to keep coming back [to people who aren't convinced]," Ross said.
He believes the factor that distinguished him from his opponent was his outreach to college students. "I visited BU, and asked students to hold signs the next day at 7 a.m.," he said. Ross didn't think many college students would be willing to get up so early, and had forgotten about his request until the next day when a group showed up ready to help.
"They asked to help. They wanted to organize the entire BU campus." The students ended up registering many fellow BU students, and about 300 voted for Ross. In the end, Ross won his election by approximately 300-400 votes.
According to Ross, out of 60,000 voting-age citizens in the district, only 20,000 or 30,000 were registered to vote, and only 5,000 people actually voted.
"One vote can change an election," he said. "Only twenty-five hundred and one votes determined the outcome of my election."
During his term thus far, Ross has played a key role in extending the hours of the MBTA and passing a sweatshop ordinance that ensures that police uniforms are not manufactured in foreign sweatshops.
Ross's father is a Holocaust survivor, and Ross strongly believes in political morals.
"You don't get rich being a politician. There's a satisfaction in this field," he said. "There's a trade-off between a high salary and the value of the job you're doing."
Ross advised students interested in pursuing a political career to get involved and intern with local politicians.
Students were impressed by Ross's easy manner and informative description of the road to elected office.
"[It gave me] good insight into campaigns," junior Jacob Berman said.
Lisa Kane, also a junior, agreed. "It was interesting and insightful. [I liked that] he talked about getting college kids to vote. You don't usually hear about that."
The event was coordinated by Tufts Hillel, and co-sponsored by the Political Science department, the Tufts Democrats, and Pi Sigma Alpha.
