Campaign Intern Shares Tips For Her Successor

Although she’s not going to vote in California, Bridget Magaña-Sandoval spent the summer encouraging others do to so for Menlo Park City Council Member

Bridget was Kelly's intern this summer.

She hadn’t planned on doing a political internship.  She had really wanted a job. The 18-year-old was looking for a way to earn some cash before starting freshman year at the University of Colorado Boulder.  Problematically, she started looking in April, which is usually too late to obtain a lucrative temporary position.  But then she got lucky.

“My mom was talking to about me looking for a job and how I started applying too late,” she said, while making copies of campaign contributions at the Kinko's on El Camino Real.  Kelly told her mom that she needed some help with her re election campaign.  “Pretty much I just needed to know how to use Excel,” she said, with a small laugh as we began to walk to the post office on Oak Grove.

One of her primary tasks during the internship was to document the campaign contributions given to Fergusson for the financial disclosure paperwork required of all candidates.  Other tasks included stuffing envelopes with campaign flyers and donation requests.  Unlike many internships, this one was a paid position.

And like many internships, it ended in the final days of summer.  Bridget finished her internship on Friday and will be flying off to Colorado to start coursework. 

"I'm sad that I wont be here for the campaign," she said, recognizing that the campaign will be ramping up in the next few months.  She shared a few tips for the person who will take her place.

Bridget's Tips For Kelly's New Intern

1) Be Available.

"I remember one night I had just dropped off Kelly's kid at practice.  She called me up and asked if I wanted to go to two events with her.  I said yes and cancelled everything.  You have to be willing to cancel your plans."

2) Don't Be Scared to Make Mistakes

"Kelly's really nice.  It was okay when I made mistakes."

3) Ask A Lot of Questions

"You're learning; you're not expected to be an expert."

While Bridget learned that she doesn't want to go into politics this summer, she did say that she was glad she had taken the internship.

"Now I know," she said.

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