7 minute read
"I don't know."
You have to be willing to say that – in politics and in life. That’s one life lesson that John Hughes, ’18, has learned to stand by. From living in a trailer park to working events headlining the President of the United States, John understands the importance of a good work ethic and accepting the fact that he doesn’t have all the answers. He’s young, especially for being the public relations manager of Kentucky’s Chamber of Commerce. Most people wouldn’t picture a 26-year old as having a managerial role in the Chamber – might not picture a “kid” that age in the Chamber at all – but he is okay with that.
“I have never really seen my age as a factor. Leadership is leadership, and if you’re good, you’re good, no matter what your age is,” he said. “One of my mentors once told me, ‘Never get too good to take out the trash.’ I live by that.”
He has a confidence that seems so natural, it almost feels wrong to mention it. Whether he’s walking through a parking lot or stepping into the Kentucky Governor’s office, his laid-back demeanor exudes the notion that he was born for this exact moment – he’s focused, and he’s comfortable here.
John comes from a small town in Kentucky called Brodhead, part of Rockcastle County. Growing up, his family didn’t have a whole lot. His mother was a teacher, and his father was an instructional assistant. They instilled in him that, if he was going to do anything in his life, he was going to have to work hard. That’s what he decided to do.
The first campaign he worked on (and won), he and his buddies sat in someone’s living room and made calls, munching on pizza in between. At Cumberlands, John revitalized the College Republicans club and got involved in the Student Government Association while juggling his schoolwork, commuting from Rockcastle, and working as a football team manager. He also worked in a law office and landed some valuable internships, including one in Washington, D.C., working for U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. Add in a couple more political campaigns, plus a little time to eat and sleep here and there, and that was John’s life from high school to young adulthood. The last campaign he ran was historic.
John recalls, “I got a call from a mentor asking if I wanted to help out with the campaign for Daniel Cameron. I told him, ‘You’ll never believe this. Two days ago, I messaged somebody asking who was running his race.’ I had experience and wanted to help out, even if it was a nonpaid role. Well, I get a call a couple more days later, saying, ‘Hey, you want to meet Daniel?’ I was like, ‘This is a God thing.’ Before I know it, it’s me, Daniel, and Terry Carmack, who is Mitch McConnell’s state director, sitting in a Cracker Barrel. We don’t even know what my title will be, but this is happening. Later, Daniel tells me I’m the campaign manager. I’m thinking, ‘This is not what I signed up for. But okay.’”
The year of 2019 was a blur of campaign work. For five months of it, John and Daniel drove around Kentucky together on the campaign trail. “You really bond with someone over chicken nuggets,” John said. Despite their shoestring campaign budget, Cameron won. Today, he’s known as the 51st Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the first Republican elected to the AG office since 1948, and the first Black official in Kentucky’s history to be independently elected to statewide office.
“Daniel’s one of my best friends,” John said. “I was in his wedding. He’s going to be in mine.” John and his fiancée Maddy are engaged to be married in May 2022.
Cameron kept John on staff as his legislative liaison, due to his relationships in the state House and his campaign work. Though John would work for Cameron forever if he could, when he found out that a job had opened at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, he knew it was time to move on. In his newest role as the manager of public affairs for the Chamber, he is, yet again, one of the youngest guys in the office. But he accepts it and the life lessons it teaches.
“You can’t act like you know everything, especially at my age,” said John. “I only know what I know. I’ve seen guys walk into meetings and try to prove they’re the smartest person in the room, and I’ve seen it really bite them later. I just try to be a sponge and absorb everything I can from my colleagues. I lean on AG Cameron and his incredible staff for guidance from time to time.”
John is a junior lobbyist at the Chamber as well as the public affairs manager. The bills he follows are in the education, agriculture, and small business fields. Lobbying, in essence, is when someone advocates for (or against) a bill that is set to be voted on at the next General Assembly. When bills come to the Chamber, the Chamber has a multistep, democratic process to determine what they are for and against. Then it’s the job of the lobbyists to communicate that stance and the reasoning behind it to key connections.
“As far as lobbying efforts go, you kind of have your personal stuff, your portfolio things you take the first stab at. But once it comes down to the big bills that we’re for, everybody’s got to come up to speed and study, then go lobby legislators,” said John. “I primarily work for Kentucky’s House of Representatives, since I worked there for years. We have another guy who talks to the Senate, and so on. That’s how we operate here.”
“Most people, when they think of lobbying, think of board rooms and business meetings,” he said. “For the Kentucky Chamber, we come to you. We know it’s a grassroots effort.”
Lobbyists must have strong reading comprehension skills and a good mental grasp on their field in order to understand the implications of a bill. If this bill were to pass, what ripple effects would there be, to whom, and for how long? Sometimes, it’s difficult to tell. In those instances, lobbyists start making calls to find out who the experts are in that field, then take notes from them. It's a fast-paced environment, which John loves.
John doesn't know what his next job will be. He doesn't even have a specific career goal in mind. But, just like with other things in his job, not knowing something hasn't stopped him yet. With his track record, chances are slim that it ever will.
