Politicians and elected officials do not always follow a traditional path into politics to get where they are today. Often times, politicians and elected officials held jobs while they were younger which are totally opposite of politics. This week, we learned about a politician who came from an unusual background to get where she is.
AOL News reports that freshman Republican Tennessee Congresswoman Julia Hurley is proud of her previous job, even though it is a little unusual. Hurley has cited her time as a waitress at Hooters as a contributor to her drive to hold office, including helping her build business and networking skills. Hurley feels it is important to acknowledge how her past work experience at Hooters helped her overcome obstacles and become determined to succeed. Her determination paid off, since she beat nine-term Democratic Congressman Dennis Ferguson for the House of Representative seat.
Hurley is not the first political figure to have held an unusual job in the past before getting into politics. MSNBC reports that Jerry Brown, the Democratic governor of California, also held an interesting position prior to politics. Brown had actually planned on becoming a priest and even spent four years at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Santa Clara, Calif.. Brown started his career path to priesthood in the 1950s and taught at a Catholic school as part of his training. It is hard to imagine that Brown started out with a career goal of becoming a priest only to become a politician.
Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist also had a very unusual job before entering politics. Crist used to actually be part of the general counsel for Minor League Baseball. Crist was able to get this job after he graduated from law school in 1981, and after he passed all of the required examinations. The job as general counsel was a role in the Minor League that usually entailed helping negotiate contracts for players. It was during this job in Saint Petersburg, Fla., where Crist began showing an interest in politics. So Crist followed his heart and left the world of baseball to begin his career in politics to serve the people of Florida.
Rand Paul is a politician who stands out as well because he had a different job altogether before entering politics. Before becoming a Tea Party favorite and inspiration, Paul was an ophthalmologist. Paul is a doctor who completed residency at Duke University Medical Center and founded the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic in 1995. This organization helps provide eye examinations and surgeries to individuals and families in need. Paul had a great career as an ophthalmologist in Kentucky but now represents and serves the people of Kentucky in the Senate. You might consider being a doctor a more lucrative job, but for Paul, he wanted to serve the country in the Senate and help change the direction of our government.
Steven Hoffer, “Julia Hurley: 5 Facts on the Hooters Girl Turned Congresswoman”, AOL News
MSNBC Staff, “Odd Jobs of the Political Elite”, MSNBC
