Graduates of the University's Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership won 27 of 49 races for political office in Virginia last week.
Executive Director Robert Gibson said unlike in years past, this month's elections saw Sorensen alumni win office in all regions of the state. Of the Institute's 1,200 alumni, Gibson said, "most don't run [for office], but the ones who do have been doing very well in state and local elections all across the commonwealth."
Eighteen of 140 members of the Virginia General Assembly are Sorensen alumni, Gibson said, as is Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris - a 2006 graduate - who was reelected to City Council last Tuesday.
The Institute's flagship program, the Political Leaders Program, trains students for careers in public service as elected officials or community leaders. The Institute also offers a Candidate Training Program, which provides students with a condensed four-day course on how to win a campaign for office. Alumni from both programs won office last week, Gibson said.
The Institute's non-partisanship is instrumental in allowing students to achieve success in elections and careers in public service, Gibson said, as students are forced to collaborate with each other regardless of political views.
"It's a real benefit to candidates to have stronger leadership skills and work better across the aisle," Gibson explained, adding that the Institute teaches roughly the same number of Democrats and Republicans each year.
The program also emphasizes the importance of running an ethical campaign and teaches students the skills necessary to do so. Gibson said students are told to create ethics rules for their campaigns to follow. A candidate often will pledge not to be the first to run a negative campaign ad.
"We teach campaign skills but also the value of looking at the long term and what you do once you're elected to office, so you can actually have some impact on policy and not just win an election," he said.
2009 alumnus James Brown, who was elected last Tuesday as the sheriff of Charlottesville, said the skills he learned from the program were vital in allowing him to achieve success during his campaign.
"When I went to Sorensen, I had already won the primary but it was helpful in fundraising and making sure you know how to stay focused on your message and making sure you can get it to the people," Brown said.
Brown added that he felt the skills he learned from the Sorensen Institute were essential to the success of any politician.
"If you want to get involved in politics, you should go through Sorensen," he said.
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