Biography
Chris Frommann '09, MEng '10 is the director of public relations for the 2009-2010 school year. As an undergrad, he served as the director of information technology and in other ad hoc positions. He studied Government and Computer Science at Cornell and is currently pursuing a Master of Engineering in Computer Science. He is currently the New Media Director for the College Democrats of New York.
Chris has been interested in politics for as long as he can remember; he read the New York Times on the bus in elementary school to keep up to date on current events. His first foray into government was working for his state senator in high school. He subsequently worked for Hillary Clinton's 2006 senatorial campaign and volunteered for Governor Howard Dean, Rep Eric Massa, Rep Michael Arcuri, President Obama and many others.
He is particularly interested in the intersection between policy, politics and technology and is trying to figure out the best way to combine his technological skills and his desire to make the world a better place. In his spare time, Chris enjoys relaxing with friends (where the conversation often turns political) and designing pretty print and web interfaces.
2009-2010 Candidacy Statement
As a member of the Cornell Democrats for the past four years, I have had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of exciting and important activities, ranging from door-to-door campaigning in New York and Pennsylvania during the 2006 and 2008 elections to travelling to New York for the CDNY convention and Washington D.C. for President Obama’s inauguration. Whether phone banking or bringing insightful and inspiring speakers, we have a real and powerful impact on voters – students, members of the Ithaca community and those in the swing states we have visited and called. When we are at our best, I have no doubt that our organization has been essential in getting Democratic officials like Representative Eric Massa and DA Glen Wilkinson elected.
I am running for Director of Public Relations because I want to extend more of the passion and drive that we see during the election cycle to the “off time.” If elected, I will work closely with the Director of Community Relations to make sure that the Cornell Democrats are focused not just on electing progressive candidates – our primary goal, and rightfully so – but furthering progressive ideals on our own and by coordinating with other student and local groups. One recent example of this is our successful collaboration with the Cornell Organization for Labor Action (COLA) on a campaign to ensure Cornell workers enjoy a living wage. If that is not a policy that we, as Democrats, can and should support, I don’t know what is.
The other crucial component is publicity. As the Director of Information Technology this semester, I have completely redesigned and re-launched the Cornell Democrats’ website (cornelldemocrats.org). The new version is meant to be simultaneously professional and sleek as well as interactive and inviting (anyone in the organization can edit the pages). I am a strong believer in the power of new media and its crucial role in empowering citizens and voters, but our web presence cannot exist in a vacuum. As Director of IT I have also emphasized the importance of making flyers and posters to effectively advertise our events and ideals.
Ultimately, we live on a campus that is simultaneously liberal and apathetic. I believe we must do our best to engage students not every two years but continuously in order to further a progressive agenda.