Politics is this operative's word

Published on November 21, 2008

The prospect of a business career was set aside when politics became a passion for Robert Phillips.

The 25-year-old Amherst resident is a political activist involved in campaigns, is an elected Town Meeting member and is the governor's appointee to the Amherst Housing Authority.

He handles those responsibilities while studying at Holyoke Community College and working as the photo lab manager at Target.

"I don't get a lot of sleep," he said during a recent conversation. He spoke of his new career path with enthusiasm.

Phillips admits he was a reluctant student. When he graduated from Amherst Regional High School, the celebratory cake read, "It's a miracle."

He enrolled at Westfield State College with plans to major in music. His parents, Andrew and Jeanne Phillips of Amherst, are both music educators. Phillips was familiar with the field and knew that if wanted to be a performer, he would have to practice the trumpet five or six hours a day.

However, neither teaching nor performing appealed to him. "I drifted," he said.

He started working at Target. Since he didn't want to remain a cashier, he asked how he could become a manager. The answer: Get a business degree. He enrolled at HCC, where he is an honors student, with the idea of going on to the University of Massachusetts Isenberg School of Management.

Along the way, politics took hold.

Phillips says he began to get interested in politics in 2001, the year after George W. Bush was elected president. The 2004 presidential election frustrated him. "The Democrats didn't fight for what they believed in."

His formal entry into political activism came with Deval Patrick's gubernatorial campaign. "I heard him speak and was thrilled and went from there."

At HCC, there was a college Republican group, but no Democratic one. He changed that.

Democrat activist Judith Seelig encouraged him to attend a local party caucus. "It was best thing I did. The whole world opened for me. I learned so much."

In short order, he was working as the Amherst-Hadley coordinator for the Patrick campaign. "I came from school at 4, worked the phone bank from 6 to 8, entered data until 2 a.m. and was back at HCC in the morning."

He also ran for Town Meeting in 2006 and was the third highest vote-getter in his precinct.

Besides taking classes at HCC, he is a member of the Green Key Honor Society and Phi Theta Kappa, coordinated the student Toys for Tots program and Giving Tree holiday drives, founded the Student Senate Emergency Loan Fund and HCC's Students for Obama. group.

His efforts have been recognized. He received the Dean Sullivan Award for outstanding leadership at the annual Massachusetts Community College Student Life Association.

His most recent political activism includes being the statewide campus coordinator for the "No on Question 1."

"It was my only paid political work," he said.

At HCC, Phillips wrote a resolution on the issue for the student senate, where he is parliamentarian. It was adopted and sent to other community colleges.

At the same time, Phillips worked on Aaron Hayden's successful Select Board campaign, which took 20 to 30 hours some weeks.

He initially volunteered for Hayden in January to work on the spring election. But Hayden dropped out and ran successfully for the Redevelopment Authority instead. The campaign was back in business in the summer when a vacancy occurred.

Politics is in Phillips' future.

Short term: He will become a political science major. He visited the Ray C. Bliss Campaign Institute at the University of Akron and likes it very much. However, if he attends UMass, he is tempted to run for the Select Board. "I asked a state politician, How do I get your job? I was told run for Select Board."

Long term: He would like to be an aide to a state representative or senator and run for the post when the person retires, or work for the Democratic National Committee.

"I like to work for things I believe in," he said. "I love the people I've gotten to know, they are fantastic. I love a campaign and to be in the thick of it."