Anyone who’s lucky enough to cross paths with Griffin Leckie can see that he has a bright future ahead of him. Tall, blonde and well-spoken: he’s essentially the modern-day version of JFK. It’s obvious to anyone that Griffin is a natural-born leader but as we’ve gotten to know each other and have become friends, I’ve learned that not only is he a leader, he possesses a unique ability to find the right balance of ambition and compassion. There’s no doubt in my mind that one day Griffin’s name will end up on a ballot somewhere and I had the pleasure of being able to interview him on zoom to ask about his past, present and future in politics.
Her Campus (HC): What made you gain an interest in politics?
Griffin Leckie (GL): When I was four years old I was walking through the aisles of a super Target with my mom and when she turned around, she thought I was gonna be holding candy or a toy, and instead, I was actually holding a globe puzzle. I’ve always known that I wanted to be involved in policy or government. Even if I didn’t really understand what all of those things entailed, it was always something that fascinated me and as I’ve grown older I’ve really seen that a good government that cares for people and has institutions that function well for people can help a lot of Americans. I think you’ve seen bad examples like when hurricane Katrina hit and there was a lack of proper response from the government and there have been great responses like the CARES act during the pandemic which was great for a lot of Americans. As I’ve grown older and become more educated I’ve really learned that good government can be a great thing for a lot of people.
HC: In what ways were you involved in politics and government before coming to college?
GL: I grew up in Orlando and in high school, I worked for my local chamber of commerce which interacts a lot with the business community but also with the government, so I got to see how businesses influence politicians for better or worse. I was also involved in debate and was a nationally competitive debater. I met a lot of people from the country who were doing a lot of important work. People who would go to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and also people who wouldn’t go to top schools. I saw that there were a lot of voices from a lot of places from around the country and I’m sure that I met a number of people who are going to be my peers in government one day.
HC: During your time in college, you’ve interned in Washington, can you talk about what that experience was like?
GL: In college, I’ve done a lot of things related to Government, I got an internship with U.S representative Kathy Castor who represents Florida’s 14th congressional district, Tampa Bay. That experience was pretty amazing because people in congress don’t just write legislation but they also provide constituent services that entail helping people with government bureaucracy. For example, I helped an air force veteran turn in some of his paperwork. It was a simple thing but it really made a difference in his life. The government is complicated to navigate but the congressional staff helps a lot of people do that. It sounds like a small thing but it really does make a difference in a lot of peoples lives
HC: Do you feel like FSU and your experience in Student Government have shaped or altered your perception of politics?
GL: I think the thing about Student Government is it shows that people need to be active in voting. I’ve met a lot of good people in student government but I know that less than 10% of the student body votes which influences the kind of people we have in student government. Student Government has also taught me that deal-making and relationships are important.
HC: In terms of politics and your path for the future, do you still plan on doing the same thing you plan on doing the same things you wanted to do before joining SGA or have your plans changed since being in the student senate?
GL: Student Government has shown me in its own way that like I said earlier, a good government can help a lot of people. When I passed a bill to give $1800 for PPE, that made a difference in a lot of people’s lives and made a lot of people safer during the pandemic. That’s a good feeling. Helping people is something I enjoy and seeing tangible results of that is something I want to continue to do whether it’s in student government or in real government. I plan on going to law school because I think if I’m going to make laws then I should study the law. After that, I’d really love to work for the House Ways and Means Committee as a staffer. The Ways and Means Committee handles issues with taxation or unemployment benefits which will be some of the most important issues that congress debates in the aftermath of the pandemic. The pandemic has shown that our unemployment system here in Florida is broken. It’s been terrible for a lot of people and serves as an example of how a bad government has hurt a lot of people during times of crisis.
HC: Talk about the rent relief bill that you proposed. Why you wrote it, the process of writing it, and the aftermath of trying to get it passed.
GL: The biggest issue facing our campus is income inequality, only 13% of FSU students come from the bottom 40% and the number is going to decrease as the pandemic makes it more expensive to be a college student. One of the biggest expenses we have as students is rent. I saw the University of Florida, the University of Alabama Birmingham and a number of other schools pass rent relief bills using SGA money to help pay for student’s rent. I attempted to reciprocate that at FSU. I wrote a bill, showed it to the administration and my colleagues in both the Senate and executive branch. I got a lot of positive feedback and unfortunately, the university deemed the bill to be illegal because they thought it wasn’t in line with Florida statutes. This struck me the wrong way because the University of Florida which is governed by the same laws as we are was able to successfully do this in March. The aftermath of that meant I had to take the bill out of the senate and rather than providing rent relief I’m trying to focus on efforts to use $ 13M to make it easier to be a student at FSU. While rent relief would be the easiest and most direct way to do that, there are many other things you can do as well.
HC: We’re both obviously obsessed with JFK. Is he the person who you look up to as a leader?
GL: I think of two people. One of them is JFK. He was somebody who leads the country through a time of crisis and today is actually the anniversary of day 7 of the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was level headed and he thought about the entire country. Although he didn’t sign it, he was the one who originally supported the Civil Rights Act. At the time it was a very contentious issue, but it was the right thing to do. Although he was assassinated before he could sign it, he was instrumental in putting it together. I admire him because he was an independent thinker, he’s someone who did the right thing even when it wasn’t popular and he worked really well under pressure which is something I think anybody needs to be able to do. The other person I look up to in more modern times is representative Justin Amash of Michigan. Although I don’t agree with him politically on anything, I do think he did one admirable thing. He left the Republican party and became an Independent, guaranteeing that he wouldn’t be re-elected to congress. He basically gave up his career just so he could call out the injustices that he saw in front of him. I think that a lot of politicians and public servants do things based on re-election and not based on what’s good for the country and representative Amash didn’t do that. As a public servant, I wanna have that same mindset. It’s not about my own re-election or my job, it’s about what’s objectively the correct thing.
HC: Okay, last question. What do you think are the most important values to have as a public servant?
GL: I think you need to have the right motivation and I also think that you need to enjoy helping people because that’s what the job is about. It’s not about making fancy changes to the bureaucracy, it’s about making the government help people. I also think you need to be interested in listening to what people have to say. When I worked in the congressional office, one of my jobs was listening to phone calls from people and writing down what they said in a spreadsheet. The congresswoman would read that spreadsheet every week, diligently. I was really inspired by that because it showed that if you call a member of congress, they might actually listen to you and care about what you have to say.
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