Networking

A big part of what my internship has consisted of is networking.  The week before the election I went to a lunch with Congressman Matt Salmon down the street from Town Hall.  At the meeting was Matt Salmon, two of his campaign managers, the Gilbert Council, Mayor, Town Manager, Town Clerk, and the intergovs.  The lunch was actually open to the public, but only one member of the public, who is a reporter for AZ Central was in attendance.  The purpose of the meeting was to allow Matt Salmon to speak with the Council and basically show that he would like to work closely with Gilbert.

First the Mayor and Town Manager gave short updates on the Town and then Matt Salmon discussed some of the key issues that he plans on focusing on during his time in Congress.  Then each Council Member had a chance to talk about any concerns they had or issues that they wanted the Salmon to focus on.  I really enjoy attending these type of events, not only for the networking purposes, but also for the learning that I get out of it.  It really is an inside look at the political side of local government and how interactions between officials at the different levels occurs.