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Jon Carson has landed a post in the White House not commonly held by a top-level political operative: chief of staff at the Council on Environmental Quality, where he is on the front lines in the battle against global warming



A civil engineer by training, Carson ran the national field operation for Obama's presidential campaign and is now making a similarly determined and methodical effort to get dedicated Obama workers slots in the government. A lot of people just blow this stuff off. I blow this stuff off," one White House official said, referring to the job-seeking entreaties of former campaign staffers. "Carson is much more diligent about this than almost anyone I've run into and much more assiduous about pursuing leads for people." "I got to know an awful lot of people, just some incredible people who gave up careers they had in other areas," Carson told POLITICO. "As different agencies are staffing up, ... I wouldn't say I've placed people; I'd say there's a wealth of people to recommend." As field director for Obama's 2008 campaign, Honduras RPCV Jon Carson presided over thousands of workers in 770 offices across the country. Carson is presently Chief of Staff of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in Obama's White House.

Jon Carson has landed a post in the White House not commonly held by a top-level political operative: chief of staff at the Council on Environmental Quality, where he is on the front lines in the battle against global warming

Who can hook you up with a White House job?

By JOSH GERSTEIN | 7/10/09 9:54 AM EDT

[Excerpt]

Jon Carson

For a relentlessly logical plan to win a job in the Obama administration, Jon Carson is your man.

A civil engineer by training, Carson ran the national field operation for Obama's presidential campaign and is now making a similarly determined and methodical effort to get dedicated Obama workers slots in the government.

A lot of people just blow this stuff off. I blow this stuff off," one White House official said, referring to the job-seeking entreaties of former campaign staffers. "Carson is much more diligent about this than almost anyone I've run into and much more assiduous about pursuing leads for people."

"I got to know an awful lot of people, just some incredible people who gave up careers they had in other areas," Carson told POLITICO. "As different agencies are staffing up, ... I wouldn't say I've placed people; I'd say there's a wealth of people to recommend."

While all new administrations are besieged with job seekers, Obama has faced a particular crush because he had the largest field army of any presidential candidate in American history.

Carson himself has landed in a post not commonly held by a top-level political operative: chief of staff at the Council on Environmental Quality, where he is on the front lines in the battle against global warming.

Carson, 34, is credited with executing the Obama campaign's "Feb. 5 plan" - a massive contingent of operatives and volunteers placed in 22 states while the press and top Obama aides focused on the four earliest contests.

The Wisconsin native floated in and out of grad school repeatedly while working on Democratic campaigns. Carson met his wife, Rebecca, during a two-year stint in the Peace Corps building water systems in Honduras.

The peripatetic Carson had little trouble scoring a job for himself but has entered White House lore with the longest official federal job application in memory. "I've moved 38 times over the last 15 years," he said. "It was actually kind of fun to put that together."

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: July, 2009 ; RPCV Chris Matthews (Swaziland) ; RPCV Jon Carson (Honduras) ; Peace Corps Honduras ; Directory of Honduras RPCVs ; Messages and Announcements for Honduras RPCVs ; Presidents - Obama ; Politics

When this story was posted in August 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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