On the Record: Joseph Vogas

For this episode of On The Record, we speak with Joseph Vogas, president of the College Democrats at the University of North Texas.

How did you get started in politics?

I had always considered myself an environmental activist, but never someone interested in politics. I knew Bill Clinton was the environmentalist in 1996 and Al Gore was the environmental candidate in 2000. Between 2000 and 2004 I started to notice other issues and how President Bush seemed to hold a position I considered incorrect almost every time; most notably I did not find the President to be correct in regards to going to war with Iraq, a position that was hard to hold as a senior in what was a conservative town in south Houston. Going into the 2004 election, I had developed a strong distrust of the President and decided I would be backing the Democratic nominee. After the election, I kept hearing over and over on the news the Democratic Party had some soul searching to do, needed to rebuild, and needed new blood. I considered this a calling and three days after the election started calling myself a Democrat and have remained engaged in Democratic politics since.

Who are some of your political heroes?

Al Gore first of all. As an environmentalist, how could you not? Another one, and this may seem weird, is a comic book character named Oliver Queen, The Green Arrow, who is known for having a strong liberal streak in his comics. There was a story arc a year or so ago where the character had become mayor of his city and was implementing all sorts of liberal policies in what unique ways.

What would you say has been the single most defining moment in your political life?

You know, I don't think it has happened yet. I think it will be in 2008 when Democrats win the White House, but we'll see.

In the Picture, from left to right: Hannah Ulbrich (Treasurer), Claire Kline (Secretary/Historian), Omar Farid (Vice President),
David Augustini (Communications Director), Senate Candidate Rick Noriega, Joseph Vogas (President), and Jeff Kline (Member, SGA Senator).
Not Pictured, Caiti Selvey (Membership Director).

What are you looking forward to in the coming cycle?

Texas. I am looking forward to our party taking back the state house and hopefully we'll take a few of the state wide seats. I also met Joe Jaworski the other night who is running a strong race for the state senate in Galveston County. There is so much going on in Texas, that there is no other way to describe it other than exciting."

What one thing would you say a political organization never has enough of?

Money and members. We got hope, we got ideas, and we got ambition. It's always implementation. Groups need money to get to buy supplies for events or to book hotel rooms for educational trips, or whatever. Also, when going around door to door or manning tables on campus, you can always have more members talking to people convincing by standers why they need to get involved or vote for someone.

What has been the most valuable lesson you've learned in politics?

Don't give up. If you're candidate lost, keep trying; If you're candidate won but the promises aren't being implemented, pressure them and fight those who are holding up their promised agenda. I saw Jim Hightower the other day and he mentioned how during the Great Depression a rural house got electricity for the first time and the house could now get running water from the stream next to their house, but when they turned on the faucet the water was dirty. So they solved one problem, but then they had to go chase the hogs out of the stream. So you can't give up, when you solve one problem you have to solve the next and then the next problem after that, and so on.

Tell us a little bit about the University of North Texas College Democrats, and what roles you feel like you fulfill in that group, official or otherwise.

Our main goal is to indoctrinate students to vote straight Democratic and become lifelong, active democrats. We are registering students to vote and we are showing them some of the history of the Democratic party by going on some fun trips. We have also been helping some local candidates who have elections in the Dallas/Fort Worth area; most notably we went blockwalking for Dan Barrett in his special election in Fort Worth. We feel good going into 2008; we hope to spend the spring going to some areas of Democratic history such as the Clinton Library in Little Rock, and the Lyndon Johnson Library in Austin. As President, I feel it is my role to listen to ideas my members come up with and it is my responsibility to implement those good ideas. I also have to act as a cheerleader to my group, and keep them motivated. If I am not motivated, how could any of our members be motivated? I am very lucky to have the members and officers I do, they have all worked really hard and have given back more than I could have ever imagined.