Hinckley Institute of Politics Director Kirk Jowers will be pitching in for the Republican presidential campaign this election season, but will continue to devote most of his time to a burgeoning internship and forum program at the U.
Jowers, a U and Harvard Law graduate, spends his days running one of the top political internship programs in the country at the Hinckley Institute. His résumé reveals an impressive legal background working for non-profits, corporations and his highest profile client, the Republican Party.
Although Jowers backed Mitt Romney for president in the primary election, he has a history with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. He worked as an outside legal counsel on the McCain campaign in 2000.
“I really respect John McCain,” he said. “He’s not someone who puts party over country. He’s fought against corruption in D.C. It was a little hard to work for Romney, but I’ve known Romney since 1994 and I think he’s the most brilliant person I’ve ever met.”
Jowers’ work for the Republican Party has included advising as the general counsel for the Republican Party in Washington D.C. and aiding more than 25 national and local candidates in 2002. He also helped President George W. Bush in the 2000 election during the Florida recount.
As a strong McCain supporter, Jowers said he did not initially feel comfortable helping Bush. “I resisted for a while,” he said. “But at the time, I thought, he would be a better president than Al Gore.”
He took a break from the campaign front lines in 2004, because his private practice at Caplin & Drysdale, a D.C.-based law firm, compromised his legal advice. He decided against counseling Bush, the Republican incumbent in 2004.
“In conjunction with my private practice, I’ve worked for non-profits that took aim at both candidates (that year),” Jowers said.
Jowers, who runs the Utah Lawyers for McCain group, said his service to McCain has been limited this year.
“My colleague of 11 years (another partner at Caplin & Drysdale) is the general counsel for McCain8212;I was a Romney guy,” he said. “I was Chinese-walled. For a good portion of the campaign I didn’t do any work for McCain. So far I haven’t billed a single minute for McCain.”
Jowers’ political experience has grown out of his no-table-education and private practice career. He graduated from Harvard University’s School of Law and spent 13 years on the East Coast practicing political law.
Jowers spends four days of the month in Washington, and the rest with his family and the U.
“The Hinckley by far demands most of my time,” he said.
Because of his position at the Hinckley Institute, Jowers has to balance his political activity.
“On the national level, I’ve been quite engaged,” he said. “On the state and local level, I’ve tried to not be very active. I’ve never endorsed a state or local candidate.”
Courtney McBeth, who manages the Institute’s national and international internship program, has known Jowers for eight years and began working with him after receiving a $1 million grant to study campaign finance reform.
“His partisan politics plays in perfectly to his work at the Hinckley,” McBeth said of Jowers’ Republican experience. “We’re all about encouraging students to get engaged no matter their political opinion or background. For students, he represents a really down-to-earth, young, hip face to politics. He does an amazing job of getting students of all different stripes to get engaged.”
Jowers walks a fine line between party politics and the balanced nature of academics. He said although he would not work for a Democratic candidate, he would help students get internships with Democrats.
McBeth said they have had several students work on the Romney pre-election campaign and one student is now working on the National Obama Campaign. She said there are several former Hinckley interns working as full-time paid employees on both the Obama and McCain campaigns this year.
Jowers’ political activity reflects his vision for the Hinckley Institute.
“The biggest change is the international focus,” he said. “My predecessor (Ted Wilson) was, for 18 years, the mayor of Salt Lake City; he had a strong state and local focus. I think my focus is more national and international.”
The Hinckley Institute has placed more than 100 students in 25 different countries since it established an international internship program in 2006 under Jowers’ direction. To ensure that international internships are accessible to students, the Hinckley has given more than $200,000 in scholarships averaging $5,000 per intern to help with expenses while abroad.
With Jowers at the helm, the Hinckley Institute has not only added an international component, but has increased the diversity of interns, the number of forums and forum attendance. Of the 300 student interns last year, just 75 were political science majors. Jowers set a standard of 70 forums per year, an increase from 30 under the previous director.
“I see him as a mentor,” said Marko Mijic, the Hinckley Institute Student Alliance president and a senior in behavioral science and health. “He has a strong vision.”
Mijic said a Hinckley internship last summer in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services helped him to realize the dire straits of the current health care system. He attributes his decision to pursue a master’s degree in public policy to this experience and Jowers’ leadership. “He has helped me to see what I want to do in the future,” Mijic said.
Lennie MahlerHinckley Institute of Politics director Kirk Jowers has worked with politicians such as Mitt Romney, George W. Bush and John McCain. One of Jowers’ main goals is to get young people involved and excited about politics.