Brad Kane
Legislative Director
Rep. Glenn Ivey
Want to meet a Legislative Director and published author who was a commercial fisherman during law school?
Oh, you should talk to Brad Kane!
From authoring his own book, to commercial fishing in Alaska, to his current role as Legislative Director for Rep. Glenn Ivey, Brad Kane has done it all! Previously featured in CNCT’s Top Ten Legislative Directors of 2024, Brad is also known on the Hill for his hardworking nature and amiable personality.
Brad started on the Hill on his 27th birthday. While traveling for two years in Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe after law school, Brad had a ‘lightbulb moment’ after reading an article about U.S. politics and knew he had to make his way to Washington. From there, he worked in the House for eight years as counsel for Rep. Cardiss Collins and an Energy & Commerce subcommittee.
After years of diversified experiences off the Hill, including California State Government, Brad returned to D.C. in 2019 to publish his book, Pitchfork Populism. While waiting for it to be published, he “serendipitously shared an elevator with Rep. Maxine Waters,” who eventually offered him a position as her speechwriter. After a phase of book talks, he returned as Legislative Director to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and is now LD to Rep. Glenn Ivey.
When asked why he enjoys working for Rep. Glenn Ivey, Brad says: “I recognize the value and the joy of working in a healthy work environment for a boss who is an extraordinary public servant, ultra-high-wattage, masterful at his/her craft, judicious, temperate, and beyond that, a truly wonderful and compassionate human being. Glenn Ivey is all that and more.”
🍷 If you’re lucky enough to catch Brad, ask him about his special talent of identifying the age of the vines that produce California Zinfandel wines (but only Zinfandels) after just a couple sips.
Keep reading to get to know Brad ⬇️
CNCT Congressional Fall Grad Fair
🍂 Fall in love with grad school at CNCT’s Congressional Grad Fair happening Wednesday, October 2, in the Cannon Caucus Room.
Meet with over 40 graduate programs from across the country and connect with your future. ➡️ Don’t miss the open bar and food too!
His Backstory
🏠 Hometown: Los Angeles & San Francisco, CA
🎓 College & Major: UC Davis, International Relations (BA) & UC Law San Francisco (JD)
💭 Favorite Hill Memory: “I have thousands. Maybe the leadership meetings on President Clinton’s healthcare reform. Or collaborating with Rep. John Lewis and his staff on minority healthcare and environmental justice. Or the Clean Air markup that continued literally for months. Or working with Rep. Ron Dellums on minority contracting at the DoD. Or swapping stories and sipping scotch with the Minority Whip and Chair of the DNC at a reception when I was 29. Or drafting Rep. Waters’s speeches. Or the markup of the GVP bill in a recess week! Or walk-and-talks with Chair John Dingell one day and Chair Dan Rostenkowski another. Yet, I think I’ll go with the memories shared in countless friendships built among fellow staff over myriad bills, amendments, markups, hearings … and happy hours.”
🔗 CNCT with Brad about…
His obsession with the NBA 🏀
Montana & North Dakota: his last two states to visit
His two summers as a commercial fisherman 🎣
The best spot for ice cream
Advice to Younger Staffers
New to the Hill and need some help? Lucky for you, Brad put together a ‘survival guide’ list of all sorts of useful information. Check it out ⬇️
You’re not expected to know everything (no one does), so don’t worry about not having all the answers, and definitely don’t try to fake it. But it is good to know how to find out the answers.
You have a job to do, and you do want to do it well. But it’s not the last job you’ll have, and future jobs will have a wider scope. So, envision who you want to become and start preparing for it … Be the expert who you want to become.
Try not to worry about job titles. The more Hill experience you accrue, and the more tools you add to your toolkit, the more your work will be recognized.
Don’t be daunted or intimidated by other staff. No one is born to work in Congress; we figure out how to be effective over time. Be resilient and resourceful, go beyond your comfort zone, take on challenges, keep learning, and eventually things come together.
Choose a mentor(s) and be a sponge. You can choose a combo of people for different skills and they don’t need to know it … Adopt their habits and skills that you admire.
❤️ Brad’s Favorites
Coffee Spot: “The second floor of my apartment building (just an elevator away)”
Food: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
Lunch Spot: “Yep, I’ll say it: Longworth Cafeteria! (salads made per our requests)”
TV Shows: The Office (still) & news (whether straight-faced, Jon Stewart’s, or SNL’s)
Movies: Godfather, American Fiction, The Avengers, Being John Malkovich … to name a few!
Brad’s Guide on How to CNCT
“As for how I make valuable connections with people from the opposite party, it’s both simple and complicated. The elements are largely the same for bipartisan relationships as with any relationships:
Listen: Not just waiting for your chance to speak.
Learn: Their POV and where they’re coming from, even if you disagree.
Understand: Why they believe what they believe. Identify their values and emotions.
Communicate: Earnestly offer your POV, acknowledging them and what they’re saying.
Cooperate: Find the ‘Venn Diagram overlaps’ and build a bipartisan bridge.”
📚 Brad’s Book Recommendations
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
You Just Don’t Understand by Deborah Tannen
Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl
How To Manage by Jo Owen
Do you know someone on the Hill who should be our Staffer Spotlight for a week? Nominate them here and let us hear their story!
Staffer Advice
Brad shares that he was thirteen when he learned this valuable piece of advice from his father, who worked as a psychiatric social worker: “Don’t buy into other people’s delusions.”
“... [My father] taught me to focus on verifiable reality, isolate fiction from fact, and pursue truth… His admonition is salient amid the deluge of dystopian deceptions and self-serving fabricated falsifications that seek to gain buy-in from those who are unaware of the delusional or manipulative soil in which they’re rooted. His words of wisdom amount to sound advice for all Americans, especially those working in government and politics.”
- Brad Kane