Election Perspective From The Expert

CNN, The Colbert Report, MSNBC and … Brooks School.

Renowned campaign and election law expert Trevor Potter’s latest speaking engagement was in our very own Chapel.

The Washington, D.C.-based, Republican former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission shared the story of his career and work on election law this Thursday, giving students a special opportunity to hear from a change-maker in politics firsthand prior to next month’s presidential election.

Watch Trevor Potter’s Chapel Talk at Brooks on YouTube

"I have the privilege of working for integrity in our elections,” Potter ’74 told the student body on October 10.

“They should be fairly and transparently run," he said. "[I believe] that every citizen should be able to vote and have their vote counted, that politicians should not be able to rig the system and prevent supporters of the other party from voting, that citizens should be able to trust the election system and its results.”

Describing his work as “a privilege,” the Campaign Legal Center founder explained that “it is built on a foundation that goes back to my years at Brooks and the teaching and examples of integrity that I learned here and from people I have worked with afterwards.”

The last senior prefect of Brooks School’s founder, Frank D. Ashburn, Potter stood at the podium in the Frank D. Ashburn Chapel and marveled that, “I think looking around, I am probably the only person here who actually knew Mr. Ashburn, so I feel a little bit a bridge from the past.”

In that past, Potter was initially an F student who “showed signs of having a brain, but no sign that [he] knew how to use it,” he admitted.  

“Brooks slowly taught me that I could succeed in class,” he shared. “It made me think about what I was reading and what that meant.”

Recalling the shock of receiving an English paper graded full of red ink, Potter said, “I was not used to being engaged that way by a teacher. But he was right, of course. I had written a word salad because I had not thought about what I wanted to actually say and communicate.”

The school’s 2014 Distinguished Brooksian Award recipient and 1997 Alumni Shield honoree urged students to learn from his mistakes, actively engage in what they’re learning and maintain their integrity along the way.

Following his talk, Potter spent the day on campus meeting with students and answering questions about election law, politics, campaigning and his own experiences working in Washington, D.C., one-on-one.

He visited four different history classes and participated in student and adult drop-in chats, too.

At the end of the day, Potter said his goal while visiting his old stomping grounds was simple. “I hope I’ve helped students realize that there are all sorts of avenues for them after Brooks, and after college, to make a difference in life.”
 

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