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Reported by: Jason Frazer
Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 @01:21pm EDT
From TV journalist turned public servant, Dan Maffei hasn't had the normal political life.
Growing up in Syracuse, Maffei has called Central NY home for much of his life.
"I was born and raised in Syracuse," said Maffei. "Went to public schools here. As I was growing up, I was always very, very proud of the kind of the city this was. My family was all here. I loved growing up here. Love the people I grew up with. It was very diverse."
Graduating from Nottingham High School in Syracuse, he left the state to pursue a history degree at Brown University. It was there that his passion for broadcasting developed, but Maffei said he felt a greater emphasis to serve his community and that's why he left journalism.
"At my 10 year class reunion, so many of my friends from high school - almost all of them were gone. That was pretty depressing, because this is such a great area," said Maffei. "I sort of think I was determined to do something to make this area a better place for young people to come and really want to come here to raise their families."
In 1993, he left the world of TV news to pursue a graduate degree at Harvard University. In 1995, he joined Former NJ Senator Bill Bradley as a press aide. Over the next 8 years, he worked for with key congressional leaders, including the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and U.S. Congressman Charles Rangel.
Maffei would eventually return back to the spotlight.
In 2006, Maffei ran unsuccessfully for the 25th District congressional seat.
He came within 4,000 votes short of unseating then nine-term Republican incumbent Jim Walsh.
"I really learned that you can really that you can change things by being involved in politics, even if you don't win the election," said Maffei. "I also learned how important it is to be persistent. Even when people say you have no chance or the odds are against you, you have to keep plugging away."
This time, Maffei says things are different. According to a recent Kiley and Company poll, Maffei is the favorite to win, but he isn't taking anything for granted.
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