Life On The Campaign Trail
Published 6:00 pm Sunday, August 21, 2011
Teddy and Jennifer Jackson stay tuned intoMitt Romney’s campaign for the Republican presidential nominationas it plays out in the early primary states far from Mississippi,but they do not have eyes only for the candidate.
Rather, part of the political backdrop most people ignore attractsthem. Their son Garrett Jackson works as a personal aide to Romney,a former Massachusetts governor widely perceived to be one of thefront-runners in the Republican nomination race.
In political jargon, Garrett is a “body man,” said the 2005Brookhaven Academy graduate.
That means he sticks close to Romney. He travels the country withthe candidate, works to keep him on schedule and provides any otherassistance necessary.
The travel is anything but leisurely.
“We have a very busy schedule during the day,” Garrett said in whatwas probably a moment of understatement.
Despite the frequent travel, there are no down moments betweenstops or monotony between stump speeches and media appearances.
“It’s a 24/7 job, packed. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., it is fullthrottle,” Garrett said. “Everyone here is doing all they can toget Mitt Romney elected president of the United States.”
Garrett’s younger sister Kelsey also knows about the rigors of acampaign.
At Garrett’s encouragement, Kelsey, a 2009 Brookhaven High Schoolgraduate, interned with the Romney campaign during the summer. Asan intern, she was based at the Romney headquarters in Boston andlived with Garrett in his apartment there.
“Lived with” is not quite right, though. She saw her brother fourtimes during her internship, mostly on weekends. The rest of thesummer Garrett was crisscrossing the nation with Romney to meet andinfluence voters.
And 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. may sound like a long day, but Kelsey’s bossduring her internship made it seem like slacking.
“My boss got to work at 7:30 a.m. and sometimes didn’t leave until2:30 a.m.,” Kelsey said.
Garrett’s entry into politics following his 2009 graduation fromOle Miss was not a surprise to his family.
“Ever since I can remember he loved politics,” Kelsey said of herbrother.
Even cosmetic details seemed to destine Garrett for the campaignspotlight.
“His friends always mess with him, tell him he has the perfectpolitical haircut,” Kelsey said.
It all started with golf.
Garrett began working at the Brookhaven Country Club golf coursewhen he was about 16.
Jennifer Jackson remembered that the men who golfed there referredto her son as the “governor” and told him he was going to be apolitician.
Golf had more contributions to make in shaping Garrett’s politicalcareer. His junior year of high school, Garrett spent half a yearin Washington, D.C. participating in the Senate page program forU.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.
There, he became friends with another page from Utah. His friendhad a brother-in-law who was a longtime aide with Romney, datingback before Romney was governor of Massachusetts.
That was junior year of high school. The summer before his senioryear of college, Garrett lived in Jackson, Wyo., where he worked atanother golf course.
Through his golf course employment Garrett made contact again withhis friend’s family and, apparently, made an impression. After hegraduated he got a job offer to do fundraising work with the Freeand Strong America Political Action Committee, a Romney-associatedpolitical group.
He still wasn’t personallytraveling with Romney. That came with the 2010 release of Romney’sbook, “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.”
“I was the young, single guy on the team. So when Romney went on anationwide book tour they stuck me out on the road with him,”Garrett said.
That’s where Garrett has been ever since, even after the book tourtransformed into a national presidential campaign.
Brookhaven’s contributions to the Romney campaign do not end withthe Jackson family.
Anna Gatlin, a 2003 Brookhaven Academy graduate, has worked withthe Romney camp since May, a job opening she found out aboutthrough her connection to Garrett, a friend since their days atBrookhaven Academy together.
Unlike Garrett, Anna stays put. She is a domestic policy adviserwith a focus in education.
“I coordinate a committee and get information from top people inthe field to formulate a policy for the governor, so he cancommunicate his message to the American people,” Gatlin said.
Gatlin’s resume is impressive. She graduated in 2007 from Ole Misswith a triple major in political science, English and Spanish. Shegraduated in 2009 from New York University with a master’s degreein Secondary English Education and then earned a second master’sdegree in education policy and management from Harvard in thisspring.
“She makes me seem uneducated,” Garrett said.
Both look forward to their return trips to Brookhaven.
“It is a place you can go recharge your batteries,” Gatlinsaid.
And though those trips are not often, Brookhaven stays with Garretteven when he is elsewhere.
“My smalltown values are still with me and travel the country withme,” Garrett said.