Posted May 2018
Thank you for your time and interest in my portfolio.
My name is Scott Crass and I am a profound political junkie, historian and lifelong resident of New Jersey. In fact, my love of the Jersey shore is second only to my zeal for politics, specifically analyzing elections as well as the “characters” who make up Congress and the national political scene.
In that vein, my passion is political writing and I have years of experience authoring analysis of the Congressional and gubernatorial landscape and it is not an exaggeration to say that my encyclopedic knowledge of elections and political figures past and present has encompassed an enormous part of my reputation. I am well-versed in state-by-state political geography including national partisan leanings down to the county level, knowledge that is critical for analyzing and communicating the election landscape. To that end, redistricting is a great interest.
Over the years, I have taken enormous pride in sharing that commentary – all of it non-partisan, in a number of venues, including a twitter following well into the thousands, web-sites (The Moderate Voice) or personal publications, (“The Crass Report”). The overwhelming majority of my commentary is non-partisan as I call the lay-of-the-land as I see it. As such, I now strive to make political and feature writing my full-time profession and anxiously await any forthcoming opportunities.
Political writing per se is not the only aspect of writing for which I have become renowned. I am a Presidential buff and impress folks with my ability to answer arcane trivia questions. I am an accomplished author, having written Statesmen and Mischief Makers. The initial three-volume biographical series is a compendium of political officeholders from the period of Kennedy through Reagan whose names people may have heard but don’t recognize, particularly when it comes to accomplishments. Some have had as much impact on major policy decisions as Presidents themselves. Others shaped Presidents lives/careers. But the bulk of my subjects simply had great tidbits that could offer great dinner anecdotes. My goal at the beginning of each chapter was to build up the anticipation by sharing with my readers either a historic tidbit or funny line associated with a political figure. I have now composed a fourth volume which portrays governors from the late 1980s and early 90s. Another volume on the record number members of Congress who left office following the 1992 elections is also on the way.
Nearly every chapter resulted from intense research and collaboration with family members or staffers of my subjects – and in some cases the subjects themselves. Many graciously agreed to provide photographs. Speaking of photographs, the most laborious part of the project may have been the necessity of tracking down the copyright of every single image that I wished to use. This endeavor proved excruciating and costly but, at the end of the day, enabled me to create a product that made myself and many others proud. Most important was the preservation of history and stories of men and women of enormous importance.
My writing ability is guided by an expansive vocabulary and I take great enjoyment in learning new words. This gives me wide stylistic latitude to tell stories and is a trait I consider fundamental for keeping readers enchanted. As such, I have been able to apply these attributes to ghost writing, where I am also experienced.
Now, allow me to talk about my current professional endeavors. For the past 16 years, I have been employed as a legislative aide for the state of New Jersey. In addition to handling the day-to-day demands of a Senator’s schedule, I assist constituents of the 14th legislative district who face problems with a government agency in our state. Getting positive results is enormously rewarding but, simply making the effort is fulfilling. This has also given me an opportunity to undertake another thing I love – public speaking. My approach to preparing my remarks is similar to my writing – captivating my audience with a famous quote or funny line that ties in to what I will be talking about.
On my down time (which of late has become a sparse commodity and then some), you can usually find me at my beloved Jersey Shore, listening to classy music from by-gone eras and of course, checking my phone for political developments. In other words, you don’t have to be an officeholder in order to be thinking about the next election.