JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Crystal Brinkley is the current executive director for the Missouri Democratic Party. Brinkley formerly served as their finance director, but she got her start as an intern on the Dick Gephardt campaign.
“I was never one of those people who said, ‘I want to be a doctor’ or ‘I want to be a teacher.’ So, after my freshman year, I walked away loving my political science class. My Aunt Cindy, who was president of AT&T Missouri at the time, asked me ‘What are you going to do? You’re not going to go back to Milan and manage the summer pool like you have been doing in the summers. I said, ‘I don’t really know, but I do know that I loved my poli sci class.’ She said, ‘Perfect. There’s an opportunity here – go intern for Dick Gephardt.’ That’s literally how I got started – I just dove in.”
Brinkley said she learned a lot from the Dick Gephardt “crew.” After her internship, she ran Rachel Storch’s primary campaign. Storch was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2004. The rising star in the Democratic Party left St. Louis in 2010 and now lives in Manhattan with her husband and children.
“Then I joined the Nixon administration as the Deputy Legislative Liaison for the Department of Economic Development. From there, I transitioned into the Governor’s office as his Media Coordinator,” she said.
From there, she joined the Missouri Democratic Party as finance director. Brinkley started as executive director in April.
“One of our biggest goals is to focus on the 2014 cycle and to win back as many legislative seats as possible,” Brinkley said. “In that perspective, there have been some changes. We have the joint legislative program that we are rolling out here that works with the House and Senate Democrats.”
The improvements at the Party continue on. Brinkley said that with Chairman Roy Temple’s entrance into the Party, grassroots outreach has increased.
“We are working to get Democrats elected where Democrats should be elected. I can speak for the entire team here in saying that we are incredibly grateful to be working with Chairman Temple on a daily basis – he is an incredible leader. We have a position here – director of campaigns – that, to my knowledge, has never been a position at the Party.”
Some questioned Brinkley’s move to the Party, but Brinkley stands by her choice.
“There’s something to be said for being part of building something from the ground up. The support we have from our statewides, as well as Roy Temple’s direction, makes this a lot of fun. For the first time in a while, I feel like there is some buzz out there about the Party.”
Brinkley grew up as many small town Missourians do – showing cattle, going to fairs, working at the pool. Her parents are both Democrats – her mom, the Sullivan County Circuit Clerk, and her dad is a successful business owner. Upon graduating from high school, she attended the University of Missouri – Columbia.
She said that of all the Democrats, she is likely the most inspired by Hillary Clinton, which perhaps is reflected in her roots. Sullivan County turned out over twice as many votes in the Democratic presidential primary of 2008 for Clinton than the Republican winner, Mike Huckabee.
Brinkley shared that the Missouri Democrat Party is moderate compared to other states.
“We’re all about creating jobs, supporting our labor unions – fighting every day for the working man and woman,” Brinkley concluded.
Rachael Herndon was the editor at The Missouri Times and also produced This Week in Missouri Politics, published Missouri Times Magazine, and co-hosted the #MoLeg podcast. She joined The Missouri Times in 2014, returning to political reporting after working as a campaign and legislative staffer.
Rachael studied at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She lives in Jefferson City with her husband, Brandon, and their two children.
