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Lecturer Grohsgal runs for State Representative in Pennsylvania

Dov Grohsgal GS ’13 is running for a position as state representative in the 194th district of the state of Pennsylvania. He is alecturer in the Princeton Writing Program and history department, as well as an academic adviser to the men’s basketball team,

According to Grohsgal’s campaign website, his platform is framed by seven main issues: economic development, education, efficiency in government, healthcare, transportation and infrastructure,unions and voter IDs.

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However, Grohsgalexplained that his platform focuses on rebuilding the middle class.

“Too many people have been struggling for too long. This campaign is about making things a little bit easier for them,” Grohsgalsaid.

The issues central to accomplishing this are education and job creation, he explained.

“People need good jobs that pay a living wage ... We need to think harder and smarter about how to create those jobs ... We need to be really smart about spending more money on education and about where we’re spending money on education,” he added.

To accomplish these goals, Grohsgalsaid that he advocates a solution-based approach to policy issues. For example, he noted that fixing the educational system requires working with educators who understand the challenges.

As of now, Grohsgalsaid he has no plans to take a sabbatical from the University should he win the race. Though both campaigning and teaching are time-consuming commitments, he said, the students that he interacts with daily make it worthwhile. He also noted his desire to keep politics out of the classroom.

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“I am motivated and inspired by undergraduates here — their seriousness, their dedication to their work, their ability to ask really good questions and discuss really important ideas,” Grohsgalsaid. “It is essential and really important to me that the classroom remains a place where we can explore all kinds of ideas without any attention to politics and what I am doing outside of the classroom.”

Hilary Lloyd ’17, a former student in Grohsgal’sWRI 184: American Revolutions writing seminar, said that Grohsgalis a knowledgeable and down-to-earth professor. His evident passion for American politics as well as his professorship at Princeton will likely help him in the campaign, she said.

Bradley Schneider ’17, another former student in Grohsgal’sAmerican Revolutions class, added that Grohsgalis open and relates well with the “younger population.”

“He’s very friendly, extremely open and really engaging with his students,” Schneider said.

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Grohsgalexplained that he has always been interested in civics, but his primary motivation in this campaign is to aid others.

“When I wake up every morning exhausted from the two jobs I have right now, I think of the opportunity to makes people’s lives a little bit better,” he said.

Dov Grohsgalreceived his B.A. in economics and history, as well as an M.A. in history, from Emory University. He recently earned his Ph.D. in history from Princeton, and his current research explores American civil rights policy in the 1960s and early 1970s. This is his first bid for political office.

Grohsgalwill be running to replace the incumbent Pamela DeLissio. His bid will come to a close in 87 days when voting begins. Former Army Captain and Democrat Dave Henderson is also running for the Representative position.