Alum is primary speech writer for Arizona governor
PHOENIX ÷ Sitting in his office on the ninth floor of the governor's tower, with a panoramic view of downtown Phoenix from his window, Paul Allvin is far removed from the dusty confines of the Arizona Daily Wildcat newsroom in the old student union's basement, where he got his start as a reporter more than 10 years ago.
Allvin, Gov. Janet Napolitano's communications director and primary speech writer as well as a 1993 UA graduate, is responsible for ensuring that the roughly 500 speeches Napolitano gives this year effectively portray her vision for Arizona. He also handles the press for the most nationally prominent Arizona governor in recent history.
If it sounds like a lot to handle, it is.
"It's just a constant drumbeat," Allvin said.
But the job that sometimes keeps him at work seven days a week for a month straight is as rewarding as it is demanding, Allvin said.
"It's a heck of an honor to be able to write her speeches, direct her press activities. ... The story of the governor's office as told to the state of Arizona, you know? I get to have a lead role in determining what that is," Allvin said.
Allvin is no stranger to the multi-tasking required for his post. He worked full time while writing for the Wildcat and pursuing his bachelor's degrees in political science and journalism at the UA. Allvin was also editor in chief of the Wildcat from 1991-1992 until he ran for student body president in the spring of 1992.
"Journalism was sort of the natural draw for me. Then at the Daily Wildcat, I got to write, and I got paid for it. So that was like crazy. Even though I got paid terrible money, that was part of the fun," Allvin said.
Allvin went from the Daily Wildcat newsroom to the governor's tower "totally by mistake," he said.
Allvin got his first taste of politics while still at the UA, covering the state Legislature for the Wildcat as a Don Bolles Fellow.
But a stint lobbying the legislature as an Arizona Students' Association delegate the following year gave him a hands-on introduction to state government and shifted him away from a reporting career.
"That totally fascinated me. I can participate instead of just writing about it. Well, this is a whole new world for me," Allvin said.
After graduating, Allvin went on to serve as ASA's executive director.
Comments made by the governor yesterday criticizing university tuition hikes struck a chord for Allvin, who spent seven years at the UA because work forced him to take light course loads, and he didn't get financial aid.
"It's funny looking at the tuition hearings. ... We were always the students arguing for more affordable higher education for the middle- income students," Allvin said.
He once gave $300 out of his own pocket to fund a student campaign against UA administrators' attempts to charge students a $40 fee to rebuild the Memorial Student Union Plaza.
In addition to getting an early taste of politics in college, Allvin got his first taste of speech writing when he went to work for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"I had to write speeches for CEOs, and I just found out this is kind of fun. This is easy. I get this," Allvin said. "So I got to practice it in a really safe environment · Make-A-Wish Foundation. How can you go wrong writing about kids getting wishes?"
After a brief sojourn in Seattle as a private consultant, Allvin came back to Arizona and joined the Napolitano campaign. Allvin told then-press secretary and would-be communications director Kris Mayes that he wanted to help any way he could.
"I was like, ÎWhat do you need? Do you need me to lick stamps?' · She said, ÎGet in here; I need help writing stuff,'" Allvin said.
When Allvin wrote a speech that Napolitano approved for the night of the Democratic primary, he sealed up his spot as her main wordsmith.
That night, then-state Attorney General Napolitano asked Allvin to stay on to write her speeches for the 56 days before the general election.
"What are you going to say? I was like, ÎYeah, I'll do it!'" Allvin said.
When Mayes left her post to fill a spot on the Arizona Corporation Commission in October, Allvin was promoted to the director position.
Of all the speeches he has written for Napolitano, working on the inaugural address was Allvin's biggest challenge.
He worked through at least 16 drafts with the governor and her advisers before settling on the one Napolitano ultimately read.
After 12 years of having a Republican chief executive in Arizona, Allvin wanted to capture the spirit of the political "sea change" that year.
"It was just a matter of polishing and polishing and polishing," Allvin said. "I'd listen to the policy advisers, and I valued their opinion, but I hung on (Napolitano's) every word · 'cause it was the most personal speech that she could ever give."
More than a year later, Allvin has added two state of the state addresses to his speech-writing resumŽ.
With all that he has going on, Allvin said he still finds time to give Arizona State University alumni a hard time when the Wildcats beat the Sun Devils.
"Look at my wall · come on," Allvin said, pointing to his office wall where a picture of the 1914 UA football team, a commemorative poster from UA's 1997 men's basketball National Championship and a Sean Elliott autograph are located. "I do have a special place in my heart for the U of A. · I can't get the governor to choose sides. She refuses to choose sides."
While Napolitano has been mentioned as a potential running mate candidate for Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry and also has the option of running for a second term, Allvin isn't sure how long he will be the man behind her words.
"To the extent that I don't drop dead in the next few years, I want to keep doing it," Allvin said.
But don't expect Allvin to be the man giving the speeches any time soon. He says his political ambitions don't include holding office.
"There are two kinds of people: There are elected officials and there are those who work for elected officials. · Never say never, but I don't have those ambitions," Allvin said.