Bernie Sanders’ national press secretary, Symone D. Sanders (no relation), has left his campaign. She is happy for the time that she has served but now wants to focus efforts on getting a Democrat elected in 2016. The announcement was made on Sunday night, and Symone submitted her resignation last week.
Although 26-year-old Symone Sanders said she doesn’t have a job in the works, she said there is a lot of work to be done before November 2016, per CNN .
“I believe my time at the campaign has come to an end. I’m very proud of the work we have done and am now looking forward to helping elect down-ballot Democrats and do all I can to ensure a Democrat is the 45th president of the United States.”
Press Secretary for Sanders campaign quits; time to move on; work is done https://t.co/M2994GqIKJ via @fusion
— Darren Hutchinson (@dissentingj) June 27, 2016
She also said that all is well with her relationship with Bernie Sanders and his campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, noted Politico .
“The senator, Jeff and I are all in a good place.”
Symone Sanders plans to work on helping to elect down-ballot Democrats going forward. https://t.co/mwImW1D7li
— Daniel Strauss (@DanielStrauss4) June 27, 2016
With Symone leaving, it is a sure sign that Bernie’s campaign is on the final stretch. Hillary Clinton is now the presumptive Democratic nominee, but Bernie Sanders hasn’t offered Clinton his full support. He has stated that he will vote for Clinton but stopped short of endorsing her.
Prior to working for Sanders, Symone served as National Youth Chair of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice in Washington, D.C. The organization works to improve the criminal justice system and reform how it treats juvenile offenders. She worked with Sen. Sanders on a proposal to restructure the nation’s criminal justice policies.
#SymoneSanders Quits As #BernieSanders National Press Secretary https://t.co/quqOiZB4L8 pic.twitter.com/A8BlE03gLz
— Island Girl – 100% Pro-Choice, Vote Blue in 2022 (@bluepolitics_) June 27, 2016
Symone Sanders began working for the Vermont senator in August 2015. It was during the time when he faced increased criticism from Black Lives Matter activists. The press secretary had been involved in Black Lives Matters herself.
After initially meeting Bernie Sanders, Symone discussed the strong correlation between racial inequality and income inequality with him. The senator then hired Symone and immediately began to integrate her race-income inequality issues into his campaign.
She served multiple roles and appeared on network news and cable shows as a spokeswoman for the campaign. She was also one of the top African American and female staffers on the campaign.
Symone Sanders has not said that she will be working for Hillary Clinton, but there is an assumption that she might. Previously, the former Bernie staffer has said she would like to change the world, and she thinks the best way to do this is through politics as legislation touches on just about every issue that affects daily life.
@munyelele I think Symone Sanders has left with plenty of dignity. She has worked hard since September.
— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) June 27, 2016
Prior to joining Sanders, Symone worked as a communications officer at Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, an organization that ensures that all American citizens are represented by their government. She attended college at Creighton University in Omaha, and at one point was determined to become a judge. After she worked on Chuck Hassebrook’s gubernatorial campaign, she experienced a taste of politics. Her passion for reaching out to the community and educating citizens on economic, justice, and racial issues were then ignited.
[Photo by Andrew Harnik/AP Images]
