Here’s a new one: speechwriter as diversity hire. The New York Times profiled New York Mayor Bill deBlasio’s speechwriter Ryan Dodge, a 33-year-old former dating columnist who writes fiction on the side.
In explaining deBlasio’s hire of someone with Dodge’s non-political résumé, special advisor Rebecca Katz told the Times, “The mayor has always said that he wants this administration to reflect the people we serve. And in this literary city, that means having at least one aspiring novelist with an unconventional background.”