Full Disclosure: Becki Donatelli on Politics, Football, and the Internet

What is your earliest political memory?

 

The night that John F. Kennedy was elected. My mother was a schoolteacher, and we went to the open house at her school and watched the election results on the TV in the classroom. She was so upset that we had elected a Democrat. This was in Garden Grove, California.

 

 

Who is your political hero?

 

Ronald Reagan. My first real job after college was working on the first Reagan campaign.

 

Who is the Democrat you admire most?

 

Joe Lieberman, hands down. Because he is an American first, party second, and he’s willing to do what’s right for the country, always. He’s just such a man of great principle.

 

What is your best political story from the campaign trail?

 

Being part of what happened with John McCain in 2000, winning the New Hampshire primary and proving for the first time in a very large way that online fundraising was real.

 

What would you be doing professionally if you were not working in politics?

 

Probably something in the arts and entertainment. Being a southern Californian, that’s the only other industry I’ve ever been exposed to. I’d love to make movies or tell stories.

 

What is your biggest fear?

 

Probably being bored and not having enough to do. I can’t imagine that. That’s what I love about what we do—it’s so intense and exciting. I would hate to be bored.

 

What is your biggest regret?

 

The truth is I have no regrets. I believe the right thing is always happening in my life—even though I may not know it at the time!

 

What is your most treasured possession?

 

I have this great picture made by a friend that hangs in my office of ticket stubs and pictures from the 2005 championship football game, where my USC Trojans won the national championship. It’s signed by [head coach] Pete Carroll and includes a picture of some of my best friends from college.

 

What is your greatest accomplishment?

 

Professionally, the greatest accomplishment is probably inventing online fundraising. We sort of fell into it, but we were the first people to ever take a donation for a political campaign over the Internet back in 1998. So, inventing it and watching it grow and become one of the dominant ways of financing our political process has been very gratifying, because we have been there every step of the way for the big leaps and jumps.

 

How would you describe yourself in one word?

Energetic.

 

What is your favorite book?

 

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.