Alumnus speaks of political leadership

Everyone has a different reason for choosing his or her career path. For Ken Smukler, the president of Voterlink Data Systems, it was a conversation he overheard in a bar.

Last night, Smukler, a 1982 College graduate, returned to Penn to speak about his political leadership experience.

"There is a fair amount of luck, I believe, that gets anyone into a position of leadership," Smukler said, adding that it is important to love what you do.

"If you don't love it, I find it very difficult to actually excel in it."

Smukler's brief stint in practicing law ended when he overheard another lawyer talking about switching to a career in politics while at a bar.

The barroom conversation spurred him into a career working on a mayoral campaign in Philadelphia.

Over the years, he dealt with the financial and public-relations aspects of political campaigns.

After serving as campaign manager for a winning candidate, Smukler established a reputation for himself in the city. He then launched Voterlink Data Systems.

Voterlink develops technologies that are used in the political, news and entertainment fields. The company was responsible for NBC's Voter Alert Line in the 2004 presidential election.

During the question-and-answer session, Smukler talked about the ethical dilemmas one faces in a political career, such as deciding whether or not to mask the truth. He also spoke about the necessity of wasting money in political campaigns.

The audience responded positively to his speech.

"I thought he provided good insight into this field ... and he gave an interesting perspective as a former Penn student," College sophomore Andrew Glantz said.

Even students not interested in political science enjoyed Smukler's talk.

"I'm not a [political science] major, and I'd probably never take a [department] course, but I thought it was pretty good," College sophomore Dara Holder said.

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