As a scholar and political analyst, Corey Cook has always been drawn to the practical realities of coalition building. And as an educator, he says, "My main focus, ultimately, is getting young people involved in public service." / Photo by Gerry Serrano
Political Scientist at Work: Corey Cook on Being a Go-to Analyst in an Election Shaped by Bay Area History and Politics
Most Gaels know him as Executive Vice President and Provost. As a scholar who has researched Bay Area politics for decades, Cook’s insights are in demand amidst a tumultuous electoral season.
“At Work” is a series that highlights Saint Mary’s faculty and staff at work in the world. Artists, writers, scholars, scientists—we sit down and dive deep into their latest projects.
In the “ship of state” that is Saint Mary’s College—to borrow Plato’s analogy for government—few oversee more than Corey Cook. Spend enough time aboard, and you’ll encounter him in one of his roles: Executive Vice President and Provost, or Interim Dean of the School of Science and the School of Liberal Arts, or even a professor in a Politics or Jan Term course.
What some may not know, however, is just how in-demand Cook’s expertise is outside of the College. Amidst this tumultuous election season, he has been a go-to analysis for national and local politics. In early August, he spoke with The Atlantic about Kamala Harris’ politics of pragmatism—and why they’re so tough to nail down. He’s been a frequent voice on KTVU News, offering a preview of the Democratic National Convention and post-debate takeaways. More recently, Cook has discussed Harris with international outlets like Sweden’s ETC, Japan's Nikkei, and Belgium’s La Libre. And in a year of consequential races throughout California, he is regularly tapped to offer insight on everything from ranked-choice voting to San Francisco’s contentious mayoral race.
Cook is uniquely situated to speak to an election cycle steeped in Bay Area politics; after all, he tells me, he has been steeped in it for years, too. In 1986, as a junior at El Cerrito High School, he got a summer internship with Ronald V. Dellums, the Oakland-based congressman and co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus. Later, as Director of the University of San Francisco’s Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service, Cook got to know local politicians and their staff, like the city’s then-mayor, Gavin Newsom, or then-district attorney, Kamala Harris. Today, one of those individuals governs California. The other could, in a matter of weeks, be president-elect of the United States.
In late September, I meet Cook in his office to talk politics. He’s relaxed, wry, clearly practiced at delivering off-the-cuff assessments. Still, he reminds me, in an election season as volatile as this one, there’s only so much a political scientist can know.
Talk to me a bit about what drew you to politics.
Well, I was raised in a political family. My dad was the mayor of El Cerrito when I was three years old. So I grew up going to political events, being around all of that, and found it fascinating. When I was a junior in high school, I spent a summer working for Ron Dellums, the congressman from Oakland at the time. That was the summer of 1988, when Ron got the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act passed. The bill called for sanctions against South Africa and the release of political prisoners like Nelson Mandela. It took Ron 18 years to pass that.
I was an intern, obviously, so I wasn’t directly involved. But to be there for that really helped me appreciate the value of public service. I wanted to know more—about all of it.
Politics can move incredibly slowly; Dellums’ Anti-Apartheid Act exemplifies that. But also, as this summer showed us, it can move unbelievably fast. What has it been like to be a go-to expert this year?
Yeah, it's been an insane election. We’re about a month away from the election, and just three months ago we had a different nominee.
That said, the fundamentals are what they’ve been for the last couple decades. Around 95% of the election is already baked in, and the margin will be where the outcome is decided. With the debate, Kamala “won,” no question. But what do we expect from that in terms of effect? Not much at all. For Kamala to become president, she has to win every single day, not just the big events. The Taylor Swift endorsement, a great convention, a good vice presidential pick—she needs all of it. We don’t have big, determinative things in campaigns anymore, but we tend to watch them like we do.
As a scholar, I’ve always been interested in practical, material things. How do changes in the constituency affect how legislators behave? How do different elected officials piece together multiracial, multiethnic political coalitions? That’s why I prefer to talk about how voters actually make decisions, or what candidates signal with their campaign advertising. For instance, Kamala Harris is running ads during the Sunday NFL games. A Democrat hasn't done that in at least 24 years. That definitely tells you something about where she thinks the votes are.
You’ve been doing a lot of international media this election cycle. Do you feel like their questions are different?
Oh, totally. Their questions are much broader and more interesting because they're less horseracey. They are trying to understand the candidate and take this 40,000-foot view, and because of that, they’re asking the right questions.
One problem with local and national reporting is that, because everybody knows the candidates, the race, the context, we dive into all the small things. International journalists know the impact of the United States on the planet, and so they get right to the heart of what is at stake in the election.
You talk about the presidential election as a race for the margins. The more dynamic races, it seems, are here in the Bay Area. You recently spoke to the San Francisco Examiner about the “pendulum swing” happening in San Francisco, which is reflected in other left-leaning cities. Can you elaborate on that?
The politics in San Francisco have shifted pretty dramatically in recent years, around a whole bunch of issues that are hyperlocal. Certainly, perspectives on criminal justice have changed dramatically locally. But that’s true nationally as well. You go from Kamala Harris being almost an almost toxic candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2020, because of her record as a prosecutor, to being popular because of her record. Part of why she's so much more comfortable now as a candidate is, frankly, because of that change in the electorate’s preferences and perspectives.
As someone who has studied Bay Area politics for a long time, it’s fascinating for me to see figures I’ve known for decades—Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom—on the global stage, as yet San Francisco becomes this kind of national punching bag. This morning, I spoke to the Examiner again about the crime rate, which has actually been improving in the City. How will that affect the mayoral election? The answer is, not at all, unless voters perceive that things are on the right track. Often, there’s this lag effect between objective data and lived experience, and it’s the latter that shapes voting behavior.
"We don’t have big, determinative things in campaigns anymore, but we tend to watch them like we do."
All of this can feel seismic, but I like to remind my students: Since at least 1987, the top issue in San Francisco has been homelessness. Art Agnos, Frank Jordan, Willie Brown, Gavin Newsom, now London Breed—all mayors elected on homelessness. So for almost 40 years, the housing challenge—which is perpetual in San Francisco—in combination with whatever affordability or crime or whatever issue is at the forefront for voters, that is what shifts the balance between moderates and progressives in the city. It’s not because there’s been some massive realignment; for all the population change, coalitions in San Francisco have been remarkably steady.
What it comes down to, again and again, is the issue set that’s salient for voters at the time.
Final question: Saint Mary’s, as an institution, relies on the scholar-teacher model. How do you bring your work as a political scientist into the classroom?
My main focus, ultimately, is getting young people involved in public service. I like doing all this media stuff, of course, because it’s fun to talk about politics, but I see it as a way to build relationships that will benefit students. I can connect them with a campaign manager, or a data analyst, or a journalist. Ultimately, I want my students to have an understanding of the career paths and the steps they need to take if they want to pursue this and opportunities to get involved.
I'm old enough now that a bunch of my students are elected officials or have worked in City Hall or statewide offices. That’s really cool. It's rewarding to see people who choose a career path in public service—maybe even a path that, years ago, I played a small part in showing them.
(This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.)
Hayden Royster is Staff Writer at the Office of Marketing and Communications for Saint Mary's College. Write him.
