About
Brief Biography
Matt Ortega, 23, is a San Francisco Bay Area native transplanted in Washington, D.C. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in 2006 where he studied political science and history. In late 2007, he joined the Democratic National Committee.
Blogging
Dating back to childhood, Matt enjoyed writing everything from short stories to drawing comic books, and spent two years writing for the high school student newspaper. He started blogging while in college on his MySpace blog in 2004, commenting on issues of politics, life and culture. Matt created his first blog in October 2005. He contributed a Saturday afternoon weekly series on private contractors for Firedoglake from April 2006 until February 2007, spawning a three-part series on the Republican Party and Christian fundamentalist ties of Blackwater USA CEO and founder, Erik Prince, for Robert Greenwald’s Iraq for Sale blog. Starting in December 2006, he co-authored The Right’s Field, a blog focusing exclusively on the field of Republican candidates for president. In early 2007, he briefly wrote for techPresident and for his work at TRF, he was picked up by the Huffington Post, and later began contributing weekly updates on the Republican candidates for MyDD. He was also a member on Drum Major Institute’s Annual Benefit Blogger Host Committee two years running (2006, 2007).
Campaigns
For the midterm elections in 2006, he served as a field coordinator on the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund’s independent-expenditure campaign to defeat then-House Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Tracy, Calif.). During the campaign, he contributed to the top blog focusing on the race, Say No to Pombo, earning honors from The Left Coaster.
In 2007, he served as an online organizer for the labor and consumer-backed It’s OUR Healthcare!, a coalition of over 100 groups, including labor, consumer organizations, community groups, and people of faith, advocating for quality, affordable healthcare for all Californians. It’s OUR Healthcare! was nominated for a Golden Dot Award in the Best Mobile/Text Messaging Campaign from the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet (IPDI), and won the Gold and Silver Pollies for Best Use of Mobile Technology from the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC).
The views expressed are of the author, and the author alone, and do not reflect the views of the Democratic National Committee.