Margarita Lea Valdez
Title: Communications director
Age: 32
Hometown: Lansing, Mich.
Education: B.A., administration and public policy, Michigan State University
Last job: Legislative assistant for Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.)
Biggest communications success: Seeing Rep. Farenthold on Fox News his first week in office. It was a great feeling to hit the ground running.
Most memorable communications disaster: In my previous office, we were launching an independence-from-foreign-oil initiative that was supposed to coincide with Independence Day. After months of careful planning, we finally received the cards that we were going to distribute during the Fourth of July workweek. Mind you, no one noticed that the cards all said July 3. How our entire office missed that in the proofs, I will never know. We played it off, though, and made our own Independence Day.
{mosads}Best communications advice you’ve received: “You can’t get in trouble for something you didn’t say.” Basically, make sure you think before you speak on behalf of your boss.
Most embarrassing moment on Capitol Hill: I introduced my mom to my then-chief of staff and co-workers over dinner. My COS jokingly asked my mom if she had any funny stories about my childhood. She had plenty. She told my boss and co-workers that my nickname growing up was Chunkalina because I just loved to eat seconds and thirds of everything. There was also a little ditty that went along with that nickname — I’m not going to sing it, though. Needless to say, my co-workers thought it was hilarious, and I was embarrassed.
Interests outside of work: Running marathons, working out, going to museums. The National Portrait Gallery is my favorite.
Every congressional office needs a Margarita Valdez, if for no other reason than her institutional knowledge. In her nine years working in Congress, she has been a staff assistant, scheduler, legislative assistant, case worker, office manager, outreach relations specialist and district office employee — among other roles.
“I’ve done every job on the Hill except for [legislative correspondent],” says Valdez, who is now Rep. Blake Farenthold’s (R-Texas) communications director.
Valdez was raised in Michigan and filled most of her previous congressional roles in the nine years she worked for Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), but most of her family — her father, grandparent, aunts, uncles — live in Brownsville, Texas, which is part of Farenthold’s district. She spent every summer there through high school. She and her family would often take day trips to South Padre Island, “before MTV and spring break became popular,” she jokes.
Valdez is already seeing a perk of working for the district where her grandmother resides. For an upcoming work trip, Valdez’s grandmother has planned a daily menu of tamales, enchiladas, taquitos and other Mexican dishes.
Valdez says she’s been fortunate to work for two districts to which she has such personal ties.
“It sounds very after-school-special, but I haven’t gotten hardened by D.C.,” she says. “I’ve been very, very lucky that I’ve worked for good people.”
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