Ron Davis seems well-adjusted to the rapid pace with which he enters his office. Davis, who has just been appointed the new communications director for the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), after 17 years of rising through the ranks, barely has time to take off his jacket, let alone sit down, before an anonymous voice from the hall informs him that he is needed in Washington, D.C., the next day for a meeting with Randi Weingarten at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) headquarters.

“It’s exciting and challenging,” he said of his increased responsibilities as Weingarten transitions to become the dual AFT/UFT president over the summer. “I have to work with her staff at the AFT headquarters in terms of figuring out what our message is and what our position should be on different issues—not just locally, but nationally.”

This presents a unique challenge when national issues, like school vouchers and merit pay, afford little relevance to New York educators; and, conversely, keeping Weingarten informed on strictly local matters. The key, says Davis, is developing a cohesive message on both fronts.

Always diplomatic, Davis approaches all topics with an air of genuine optimism, careful not to rule anything, or anyone, out before exhausting all possible options.

“If it doesn’t work, let’s fix it,” is a constant refrain.

This holds true in the way he sees his role advising the process for the coveted endorsements the UFT will dole out in next year’s elections.

This year, the union made the controversial move of endorsing two Republicans, Queens State Sens. Frank Padavan and Serphin Maltese, amidst the heated battle for the majority in the chamber. Both have consistently supported the union, and Maltese was the Senate sponsor of the ultimately unsuccessful 55/25 early-retirement bill that would have allowed civilian city employees, including teachers, to retroactively opt into an early-retirement plan with increased pension contributions.

The union is mostly keeping its options open for next year, though it has made one choice already in the unusually early endorsement of Danny Dromm, the middle school teacher and UFT chapter leader who is running to succeed term-limited Council Member Helen Sears (D-Queens) next year.

Despite his deep involvement in the local political process these days, Davis started out life far from New York. A graduate of a school system that was segregated through his sophomore year of high school in Fordyce, Arkansas, he received a full scholarship to Harvard for college and graduated as senior class president.

A career in journalism followed, but when an offer to be press secretary at the Department of Investigation coincided with his father’s increased need for medical treatment as a result of Alzheimer’s disease in 1987, Davis accepted to help pay for the medical bills. Two years later, David Dinkins became mayor, bringing his own staff with him.

Although he received several offers, Davis took a position as a staff writer at the UFT, where he remained over the last 17 years, turning down other opportunities because he continued to be a strong believer in the union.

“I haven’t found anything better than this particular cause, so I’m sticking with it,” he said.

While adjusting to his promotion and Weingarten’s new role as the president of two unions comes with more travel, more collaboration, more issues to address and certainly more time, it also affords Davis the chance to bring UFT concerns to the front of the national consciousness.

“We don’t look at this as daunting, we view this as an opportunity to do something bold and different, to try and make a difference,” he says of his shared perspective with Weingarten.

And he expects that they will continue to try to make that difference locally going into next year’s elections. Looking ahead, he promised to consider all contenders interested in an endorsement come next fall, though Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) may have a head start in earning an endorsement for the mayoral race. When questioned, Davis calls her “a champion of education,” who played a vital role in securing budget restorations for schools.

Speculation aside, he insists that it is “too soon to say right now,” and that decisions will be made after candidates are officially announced.

But, perhaps surprisingly given the sometimes tense relations between the UFT and the Department of Education (DoE), he speaks somewhat approvingly of Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.) and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.

He does, however, have his criticisms, especially of what he sees as the administration’s incorrect tendency to approach the school system as a business model.

But before that contention can sink in, he quickly adds that he sees his role as helping the teacher’s union work with the DoE to find solutions, not points of argument—because as Davis sees things, though he will fight relentlessly if necessary, he believes the best way to get results is through conversation.

“We believe our elected officials, each and every one of them, to be reasonable people and open to negotiation,” he said.

And while he knows not everyone will agree with him, he will, at the very least, make them continue to listen to what he and the teachers have to say.