Lesson #2: ASK

I asked one of my professors for advice on how to get more attention from democrats and advice on how to get the newly registered democrats to become aware of the coming elections which they can participate in. She directed me to the Student Activities to both set up a table and get the contact information from them. I took the advice and asked the Student Activities office if I could get the contact information for the Women's League who set up a voter registration table. Although unsure of the legitimacy of the question, I emailed my new contact and asked her if it was within the rules to give me a list of democrats in the area. She said she was not allowed to do that and directed me to Representative Curry's office. And, Curry's assistant directed me to give him a call on his home line! Let's hope he can help.

Set backs learned

I've hit a road block and I'm concerned I won't get 75 Arcadian Students to vote for A.H. I need to "step up my game" as the ABC reporter said this morning whilst interviewing President Obama regarding the Health Care topic. One of my friends said that the reason for the hesitation of political involvement is due to the general displeasure with the ring of the word politician. Quite often we think "crook" or "lair," which I dare say is absolutely unfair. So, according to my friend, I need to tell people why he is so great. So, I will take his idea.

More later.
-Kell

Let's start from the beginning

In the spring semester of my junior year, I put together an Earth Day Conference with keynote speaker Art Haywood. Haywood, in turn, asked me if I would join his campaign, running for the Cheltenham Township Commissioner position in the fall of 2009, which I agreed to. Since then, I’ve been finding Arcadian students to recruit to help the campaign and pledge to vote on November 3rd with rides provided. I’ve been asked why I’m supporting Haywood in his campaign and what compels me to stay on board. Quite simply put, I believe in him. Haywood is new to politics and is an honest, family man. I proposed that he use or advocate smart growth policy as one of the promises he makes for his platform. And, after I sent him a few links and put together a few power point presentations online, he took my advice and added it as one of his key promises for his campaign. One often wonders if people pursuing environmental policy writing or any genre of green work has genuine intentions. Regardless of where you stand on the eco-issues, America has made environmentalism sexy. I’ve been interested and actively involved in the environmental movement since I was seven years old. I started my involvement by contacting a few companies on the Potomac River at the Washington Harbor if I could clean up the river. I said that there were far too many dead ducks and that it made my best friend cry, and that I had assembled a crew to assist me with the clean up session. One company wrote back and informed me that they already had cleaning crews to do that. A month later, the Potomac was clean and since then I have never seen another dead duck. From then on I had secretly pledged to keep actively improving my communities. I am twenty-two now and have developed my sense of activism and applied it into a political scientist mind frame. To be continued...

Voter Registration Dinner Party & Plans

It's nearly been a week since I wrote down advancements and plans regarding the campaign. I had the most successful voter registration dinner party last night. So far in the campaign, I've gotten potential support from two groups on campus and definite supporters from six people, excluding me, and maybes from six more people. This is before any club meeting started so I'm confident about a good turn out. I can see around ten people showing up and being interested in voting for A.H. November 3rd from the support just gathered within the past few days. I expect I will get more, but am growing weary of the prospect of failing, so I have three plans.

Plan A: Go to as many group meetings as possible and see if I can gather democrats or democrats-to-be and get them registered with Arcadia University’s address while they’re at school.
Plan B: ask all registered democrats and all students unregistered to vote to stay after the first meeting of the SGO/AUPI meeting.
Plan C: Set up tables around campus and other places and register people who walk by.

Progress So far:

Supporters*
Desiere
Megan
Steven
Stan
Natasha
Marcus
Kelley (me)

Helping Hands
Hallie
Alexis
Anna
Kelley (me)

Interested Parties
Members of AUPI

Welcome to the Jungle

Good morning and welcome. Over the course of my political internship with A.H.*, I will be documenting the various tasks, successes, problems, and political slander I run into. I came back to the Glenside/Philadelphia area a week before classes started, staying with a friend and collaborating ideas with the campaign staff.

My first meeting with A.H. was on campus, held on Thursday, August 27th. I laid out a few of my ideas for Registration Parties and getting volunteers. I would put together a few events at a few different places around town and invite him to speak at two meetings on campus regarding his campaign. He liked all of my ideas, but I'm beginning to find that the majority of the Glenside area leans red. I found this to be the case when I was shut down by the Glenside Pub to put together an event. Since I was holding voter registration forms in my hands, it gave my plans away and I got my full of the stink eye in a grand total of six minutes. Never having been turned away so brashly before, I took it to heart and did my research regarding which businesses leaned blue and found a prospective candidate.

The first Voter Registration Dinner Party shall be at my apartment on Friday, September 4, 2009. I'm preparing for twenty people. My original plan of suggesting a $5 donation for the campaign to build a better, cleaner, safer Cheltenham seems to be failing me. Creativity, thus far, has not been my weakness so I am confident I will find alternative ways to get donations and have a successful event pulling together many helping hands from my school. But, knowing failure is just inches away without preserverance, I feel as though I'm truly beginning to understand Axil Rose's line "welcome to the jungle." Welcome, indeed.

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*A.H. are the anonymous initials of the candidate I am on the campaign for.