Government students volunteer at campaigns
CANNADAY’S CAMP
As some of us have always been interested in local politics, Dr. Bach’s government class team project gave us the exciting opportunity we have been looking for: to learn about political campaigning by volunteering in Lowell Cannaday’s Republican campaign for Dallas county sheriff. Little did we realize the amount of experience and knowledge we would gain from these primaries.
Photo by Jason Joyce
Justin Payne, Maria Doggett, Katherine Alvarado and John Lowe enjoyed every minute of working on Lowell Cannaday’s Republican campaign for Dallas County sheriff.
We first met Cannaday at a ‘meet and greet’ in Grand Prairie. Cannaday’s demeanor made a profound impact on us. He did not seem like a big, scary police chief, but rather like a minister. We immediately felt comfortable around him.
We were assigned different tasks such as going from door to door to recommend Cannaday for Sheriff, distributing yard signs, flyers, preparing postcards to be sent to supporters and potential voters, mailing brochures, manning phone banks and calling people with a friendly reminder to vote for Cannaday the following day.
Some of us took off of work on the day of the primaries and voted. One of us took his puppy as a way to distract people on the way to the polls, and we headed out to the assigned polling location.
It did not take long for us to realize that our first question to the voters did not need to be who they were considering for sheriff, but rather if they were voting in the Republican primary.
Ninety percent of the time, the answer was no. This answer was expressed in manners ranging from “No, sorry,” to simple-haughty scoffs, to disdainful glares coupled with a “you gotta be kiddin’ me.” Some of us began to get a little discouraged as this was clearly a day for the Democrats, but many people enjoyed coming up to pet the puppy, and all of the Republicans we ran into agreed to vote for Cannaday because few of them came with down-ticket candidates in mind. We also spoke with Hillary supporters who explained where the Republican booths were, and where to stay behind while campaigning.
Most young people were voting Democratic, and we found that the few who were voting Republican were often voting for Ron Paul. Almost every middle-aged white man that showed up was voting Republican, though. We didn’t see many elderly, we wonder why? Cannaday won the initial primary, but not with the required 50 percent+1, so it has gone to a runoff election that will be held in April. The greatest challenge will be to get people to show up for this runoff, as fewer voters are likely to know about this vote than the presidential primaries.
We enjoyed every moment of this campaign to the point where one of us is now considering running for offi ce in the future: “this has been a blast.”
VALDEZ’ CAMP
Most people view politics as a far away, intimidating, and impenetrable system beyond their control and influence. However, as part of a team project in Dr. Bach’s government class, three of us volunteered in Sheriff Lupe Valdez re-election campaign. By participating in the primary election, we came to the realization that it is those people who invest in the political process who benefi t the most from their undertakings.
Photo by Jason Joyce
Government students, David Henderson, Erin Ryan and Larry Caraway tried to influence voters to participate in the re-election of Lupe Valdez for Dallas County sheriff.
Prior to the primary and to Dr. Bach’s lectures, we, like most students, felt confused with our role in politics. This disconnect, however, quickly dissipated with the energizing and fascinating presidential race between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.
Volunteering for Valdez’ campaign gave us the opportunity to try to influence voters at polling places, answer phones, help with fund-raising and go door to door in the community of Irving to solicit voters’ support.
In the age of high-tech electronic communication, nothing is more effective than face-to-face interaction with voters. Going door to door, answering phones, or promoting issues crucial to the Sheriff’s campaign was very empowering. It became apparent that it did not matter whether or not we agreed with all of the Sheriff’s policies; what mattered most was our participation in the election process.
Speaking to the wife of an illegal immigrant, whose sole concern was Irving’s immigration policy, gave us personal insight as to the immediacy of this problem. We heard that the reality of deportation leads to the fear of the police and of authority in general. What we have in south Irving is a community contributing to the economy, but living in constant apprehension of the police. To make matters worse, there is a greater panic with regard to the safety of the community as families are becoming torn apart by deportation.
Going door to door was an eye opening experience. Everyday we reached one person who decided to vote. One person, that’s all it takes. This is what makes America great, the fact that we can all participate in the political process.