Web Log
Oct 31, 02:05 AM | Author: head zoo keeper | Category: 2004 campaign
things you just never thought of
before you enter a campaign:
1. your left bicep starts to become really defined. (i usually hold all my literature with my left arm and hand it out with my right one. there is now a visible difference in bicep size between the two arms).
2. there is a little muscle connecting your chest to your shoulder/arm that carries out the motion of passing literature and that little muscle can and DOES become sore.
now that i am in my last week of campaigning, i spend, on average, 4 hours a day, holding and passing out literature. the literature does not seem heavy at first. today, i felt like i was carrying a ton from how my muscles just ached when someone placed a stack on my left arm.
every day, i hit the MUNI stops at 7:45am to about 9:30am and then in the afternoon from 5-6:45pm. on weekends, i hit street corners, grocery stores and busy intersections throughout the afternoon.
when i started doing visibility on weekends in august, it was my favorite part of the campaign. i really enjoyed talking to voters from various communities and neighborhoods. it beat political club meetings, candidate/elected officials events and forums any day. now that i am doing it every day, i do admit, i need coaxing out of the house. you have to build yourself up every time to deal with rejection, individuals completely ignoring you to individuals that want to engage in hard hitting conversations with you, sometimes having nothing to do with school board.
i have to say, for the most part, San Franciscans and its visitors are pretty nice. folks are cordial when they don’t take (and give explanations) and many do take. many folks smile and say thank you as well. there is a definite difference in reception depending on the neighborhood that you are flyering in. the mission is the friendliest! people are also more receptive in the morning, even if they are tired.
and i give props to the residents of district 5 that take my literature, even though 22 other candidates are competing for their time!
i notice many candidates depend on mailers, the most expensive part of campaigns (next to consultants if you can afford them) and endorsements. and they definitely help. but i think the real meat of the campaigns is direct voter contact and a large volunteer base.
thanks to the 69 volunteers that came out just TODAY. we dropped literature in a record 34 precincts by 2pm and performed visibility in 4 different locations! this campaign would not exist without the volunteers and friends that come out. THANK YOU ALL!
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