[Note: Crossposted at www.blogforamica.com and www.prairiestateblue.com.]
Last Saturday I and three other members of my group, Northside Democracy for America, headed down to lovely Countryside, Illinois, for the campaign office grand opening of our NDFA endorsed candidate, Mark Pera.
I was pretty excited about the event because this was my first real chance to check out their operation and to get my feet wet in the district by hitting the streets and gathering some petition signatures. Our group endorsed Mark partly out of disgust for the incumbent, Bush Dog Democrat Dan Lipinski, but also because of Mark's obvious willingness to throw himself into this race heart and soul. But, as anyone who has been around campaigns for any length of time knows, heart and soul alone are not enough. You also need to have organization, planning and resources.
My quick impressions of the campaign? Read on ...
Totally professional. Seriously, everything was incredibly well organized, they have a complete staff and fully functional campaign operation up and running, and we talked strategy for a little bit and I am convinced they have a plan to win.
They know how to treat volunteers. I have worked for a lot of campaigns, and volunteering for this one was a joy. Everything was in place, the staff was courteous, they didn't baby us or talk down to us, and they were obviously appreciative of what we were doing.
An energetic, enthused, motivated, engaged candidate. I am sure many of us have had the experience of getting excited about a campaign, and then finally getting a chance to meet the candidate and thinking to ourselves, "I'm working to elect THIS guy??" Mark obviously knows what he is doing, and is completely engaged in doing everything he can to win. That is a HUGE step towards a successful campaign.
Red meat -- and I don't just mean the hot dogs! The first time I really relaxed about the campaign was when I saw the lit we were handing out. Finally -- a campaign that won't be pulling its punches (text is in the comments):
So, for all you who weren't able to make it on Saturday (and why weren't you?????) below is my account of the day's events and some pix taken courtesy of wegerje who lent me his camera.
Here is a shot of campaign HQ. As you can see it is a nice big building, and they seem to be the only tenants, so they have plenty of space for everything they will need to do from now until election day. Note the roomy parking lot for volunteers!
:-)
Our four intrepid Northside DFA volunteers:
Mark Pera (in the plaid shirt) saying hello to the volunteers:
As usual, I forgot to take any shots of us actually out canvassing, though I will say it was a beautiful day, and they gave us some really cherry precincts to walk because they were right in Western Springs, where Mark is from, which means we ran into several people at the doors who knew Mark personally.
After the canvas we came back for the open house where they had a BBQ grill set up in the back yard of the campaign office. Here is a picture of Mark, mustard bottle in hand, chatting with Northside DFAer Mary Claire. In the background in the blue jacket is Pera campaign manager Patrick Botterman:
Another shot of Mark and Mary Claire:
The three of us (wegerje couldn't stay for canvassing) collected 54 signatures for Mark that day, which is pretty good for door-to-door canvassing, but is only a drop in the bucket of what Mark needs. Which is why I will be going back this Saturday, and more Saturdays after that. If you live on Chicago's north side and want to come down with us, sign up here:
Sept. 22 trip to Peraland:
http://www.dfalink.com/...
Oct. 6 trip to Peraland:
http://www.dfalink.com/...
Oct. 13 trip to Peraland:
http://www.dfalink.com/...
And PLEASE DONATE. The Pera campaign is trying to get as many $30 donations as possible before September 30th, which is the next filing deadline. I am guessing 99% of the people reading this can afford $30! So please, please, please donate! Mark CAN'T WIN without that money, and NOW is when he needs it. And if you are donating, you can do so right here on our Northside DFA Act Blue page:
www.actblue.com/page/ndfa_picks