I've
blogged a
fair amount about
John Pavich and his congressional run in
IL-11 against Bush administration
Jerry Weller.
The story seems to have gotten a little bit lost over all the noise about the primary in IL-6, but the 11th is another district where we have a real pickup opportunity. After a long winter of organization-building and volunteer-recruitment, it's finally time to get started campaigning. Read on to find out when/where/how...
With the primary coming up in just under 4 weeks, followed immediately by the spring voter registration period, it's time to get voter contact and media components of the campaign started.
This Saturday, February 25, at 2pm, we'll meet at Alfa's Bar & Grill, 1609 W. Jefferson St. (just east of Larkin) in Joliet. The meeting will start with a brief speech by John, and then we'll break up into groups to plan volunteer activities for the next few months. There will be three groups:
I. Field operations/voter registration.
Although John is running unopposed in the primary, we intend to have a small get-out-the-vote operation anyhow. This will serve two purposes: first, as a kind of practice/dry run for November, and second, as an opportunity to get John's name out to Democratic primary voters. This will be our last great opportunity for visibility and volunteer recruitment until the summer.
Consequently, we'll be canvassing and phone banking for several weekends, and also passing literature outside polling places on primary day.
Moreover, the population in the northern parts of the district is changing very fast, with a vast influx of ethnic minorities and commuters to Chicago. The population change benefits our side tremendously (indeed, that's a big part of why this race is winnable), but of course massive registration drives will be necessary in order to take advantage of this. Illinois state law has changed quite a bit on this count recently, and we'll have several people present who are very knowledgeable about both the new laws and also the practicalities of registering new voters. This will be an absolutely crucial aspect of the campaign!
II. Media/letter-writing
Rep. Weller has been a walking political disaster in recent months. There's been a seemingly-endless series of connections with financial scandals plaguing Congressional Republicans, but that's not all; just the other day, there was an emergency shut-down of one of the nuclear reactors in the district, reactors that Weller's done nothing to help secure.
The Pavich campaign has been issuing press releases and getting some coverage on these issues, but it would be far more effective if these were combined by floods of letters from concerned citizens. The press in the district is gradually waking up to Weller's faults, and a concerted letter-writing campaign will speed up this process. Favorable local media coverage will be critical in the fall, and we need to start letting the press know now that they can't give Weller a pass.
So on Saturday we'll organize a rapid response media corps that will allow us to pair press releases with letters written to the editors of all the major papers in the district.
III. Fundraising/house parties
Obviously money is critical to this campaign. Sharon Sikes, who managed to organize house parties in the northern suburbs of Chicago that raised tens and tens of thousands of dollars in the 2004 election cycle, will be on hand to share her expertise and strategies. It's essential to start a network of house party hosts; this can be a very effective fundraising tool, and they simultaneously allow the candidate to meet tons of constituents. Please consider hosting a house party fundraiser for John some time this spring or summer!
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And, for folks who think this isn't enough, we'll bring plenty of call sheets on Saturday. Anyone is welcome to stick around after the meeting (which should be over before 4) and call potential primary voters and campaign volunteers. (Bring your cell phone with free weekend minutes!)
Hope to see you at Alfa's on Saturday!
