Hi everyone - just noticed that this weblog is still high up in the results if you google Das Williams. Google's algorithm is a little slow so we'll help it out here: his main site for the run for supervisor is here...

http://www.daswilliamsforsupervisor.com/

and the weblog is here...

http://www.legendarysurfers.com/das/blog/

Don't let grumpy Travis Armstrong sway you...Vote for Das!

- posted by Unknown @ 8:32 PM -

 
We won!

And now, we sleep! Thank you for your help, everyone!
- posted by Unknown @ 1:55 AM -

 
Go vote! Go vote! Go vote!
Morning everyone! Today is the big day. The polls are already open and don't close until 8pm tonight. All you have to do is get out there and vote for Das, but if you want to go above and beyond the call of duty, come by campaign HQ (1019 Quienientos #2). We'll be coordinating our reminder system from there.

And, it's too soon to talk about this, but just as a reminder: the party is going to be at SoHO tonight, that's 1221 State St., upstairs (go back through the courtyard if you're coming from State). The party is for all our supporters, so if you're reading this, you're invited. If you have any questions about the party give me a call at 455-3003, and for any other questions call Stephanie at 886-3181. If you have any questions about polling places or anything else to do with the actual voting process, try sb-democracy.com or 1-800-SBC-VOTE. See you out there today!
- posted by Unknown @ 8:56 AM -

 
Josh Molina had another terrific story this morning in the News-Press, City's Golden Triangle holds a wealth of voters. This story grapples with issues that are hugely fundamental to the operation of democracy: not just who votes and who doesn't, but who it is that campaigns try to talk to. Young voters are the perfect example of this viscious cycle nationally. Everyone wonders why the turnout among people ages 18-24 is so dismal, yet there have been few campaigns in recent history that have actually reached out to them. Most campaigns only target likely voters with their message, so the citizens who have been left out before continue to be left out.

Das' campaign tried to turn back the tide at least a little bit, because we know democracy only really works when everyone participates. While anyone can speak up at any time in theory because there are public meetings almost every week, speaking up isn't easy. Those meetings can be very intimidating. But it's a heck of a lot easier to speak up if a candidate or volunteer shows up your doorstep, and gives you a piece of literature with the candidate's cell phone number or website where you can leave comments on it!

The thing about this strategy is that it's risky. If people - that's you, the readers of this weblog -don't show up at the polls tomorrow and vote for Das, other candidates in the future will be less likely to try talking to new voters. Yet another reason why getting out to vote tomorrow is going to be extremely important.

So here's a kind of long excerpt from the story, but definitely check out the whole thing at the link above too:

"A campaign's No. 1 priority is to target likely voters," [political consultant] Mr. Romo said.

But others believe that may be a dangerous, and an old-school way of thinking. Reaching people who have never voted before is equally important, said Mr. Williams, also a political consultant.

"I think it more of a duty than a strategy," Mr. Williams said. "If you ignore voters because you think they are not going to vote, they surely won't vote because you have ignored them. That means that every election less and less people take part in the system. For me, my campaign is to encourage more people to take part in the political system."

Mr. Williams does see the importance of the Golden Triangle and started walking there in June. But the candidate, who speaks Spanish, said other votes are crucial, too. He said he's spending hours calling low-turnout households with Latino surnames to encourage them to vote. Santa Barbara's population is 35 percent Latino.

Mr. Williams estimated that he or his volunteers have walked at least 75 of the 80 precincts in Santa Barbara.

We did a lot of that walking this weekend. We also worked on Saturday to get a last-minute GOTV mailer out on time. Here is a picture of a crew of us busily sticking and stuffing (note a casual Pedro Nava, our esteemed Coastal Commissioner, doing his part):



Important news! We have a location for a victory party tomorrow night, and everyone is invited. Stop by SOhO, 1221 State St, anytime after 8 p.m. and say hello. We will have music, and probably a few other surprises!
- posted by Unknown @ 10:11 AM -

 
Today's schedule. We're going to walk this morning after breakfast I think, but the main event will be this afternoon from 3pm, until a little after sunset. Meet at Campaign HQ, 1019 Quinientos #2. Sunday afternoon is my favorite time to hit the neighborhoods and with the election less than 72 hours away, a lot of people are thinking about the election, and the ones who aren't need to be. So come on down and give us a hand!
- posted by Unknown @ 9:02 AM -

 
Trick or...Vote? Tonight around 5pm we're going to be walking a neighborhood - in our Halloween costumes! It's going to be a blast. If you want in, give Stephanie or Das a call, we'll be leaving from campaign HQ (1019 Quinientos #2, one and a half blocks east of Milpas).

I'm at campaign HQ now and Das just brought around a plate of crackers, brie and sausages. Kind of a weird breakfast, but yum. Kim is doing some data scanning and getting ready to go deliver some more lawn signs with Patrick, Brinn is sorting through a pile of press clippings, and I just resurrected the ancient Compaq that I'm typing this on (Windows 95...it's allllivvve!).

Make sure you pick up a copy of this week's Independent. Das gained their endorsement, and their coverage of the importance of this election was as good a summary as I've seen.
- posted by Unknown @ 10:33 AM -

 
We had yet another good phoning session last night, and this morning's story is about last night's Brotherhood of Santa Barbara forum. Sorry we didn't post that here - we meant to but heard about it too late. The focus of the story was on the two candidates that didn't show up, but here's part of the story regarding what Das had to say:

Mr. Williams talked about his time in South Africa, where he joined Nelson Mandela's African National Congress to fight apartheid, about 10 years ago. He pointed to his background, describing himself as a poor kid who grew up in Isla Vista and who understands the challenges of those who are underrepresented.

"I am not afraid to be a person who says I want to change the way this city is run," Mr. Williams said.

There was also an excellent letter signed by the Director and Co-Chair of the Central Coast National Conference for Community and Justice office (it's in the letters section, about halfway down the page). Here's an excerpt:

Institutional inequality doesn't have to be enforced by laws or come in the guise of extremists in white robes. As white, anti-racism activist Peggy McIntosh states: "I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group."

This invisible system includes the "right" of wealthier, adult, white people (usually men) to determine what kind of leadership experiences and qualifications are valid (Planning Commission) and what kinds of experiences and qualifications are not valid (human services, grass-roots activism). We need only examine the current Planning Commission roster to determine the imbalances in our community. A seven-member board comprised of six white males and one white female hardly represents our city's diversity.

This letter makes an excellent and important point about the necessity of diversity on our city council. If there's one thing that the people I've talked to on the phone and out in the neighborhoods and in forums and meetings can agree on (and there may be only one thing!), it's that the council needs to be shaken up a bit. There is no better way to do that than to bring in some fresh and diverse voices.
- posted by Unknown @ 8:32 AM -