Das Williams for Santa Barbara City Council
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
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!
Monday, November 03, 2003
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:
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"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.
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!
Sunday, November 02, 2003
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!
