SeVeN » campaign

Election Day!!!

SeVeN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:58:53 +0000

What a long journey it has been to finally arrive at this day. The news stories from around the world are filled with anticipation and held breath as the United States heads to the polls. I have butterflies flitting about in my stomach – please let us not screw this one up!

My one regret is that I can’t be in my hometown of Chicago tonight. The celebration is going to be amazing.
I am about to hit the streets again and find those people who haven’t voted yet and drag them bodily to the polls. Get out and vote!!!!!

OBAMA ’08

Volunteering for the Campaign for Change: Day 3

SeVeN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 01:05:03 +0000

OK – I’m whooped. The Obama staff sent me out to canvass the neighborhoods this afternoon. My job was to knock on the doors of known Obama supporters and make sure they got their butts to the polls. The most important thing at this stage of the game is to make sure that people know where to go and what to do with their mail-in ballots. I did get to see a lot of Obama/Biden signs and nobody slammed a door in my face.

Volunteering for the Campaign for Change: Day 2

SeVeN — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:44:01 +0000

I went and tackled some more phone calls today. I must have called well over 200 people today. Unfortunately, most were either not home or had caller ID because I didn’t get to speak with very many people.

There are quite a lot of volunteers that keep showing up at the Obama headquarters which is really exciting. What I found most interesting is the number of young people who are involved. For most of them it is their first time voting.

Volunteering for the Campaign For Change

SeVeN — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 03:11:24 +0000

Today was my first day of volunteering for Barack Obama’s campaign. I spent four hours at the local Obama campaign headquarters and called a bunch of random folks who were on a call list. I probably called 150-200 people, most of whom weren’t home. Of the ones who I did get to speak a few were Obama supporters who had already voted and some who hadn’t. I estimate that I was able to help six people who hadn’t voted yet, were first time voters and not sure exactly what they were supposed to do. That’s six votes for Obama.

The script that is given to you is fairly simply:
Hello my name is Tery and I’m a volunteer for the Obama campaign. May I ask you whom you are supporting for president?
And then depending on their answer, you can continue with other questions and information. The reactions to that first question, however, can be quite interesting. I got a couple of hang-ups, one “leave us the hell alone”, a couple “none of your business”, and a few folks who weren’t sure what to say. One guy told me that he voted for the “right guy”. It’s probably safe to assume that they are all McCain supporters. The Obama supporters that I spoke with were all happy to talk to me and generally all sounded excited about the election.

I will be hitting those phones again tomorrow looking for a few more votes.

Steamboat Springs City Council Campaigning Underway

SeVeN — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:02:50 +0000

Hold on to your butts everybody – we got us an election comin’ up! This here cow town is gonna elect themselves a new City Council. And what a fine selection of candidates they have to choose from. I say they, because I (thankfully) do not live within city limits and therefore cannot vote for city council members. Then why do I care? I actually don’t. I’m just poking a little fun at these folks because there ain’t nuthin’ else to do.
If I could vote, I would be choosing the candidate with the best representation; newspaper ad or web presence. I was really bummed after Cari Hermacinski took down her YouTube videos. Although, she forgot to correct her print ad. It still sends you to YouTube to watch the video. She still has time to pull it together, so we won’t count her out yet. Karen Post’s site just had a serious makeover. I’d love to show it to you, but for some reason no one has made it go live yet. The old typo ridden one is still online. Her opponent in this race, Jon Quinn, has a very respectable web site. It’s tidy, bright, and proof read. His print ads are quite nice too.
And then we have Scott Myller. His slogan is “Myller Is Your Guy” and his web site is a complete treat: ythatguy.com. Just in case it goes away, here are some tidbits for you:

PLANNING COMMISSIONER
a thoughtful decisions maker, Scott serving has served on the Steamboat Springs planning commission for the past 6 years. He understands city policies and development codes.

Scott will respect the public’s time. If some takes the time to come to a City Council meeting they shouldn’t have to wait until 11:00PM to be heard. Quit wasting time with worthless chatter.

Scott believes that city government SHOULD provide public services – especially those at a loss. Taxpayers should know what they get for their money. Howelsen Hill, Airport, and parks and rec for example.

The site is also incredibly, horrendously and obnoxiously green. Oh well, I sure hope Cari puts up a new video.

Steamboat Springs City Council Elections: Update

SeVeN — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:41:23 +0000

Well, it looks like Cari Hermacinski took down her YouTube video. Good move. It was extremely unflattering and completely unprofessional looking. Towny Anderson’s site is no longer under construction. The content is good; site is butt ugly.
Why am I harping on the appearance of the candidates’ ads and web sites? Shouldn’t I be more concerned with what they stand for? The answer is simple. All of them are saying the same things. The only way to differentiate them is by how the represent themselves. I am still waiting to be impressed.

Steamboat Springs City Council Elections

SeVeN — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:24:25 +0000

Election season is upon us in Steamboat Springs. Five of the seven seats on City Council are up for grabs this November. The list of hopefuls is eleven strong with some members seeking reelection.

The candidates are:
District I: Susan Dellinger (incumbent), Scott Myller
District II: Meg Page Bentley, Paul Hughes
District III: Vince Arroyo, Walter Magill (two year term)
District III: Karen Post (incumbent), Jon Quinn (four year term)
At Large: Towny Anderson (incumbent), Cari Hermacinski, Dave McClure

The campaigning has begun and the local papers are filled with ads from the candidates. I realize that this is a small town, however, does that also mean that the ads have to be lacking in… oh, how shall I put it? Professionalism? Or how about some inspiration? Walter Magill’s ad is a black square with his name in white lettering. Cari Hermacinski’s is corny, Towny Anderson’s doesn’t make sense, and Vince Arroyo has placed his ad in the classifieds. So far four candidates have taken to the Internet for their campaigns. Towny Anderson’s site is still under construction. A little planning goes a long way. Karen Post’s site is riddled with spelling errors and typos. The name of her partner, Dave Glantz, is spelled incorrectly. Susan Dellinger’s site is disorganized and quite pathetic looking. Cari Hermacinski has taken a unique approach. She has a video on YouTube. It’s almost four minutes long, but your mind will begin to wander after only a few seconds. Yawn.

These are the people who will be hiring consultant after consultant in the coming years. Perhaps they should get in a little practice and hire some consultants now. This may mean that some money will have to be spent, however, that is also a prerequisite to being on City Council – spending money. Lots and lots of money. If this is the best that these folks can do in regards to representing themselves; what sort of job are they going to do representing the needs of the people?