Being at the DFL state convention last weekend reminded me of something I wanted to express: How incredibly important volunteers are to political campaigns and the political process. I sure came to appreciate them on the campaign trail last year. Being in a setting filled with with passionate, hard-working, and very unpaid supporters of multiple candidates (the Nelson-Pallmeyer and Franken volunteers were of course the most visible, given their contest for the Senate endorsement, but there were many more), reinforced that appreciation.

If you have ever volunteered for any candidate, for any party, I'd like to offer my thanks. Your participation is a key part of what makes our democracy work. As the election season moves forward, I encourage every citizen to get out there and participate in at least one campaign, for any candidate you support in any race. It's easy to become cynical about the political process if you only experience it through TV ads and the news media's jaded commentary. But when you join with other volunteers working towards your shared ideals and aspirations, it's hard not to be inspired and energized.

Here's another photo from last weekend, from the Franken war room. After accepting the convention's nomination, he gave a short and funny speech to thank his volunteers and rev them up for all the campaigning work yet to come.

Labels: campaign, photos

Posted by John Nephew at 6/10/2008 12:04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

This weekend, Michelle and I have been at the DFL State Convention, where she is a delegate and I have had a lot of free time (which is good, since I am still working my way through an enormous packet for Monday's council meeting).

Yesterday I volunteered in the Franken war room, where I helped with balloting. Runners reported the totals from each delegation, and our group collated the results to see how the votes compared with projections from the voter ID's (in other words, how did people actually vote versus how they said they'd vote?). Based on that information, the candidate and his wife and daughter were dispatched to various specific areas where support needed to be shored up, or where there seemed to be an opportunity to pick up more votes on the next ballot (e.g., a delegation that had strongly shifted in favor of Franken might be ripe to have its remaining votes persuaded). Though, as it turns out, it was finished with one ballot. I wasn't doing anything especially important in this process (basically passing along sheets of paper with scribbled results from one person to the right person at a computer for data entry), but it was exciting and educational to be part of the operation of a campaign on a much larger scale than my own for city council.

Labels: photos

Posted by John Nephew at 6/08/2008 09:23:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yesterday was the Senate District 55 DFL picnic just over in Oakdale. Besides the local party activists, the gathering included volunteers from the Hilary Clinton and Mike Ciresi campaigns, and a visit from senate candidate Al Franken. (Franken was also at the Maplewood endorsing convention, and even mentioned it in his campaign blog.) Also present, as you might expect, were State Senator Chuck Wiger (district 55) and State Representative Nora Slawik (district 55B, representing south Maplewood and Oakdale). Rep. Leon Lillie (55A, representing northern Maplewood and North St. Paul) stopped by the picnic early on, before Michelle and I had arrived.

Labels: campaign, events, photos

Posted by John Nephew at 8/12/2007 01:22:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

These photos are provided as a courtesy to the media and others interested in including candidate portraits in print media. They are 300 dpi images.

Formal Portrait of John
Headshot of John with Forest Background

Labels: photos

Posted by Michelle Nephew at 8/07/2007 01:19:00 PM | Permalink | Comments