Over the past weekend Get Out The Vote operations have commenced across the country, including Fairfield County’s Campaign For Change office in Pickerington. Volunteers made phone calls, knocked on doors, delivered literature and organized for election day. In the next two days our already bustling office is sure to get even busier as we continue to make contact with supporters and prepare to deliver door hangers letting community members know where their voting locations are.
Thanks again to all our volunteers, and please make time to help the GOTV operation today and tomorrow!
On Wednesday evening, October 29th a group of Pickerington volunteers gathered to get in the Halloween – and election – spirit. Taking inspiration from the website www.yeswecarve.com, the group created a number of “Barack O’Lanterns” to spread seasonal cheer. The event was timed to coincide with Barack’s American Stories television special which was shown while pumpkins were carved. Happy Halloween! Now it’s time to Get Out The Vote!
Join us Wednesday evening to get ready for Halloween with some pumpkin carving and watching Barack’s TV special with other supporters.
You can RSVP for the event here.
Members of one of Pickerington’s neighborhood teams recently collaborated to create grassroots signs for local residents to show their support for Barack Obama. Because the Pickerington office had been out of yard signs for several weeks and the waiting list continued to grow, it seemed like something people would respond to. We began by creating stencils of the Obama logo and typography from heavy plastic. We then used these to spraypaint the white artwork, after which the red and blue were painted in. We also created a handful of purple “Pickerington For Obama” signs.
After many hours of painting, the signs were distributed at the Pickerington Campaign for Change office.
Stencils for the signs
Getting the initial design in place
Adding the finishing details
A pile of grassroots signs
Attaching paperclips as sign hangers at the office
Yesterday afternoon, Wednesday October 15th, Fairfield County welcomed Senator Joe Biden to Lancaster for a Community Gathering. The event was held at the Ohio University-Lancaster Campus and attended by around 800 members of the community. Supporters from the Lancaster and Pickerington Campaign for Change offices served as volunteers for the event, helping with parking, line comfort, ushering and press area.
Following an invocation and the pledge of allegiance, democratic congressional candidate Sharen Neuhardt took the podium to voice her support for Barack Obama and Joe Biden and let voters know that she has the right type of experience required for a congressional seat that hasn’t been open for nine terms. Next, Pickerington field organizer Shawn Phetteplace invited everyone to help out with the campaign by visiting either of Fairfield County’s offices and getting involved.
Ted Strickland speaks to the Lancaster crowd
The guests of honor arrived soon after. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland was first at the mic and brought out Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown who gave a forecast for election night in which Fox News anchors will be sad to acknowledge that Barack Obama has won Ohio.
Senator Sherrod Brown introduces Joe Biden
Senator Brown then introduced Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden to the excited crowd. Joe spoke with sincerity and eloquence on the change that our nation needs and his and Barack’s plan to restore the country’s greatness.
Senator Biden takes the podium
“This is God’s country,” Biden remarked alluding to the newly changing fall leaves surrounding the outdoor venue. He also spoke of the small-town values he was brought up with which promised that with honesty and hard work you can achieve anything you dream of. Biden said he and Barack would again make this promise true in America so that we can look towards the future, not having to be confined to our current circumstances. On a beautiful fall day in Lancaster, Ohio, it would have been hard to find anyone who disagreed.
Senator Biden meets with Pickerington Neighborhood Team Leader J.R. Ritchey
Senator Biden shakes hands with Pickerington Neighborhood Team Leader Laura Rossi
Thanks again to all who attended and helped out with yesterday’s event. Remember that in Ohio from now until November 3rd you can vote early in person or by mail!
In the past few weeks many of our Pickerington supporters have been victims of the theft or destruction of their Barack Obama yard signs. It is an unfortunate occurrence that local law enforcement has been made aware of, though I would hope that our community can rise above these acts. To this end, I recently wrote a letter to the editor which has been published this week in both the Eastside Messenger and the Pickerington Times-Sun. You can read it at either of the papers’ websites: Eastside Messenger
Pickerington Times-Sun
Yesterday, October 5th, Bruce Springsteen performed a special acoustic set at the Ohio State University's main campus oval. The event, titled "Change Rocks!" was a rally for Barack Obama and Joe Biden to spread the word about Ohio's Early Vote opportunities. Today being the last day for voter registration in the state, many opportunities to get signed up were offered as well.
The Pickerington Campaign For Change office was one of the area locations for distribution for preferred seating for the concert. Our volunteers, who knocked on over 1,800 doors this Saturday alone, were able to attend the event as a "thank you" for their dedication to the campaign.
"The Boss" performed with guitar and harmonica on a number of politically-themed tunes including "The Rising," "The Ghost Of Tom Joad," "The Promised Land" and a pitch-perfect cover of Woodie Guthrie's classic protest song "This Land Is Your Land." He gave an inspiring stump speech in the middle of the show, reminding us that 1000 George Bushes and 1000 Dick Cheneys couldn't destroy America's promise, but we have a long way to go to restore our nation after the past eight years.
A few photos from the event:
Actor Luke Perry works the crowd to register new voters
Senator John Glenn takes the stage to introduce Bruce.
A portion of the crowd on OSU's Main Campus Oval
The Boss himself takes the stage.
Over the past week a lot has been happening in Pickerington and Northwest Fairfield County. We’ve continued canvassing every weekend as well as calling our neighbors to help spread the word about Barack. We also held a watch party yesterday evening for Joe Biden and Sarah Palin’s Vice Presidential debate. We again had standing room only as attendees packed the office. This weekend we’ll be canvassing on Saturday with the opportunity for volunteers to get tickets to Bruce Springsteen’s special acoustic concert at OSU on Sunday. If you can help, please e-mail Neighborhood Organizer Patrick Bowen: PBowen@vwbresearch.com
Field organizer Shawn Phetteplace (right) briefs volunteers on the weekend canvass
Clipboards for the weekend canvass
Volunteers make phone calls from the Pickerington Campaign for Change office
Volunteers at work entering data
Field organizer Shawn Phetteplace welcomes attendees to the Vice Presidential debate watch party at the Pickerington office
Attendees gather for the Vice Presidential debate watch party
Thanks to all our volunteers for your help, and please keep up the good work. Hope to see many of you this weekend.
As of yesterday, September 30th, Early Vote is open in Ohio. Fairfield Country residents can vote in person at the board of elections in Lancaster from now until November 3rd, Mon-Fri 8am-5pm. You can also vote early by mail. Voter registration ends October 6th, so we’re in the midst of “7 days to change the world” when you can register and vote all in one stop at your county polling location.
Early voting is the best way to make sure your vote counts. If something is wrong with your ballot, the board of elections can contact you so you can re-vote, preventing disenfranchisement.
The Pickerington Campaign for Change office is working on plans to carpool citizens down to Lancaster during this exciting time. Call Shawn Phetteplace at 740-974-0123 if you’re interested.
To make sure you’re registered and to request an absentee ballot, visit www.voteforchange.com
Together, we can change the world.
Thanks to the success of Friday’s watch party, we’ll be reconvening this Thursday to watch the Vice Presidential debate.
On Friday evening, September 26th, around 60 Northwest Fairfield County supporters of Barack Obama descended on the Pickerington Campaign For Change office to watch the first presidential debate. The event offered community members a chance to meet with one another and watch as the event was projected live on the office wall.
Attendees sign in at the event
Pre-debate discussion
Volunteer Reed Bailey and Millersport team leader Leah Holden in conversation before the debate.
The crowd assembles
Neighborhood team leader Patrick Bowen and County Commissioner candidate Karl Stalter welcome viewers to the watch party.
Barack takes the floor
Thanks to all those who took part in this historic evening. Please keep an eye on Events for similar gatherings in the future.
This past Wednesday, September 17th, the women of Pickerington joined with women from across the state of Ohio in hand writing personal postcards to other female voters in the state. The party at the Pickerington office was a chance for female supporters of Barack to get to know their neighbors while writing notes encouraging other women in Ohio to support Obama in November. Jill Biden hosted a conference call during the evening for all the women gathered. So far, the women of Northwest Fairfield County have contributed 1,500 postcards towards the state goal of 118,602. With this outreach we are helping Barack and Joe win Ohio.
Yes we can!
A few weeks back Barack Obama and Joe Biden visited Dublin for a rally, which I attended and wrote about on my personal blog. While the rally is a bit of old news, the rest of my post explains a bit of why I support Barack.
I thought I’d share that here, but first, a bit of context: Following my graduation from the University of Cincinnati in June 2006, I moved to Geneva Switzerland where I spent two years working for a faith-based human rights advocacy NGO. It was an incredible experience on many levels, not the least of which being the chance to see how international organizations function and spending some time at the European headquarters of the United Nations.
The text of that entry follows, or you can read my original post here (with photos).
One of the interesting things about living abroad for the past two years has been seeing our electoral process through the eyes of citizens of other nations. There is great interest in this election and there is great interest in Barack Obama. The McCain campaign continues to pummel Obama on his perceived “celebrity,” but in my mind, having 200,000 people show up to hear him speak in Berlin is an attribute and a testament to his character, not a detriment. The world is ready to be rid of the Bush presidency and be inspired by something new. I have been following Barack since his famous 2004 DNC speech and as the 2008 election cycle began, I wondered if he’d be able to make it through at such an early stage of his political career. He quickly silenced my doubts with his strong integrity and his inspirational message of Hope. Certain people like to be cynical about this message, but honestly, if you don’t have hope what do you have? It is the foundation of the Christian faith and it is how we should look toward the future – with the hope and belief that things will get better and that we don’t have to be stuck with the way they are now (not just in America, but abroad as well). The more and more I read and viewed, the more I realized that this is indeed the right candidate for America. Barack Obama is a role model, and despite the mud being slung his way this week, I am proud to support him. My hometown of Pickerington recently opened an Obama For America office, and while I’m in the process of portfolio-updating and job-searching, I’m volunteering there a few days a week. (If anyone in the area is interested in getting involved in the campaign, I encourage you to drop by.)Following last week’s Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama and Joe Biden traveled to Ohio making a stop north of Columbus at Dublin Coffman High School on Saturday. In a Labor Day weekend filled with family, friends, baseball, and other excitement, it would have been hard to top the opportunity to see these candidates in person. Adam and Julie, newly returned from their year abroad in England, joined me in the early afternoon and we made the trip. We arrived around 3:00 and spend a few hours in line and then inside the football stadium before the event got started around 6:30. We were fortunate to be on the field and very close to the podium. The excitement of the event was palpable and the diversity of the crowd was inspiring. There were ages ranging from babies to senior citizens and a wide spectrum of ethnicities represented. Not only that, but the crowd was remarkably courteous, respectful of one another and exhibiting nothing close to the “anger” that the folks at the RNC seem to think defines the Democratic party.The rally began with the pledge of allegiance followed by a prayer before several of the area’s Democratic candidates had a turn to speak to the crowd. Finally, Ohio’s Senator John Glenn took the stage and gave a fine speech endorsing and introducing Biden and Obama. The candidates spoke about their vision for the country and reprised several of the key points from the DNC. Ultimately, Barack reminded us that he’s running for the people and it’s up to us to spread the message of change and hope. Ghandi said you must be the change you wish to see in the world. A defeatist attitude helps no one. I strongly believe that we have the power to change the planet and to indeed be part of God’s kingdom breaking through to this world in which we live. While it would certainly be naive to think that this election can fix everything, it is a huge piece of the puzzle. Together we can make a difference and a better tomorrow. Yes, we can.
This Saturday and Sunday about sixty volunteers from Northwest Fairfield County (a location which had 62% support for George W. Bush in 2004) came out to help canvass our communities for Barack Obama. In Reynoldsburg, Pickerington, Baltimore and Millersport we knocked on over 2,000 doors.
Pickerington field organizer Shawn Phetteplace rallies volunteers in the Pickerington office
Pickerington volunteers gather for the weekend canvasses
Neighborhood team leader Patrick Bowen (right) gives volunteers the details of the canvass
