Canvassing Works

'Changing the world one door at a time'

The Concord Insider, a publication of the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire, ran a glowing feature recently on their local Fund for the Public Interest canvass office. The article focuses a lot on the atmosphere of an office and what motivates its staff, with a cute bit about the start of a canvasser's day:

"Back in the office on Friday, half-drunk Dunkin' Donuts coffee cups mix in with the banter of a crew just getting into the heartbeat of a new day. Like in most offices, people gather in groups, making small talk and entering into the work culture. Unlike most offices, people are exchanging ideas, passions, high fives - while the Red Hot Chili Peppers urge them on from the boom box."

And a nice plug for the office's campaign work:

"The fund has had great success in actually changing laws and making an impact.

A list of accomplishments might look like this: Protect Lake Sunapee from storm runoff, check. Protect the Great Bay Estuary with research and recommended action plans, check. Raise money to fight changes in the Clean Water Act that leave New Hampshire's streams and lakes open to unlimited dumping of toxins, check. Stop childhood obesity in its tracks - well, working on it."

Well-deserved recognition guys!

Read the full story here.

Longtime activist sticks up for Denver canvassers

If you've traveled to or through Colorado by air prior to June, you might have noticed that Denver International Airport was a little different than others. Along with food courts and newstands, the common space was open to canvassers. On the way to baggage claim, travelers often saw representatives from groups like Environment Colorado, Planned Parenthood or ACLU asking for a minute of their time.

Surely some found it a bother, but it was pretty great to see such a thriving marketplace of ideas right in the middle of a major hub of national travel. Sadly, in June DIA decided to ban canvassing. It was an unfortunate decision, but along the way it was great to see people who support canvassing stick up for the practice in the form of several public comments. 

We came across one such comment from Ken Ward, who's been working for 30 years on environmental issues for several high-profile groups, including as deputy executive director for Greenpeace USA. Here's what he had to say (it's pretty great): 

Dear Mr. Hagerty,

Among major US airports, there are really only a handful which stand out. If you aren't paying attention, it's possible to land at an O'Hare, Newark or Dallas-Forth Worth and find oneself walking down the concourse, passing GAPs and McDonalds, with only advertising to tell you where you are ("Phoenix: We Mean Business!"). 

But Denver is different. First, there's the mountains, of course. Then there's the astonishing design of Denver International, with its echos of the Rockies and pioneer tents; nifty in the day, spectacular at night. I might quibble a bit with the marketing decisions – Denver ought to follow Portland's lead, choosing local Powell's Used Books instead of one more Barnes and Noble – but the cool high speed people mover quickly reminds you it's Denver.

Now I'm not going to argue that I'm always looking forward to being hit up by some bushy-tailed college kid, eager to talk about saving the chub or some such, after a long and exhausting flight, and I'll be the first to say that I often wave 'em away without compunction. But here's the thing, the fact that Denver does have it's bushy-tailed, generally young, concerned folks out at the airport, means that Denver stands out from most all the rest of major metropolitan airports in the nation – in addition, of course, to its spectacular design and backdrop – by demonstrating an enthusiasm for civic action that is utterly absent elsewhere. It's possible to fly through most major airports and unless one troubles to buy the local paper, never receive a single impression that people live there. Whether you listen to their pitch or wave 'em away, the do-gooders greeting you in Denver let you know where you are: a place where community matters are debated, public mindedness is respected, and democracy remains vital. 

I understand that Denver International Airport is considering regulations that would restrict such activity. Though I'm sure the arguments for doing so, in terms of security, comfort, cost and ease of travel, are strong, please consider the less obvious, but nonetheless powerful case that by treating its airport as the public space it truly is, Denver presents to travelers a robust civic spirit like no other major city.

I thank you for your attention. 

Best,

Ken 

We were sad to see those canvassers go, but what a great sentiment. And rest assured, those bushy-tailed concerned folks are still out there fighting the good fight.

Ken Ward is a climate campaigner and carpenter with thirty years of experience (jeez!). He is co-founder of the Jamaica Plain Green House and was recently hired as Director of the Apeiron Institute for Sustainability. 

Want people to vote? Knock on their doors.

A campaign veteran and web columnist for Canada's The Globe and Mail recently offered frank advice to those running for public office: Want to win? Knock on doors. 

He cites a prominent Yale study that compared the effectiveness of different voter outreach methods in a 1998 New Haven, Connecticut election. Their findings? Mailings and phone calls had little or no impact on voter turnout. Canvassing did. In fact, face-to-face outreach increased turnout substantially, while calls had no impact and mail had a slight impact. Steele writes:

So the formula is simple.

If you want to win an election, first you have to find and energize a cadre of people who will carry your message. They have to be motivated to knock on doors, not just once or twice but several times a week....

The Obama campaign did a lot of things right.

The thing they did best – and even their top people say this – is motivate their supporters to go out and talk to their neighbours.

They spent their money on a door-to-door ground game of volunteer mobilization, not on splashy TV ads or robo-calls.

So if you care about politics, get off this website and go knock on some doors.

The Yale study took it a step further and hypothesized that sinking voter turnout can be tied to less overall personal involvement and a decline in face-to-face political activism. Sage advice from Mr. Steele as the 2012 election comes barreling our way.

The Globe and Mail, Second Reading blog

Meshawn Ayala, Constituency Relations Director at Friends of the Chicago River

Meshawn is a veteran of canvass offices across the country, and recently took on a key role at the great preservation nonprofit, Friends of the Chicago River. Canvassing Works is proud to call her a friend, and she was kind enough to share some insight into how canvassing influenced her career:

"When I first started canvassing for the Fund for the Public Interest right after college, I thought I wouldn't last long. After two weeks though, I considered myself an expert canvasser - training new staff and training to become a leader in the office. A month later we won our campaign and I never turned back. Canvassing was one of the most challenging things I've done, and one of the most rewarding. I started doing it as just temporary work while I was job hunting, but more than 10 years later I'm still working on these important issues that I first got into as a canvasser. I'm still using what I learned."

Meshawn Ayala is the Constituency Relations Director at Friends of the Chicago River, a nonprofit that works to preserve and protect the health and vitality of the Chicago River. At Friends, Meshawn focuses on organizational development through building coalitions, doing community outreach, and expanding social media. She is currently working on a campaign to remove two of the oldest dams on the North Branch of the Chicago River.

Her career with the Fund started in 1999 as a canvasser in Berkeley, CA, where she thought she would canvass until she found a "real job." One week later she was a Field Manager and one month later she was a Canvass Director. Meshawn directed offices in Berkeley, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego before moving to Chicago to be the Midwest Regional Director in 2005.  

Keep up the great work Meshawn!

Canvassing steals the show in Miranda July's "The Future"

Miranda July's new movie "The Future," is getting great reviews and a lot of buzz, and features a particulary funny scene involving door-to-door canvassing. Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips calls it a "vexing blend of foggy whimsy and observant soul-searching."

The premise involves a couple reluctant to surrender to age, who decide to adopt a street cat named "Paw-Paw" as a statement of adulthood. In the 30 days leading up to little Paw-Paw coming home with them, the couple (played by July and Hamish Linklater) decide this is their time to seize youth. 

"Forty is basically 50 and after 50 the rest is just loose change," says Jason.

His response: become a canvasser, going door-to-door asking people if they have a moment to reduce global warming.

It's a pretty amusing scene. Whether you've knocked on doors or not, check this one out. 

Miranda July's "The Future"