Let's Take, A Long (Precinct) Walk

When I realized I would need to collect signatures to qualify to sit on the DCC, I was really looking forward to walking my neighborhood and taking the pulse of the street. Well, what an eye opening experience that was.

Before I get into my story, let me just share how helpful the people who work at the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters office are. As a novice to the whole DCC thang, they helped me file my paperwork, let me purchase a neighborhood list to collect signatures and always greeted me with a warm smile and encouragement. I share this because a certain San Joaquin County Republican, running against McNerney, needs to have a talk with his staff. I was shocked at the level of attitude and rudeness this person was throwing at the RoV clerks because her boss had misfiled paperwork. This isn't a partisan issue either. I don't care which part of the aisle you sit on, treat public servants (and people in general) with respect if you plan on working in politics.

More on the flip...

So, back to precinct walking.

The Bad: My first day out on the town I made the mistake of going at dawn. For the most part, few would open their door and when darkness fell (at 6pm) , no one would. I'd see a lot of eyeballs peeking and shadows running into other rooms and eventually what I thought would be a real productive night ended with only three signatures. Throughout I experienced a couple doors slam on me. Two people declaring they were through with the Democratic Party, one lady told me she was uncomfortable talking to me "in the dark" and another woman pounded on her window and demanded that I leave her property. I walked away that evening wondering what I got myself into.

Day two was more of the same but in daylight. People feeling like I was invading their space or people so frustrated with the political system they didn't want to bother with any of it. And these are registered democrats. This process played out up until my last day. Doors shut, people refusing to answer and two or three signatures for me efforts.

The Good: The sixteen or so people, from my neighborhood, who did agree to sign my petition were universally great. One thought I was crazy for getting involved but felt that my craziness warranted a signature. One former SUSD grant writer and I discussed our current school challenges and one young kid let me vent at him about how rude his neighbor was to me.

I really felt that I gained a real sense of what was going on politically within my neighborhood by the end of this process. In fact, if I do win election to the DCC I really look forward to the continued engagement of my neighbors. Heck, I guess I could do that without being on the DCC now that I think about it. Whatever the case, despite the doors slamming on my face and the people being "uncomfortable" with signing my petition (yeah, someone seriously told me that), I had fun.

OASN: The night before I was to hand in my signatures I had collected 22 but decided I should collect two more signatures just in case. The next day, in the rain I headed out in search of two more signatures...again, just in case. Luckily, the first two houses I went to I hit gold. The last house and my last signature was from a gentleman named "Big Al" Sheppard. Big Al saved me. The rain started to get heavier and he was initially hesitant to talk to me but he finally relented and helped me complete my first ever candidate petition campaign. After collecting Al's signature, I turn around and start to head back into the rain. That's when Big Al yells at me, "You into sports?" Now anyone and everyone that knows me knows that answer and Big Al could to by the look on my face so he quickly followed up his question by asking if I also knew people who were into sports. See, Al makes customized baskets and arrangements based on sports. Knowing all the Raiders, Steelers and 49er fans in my family, I had to turn around and see what the deal was and boy am I glad I did. Al preceded to show me some of his awesome work and as a thank you for his generousity towards me (and for helping me get out of the rain), I offered to blog pictures of some of his work. Here they are:

If you are interested in having Al make you a customized gift, give him a ring at (510) 325-1819. He said he can make anything.

So, that's the story of how I collected signatures and made new friends within my neighborhood. Do you have any fascinating stories of precinct walking you'd like to share?