On the Ground: Notes from CVM's Canvassers
Bill Marthinsen, in Bakersfield
“I went up to one house to canvass, and the garage door was open, and there was a man there who came out.”
“And I asked if he was the father, and he acknowledged that he was. He proceeded to tell me he always voted, because his father had been a migrant laborer during the Kennedy administration.“
“Their administration had a policy to help them towards citizenship. And he became a citizen and voted and told his son that it is something that he should do all the time and so he said, ‘Now he does.’ And he makes sure that all his children do as well, even though they’re living all over the place.”
Robert Deutsch, in Delano
“So I knocked on Jose’s door. We were talking… and he said in fact that he hadn’t voted in over 10 years.”
“Which of course, is discouraging. But you know he clearly had an interest in talking to me. We talked for a while and I brought up a variety of issues, including national and local issues.
And after talking to him for a while, I asked him if he was interested in voting. He kind of hesitated and I said, ‘Look, will you just make a commitment that you will think about voting?’ What’s REALLY important is that at this point in time, it’s really important for you to vote. It’s the only voice you have.”
“A little later, he told me he would vote. So once we’re on a roll, I asked him if he would put up a RUDY SALAS yard sign. And he said yes, he would put up a sign.”
Shannon Edwards, in Bakersfield
“One man was from Peru. And he was at his door and said to me, ‘Oh, I’ve already voted…We have to vote because we only have one planet Earth, and we need to save it.’ And I said to him, ‘Yeah, it’s really impressive that you did that so early.’
“Then I said, yes, I am out here caring about this district so much because I believe that we could lose our planet without really caring about voting and democracy. And I’m so glad that you care. [Our leaders] have seriously had too much interest in power and money.”
“And he turned to me and he said, ‘That is not the issue. The issue is that they have no HEART.’
“And I stopped, and we stared at each other, and we made this connection.”
“And I said, ‘Will you please run for president, and I’ll be your vice president?’ And he said, ‘I can’t do that, but thank you for the work you are doing, this is so important. I am so happy to see you out here.’ “
“Then I walked away from the door and said goodbye. And I started crying.”
Fonda Karelitz, in Tulare
“An older man came to the door…he did not vote. I asked if other friends or family members voted, and he said, ‘My wife is always telling me to vote.’ We then talked about an issue that was important to him…health care, Medicare…and we chatted for about 10 minutes about how difficult it had been to get his wife’s medication approved.”
“We shared stories about our families’ health issues and how being able to get and afford health care really mattered to each of us. And I told him that voting for someone who shared that value was important to me. He agreed. At the end, he said, ‘Maybe this year, my wife will persuade me to vote.’ ”