I became a volunteer for Nadya Okamoto’s Cambridge city council campaign completely by chance. My friend and I showed up to what we thought was a political talk, after hearing that there would be free food. However, we happened to stumble upon a 19-year-old Harvard student’s Cambridge city council campaign kickoff. Though free hummus and dolmades were delicious, hearing Nadya speak, I found myself intrigued about her platform which addressed a variety of pressing issues in Cambridge. After talking to her staff, I was persuaded into volunteering in the next months leading unto election day, November 7th.
Now that date is only a couple of short weeks away, and I’m so excited I have been able to be a part of the process thus far. I have mostly volunteered through canvassing different wards in Cambridge three to four times a week. I find myself looking forward to the days that I canvass because it allows me to escape my hectic day for a few hours by walking around different neighborhoods and meeting different people.
At first, I thought canvassing was going to be boring, tiring, and repetitive. I expected a lot of rejection, disinterest and general annoyance from the residents whom I was disturbing. However, instead of getting doors slammed in my face, I received lots of offers to come inside, to get water, and a lot of overall encouragement. Most of the doors I knocked on housed people who really care about the community and are glad to have someone to talk to about the prevailing issues. Most people I talk with definitely enjoy having someone listen and take down notes of what they care about. Hearing them speak about their worries of affordable housing, and concerns of gentrification made me realize that there is a point to local politics and grassroots involvement.
What Nadya's campaign does so well is that it incorporates the issues of the community to effective solutions that consider the voices of everyone in the community. Although we are not going to be able to solve the affordable housing issue or eliminate the negatives of gentrification, we do have concrete action proposals designed with the minority and low-income voices in mind. Nadya's priorities of inclusivity are prevalent in her goal of giving everyone in Cambridge a safe, affordable home. Although the implications being this platform are complicated due to the housing crisis, she has demonstrated in her campaign that she has concrete plans to make this concept a reality.
I have had the ability to meet a lot of wonderful people, and work with some extremely driven, and intelligent students my age. This has not only strengthened my communication skills and connections, but it has also shown me that local politics is something to get excited about. Community engagement does really make changes and better areas across the country. Once people realize that they have a voice, they are able to fight for their rights and stand up for their community.
Voter turnout is a huge issue in the US and I think improving the national numbers starts with promoting community involvement. In making community-level change and policy, I think people will realize that their decisions have the democratic strength to change a lot more than just their local legislation and that more involvement from more people will make for a better represented national population.
